TRAVEL
Do You Know Why You Can’t Eat Mangosteen Here?
I came across this sign in Malaysia and I had questions. At least I found out the answer!
I visited Melaka while I was in Malaysia. It was my first time there! I was fascinated by all the colourful buildings and streets. The roads were a bit small and narrow. The shops fully lined both sides of the street. We almost couldn’t find our hotel!
We found out the hard way, that not all hotels have elevators. It took awhile to get checked in, but we finally settled in.
As I explored the hotel, I saw this sign in the hallway.
I was confused. I understood that durians could stink up the hotel, so it was banned. But mangosteen? What’s wrong with mangosteen? I had no idea.
Now curious about the sign, I asked a local. They told me that mangosteen had a very vivid purple juice that can easily stain! OHH! That made sense. It’s kind of like pomegranate, where you can get red juice everywhere. That’s why it was banned! They didn’t want to get the hotel rooms dirty.
It turns out that mangosteen is a very nutritious, but expensive fruit. That’s because it’s hard to grow and it takes at least 10 years to bear fruit!¹ It also spoils quickly, so it’s not ideal for exporting either. Darn. That’s why I haven’t seen any mangosteen in Canada. I probably should have tried it in Malaysia. Interesting stuff!
And that’s why I say you learn something new every time you travel. I certainly did! I never ate mangosteen before, but now I’ll know to be careful if I ever try it out.
Have you ever had mangosteen before?
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