STAN CULLIMORE

ONE of the joys of exotic travel, is the exotic food you encounter along the way. I take particular pleasure in the fruity stuff on offer. Regular readers with an eye for detail might remember that last week I was in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then I have moved on a bit, but not very far. Still in that neck of the woods, still having a ridiculously pleasing time.

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One of the many things I have been enjoying about it all is the fresh fruit that's on offer. Some of it makes perfect sense to my straight-forward-thinking British mind; apples, pears, bananas, grapes. The sort of stuff we expect to find in all good greengrocers and supermarkets. They are all widely available out here, too. Which is nice. There are also some of the slightly glamorous additions we have learnt to love and enjoy in the UK, such as watermelon, passion fruit and pineapple. So far, so good. Nothing too exotic there. Nothing to trouble the tastebuds with new and unexpected sensations.

There are also a few of the slightly left-field produce we can lay our hands on at the shops these days. Mangoes, for instance. Out here, mango trees seem about as common as conker trees back home. They are literally all over the place.