DurianIt is always interesting to take the kampong route to get to small towns, especially when your traveling companion is a friend from abroad. This is the best way to get in touch with the life of the people.

When I went to Port Dickson recently, I filled up with PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, before hitting the North South Highway. We stopped to do some shopping at Nilai, after which I took a detour to Jln Salak Tinggi, Sepang, passed KL International Airport and re-entered Negeri Sembilan at Bukit Pelanduk.

My Japanese friend was amazed to see the large variety of fruits sold so cheaply along the kampong roads. There were rambutans, mangosteens and durians, especially along the Salak Tinggi stretch. Getting a kampong durian for less than RM2 was definitely a bargain.

It was really a  pleasant drive too as we ate some of the fruit along the way. It was the first durian my friend had tasted. Though he thought it tasted good, he said the smell was too strong for him to really enjoy it.

At Nilai, he was surprised that we could buy four metres of cloth for as little as RM5. Nilai is the new educational hub. There are colleges, golf courses and new housing estates that offer super deals.

The town is peaceful and full of greenery. The streets are generally well planned and are lined with palm trees and flowering plants in giant pots.

Port Dickson, of course, offers some of the best beaches for a short holiday. When we reached PD, the petrol indicator of our Proton Waja 1.6 showed only a quarter of the PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 used, which worked out to only 15sen per kilometer.

Wow! With such savings on fuel,  we decided to drive further along the coastal road to take in the scenery by the sea.-by JOHN TIONG