Tourist from China Nearly Fined $500 for Bringing Durians Back to Hotel

You know how Singaporeans feel about durian.

Some love it so much that they can’t get enough of it, going for durian buffers and jio-ing their kakis to eat durians during the durian season.

Others hate it so much that they will not touch the spiky, pungent fruit with a ten-metre pole.

But whatever your personal inclinations about durian, we all know that public transport and some hotels have a strict no-durian policy.

One tourist decided to test the limits of their hotel’s no-durian policy and almost paid a high price for it.

Here is what happened.

China Tourist Brought Durian Into Her Hotel

A Chinese netizen recently revealed on Xiao Hong Shu (translates to Little Red Book), a popular social media platform in China, that she was almost fined $500 for bringing durian into her hotel room while on holiday in Singapore.

The OP said that she was on holiday with her family in Singapore when she saw some mao shan wang (King Musan variety) durian and could not resist buying it from the vendor.

As her accompaniments did not want to eat durian and she was full from her dinner, she decided to dabao some durian to her hotel.

The OP mentioned that she was staying at a hotel in Sentosa.

To avoid any odours from the durian, she had it wrapped tightly in plastic bags.

She Was Almost Fined $500 Due to Durian Odours

To the OP’s surprise (or horror), she received a warning letter from the hotel staff the next day.

The letter mentioned that pungent durians should not be brought into the rooms.

It also mentioned that if the staff or other guests find that the hotel room has a durian odour once the OP checked out, the hotel will charge a $500 fine to clean up the “mess”.

The letterhead of the letter showed that it was issued from “W Singapore”.

The OP shared that she was shocked after receiving the letter and said that she only knew about the durian ban for public transport in Singapore.

It was the first time she realised that durians could also be banned in hotels in Singapore.

Thankfully, the OP shared the hotel did not fine her as it was her first transgression, and she has since learnt her lesson.

Well, now we all know the importance of reading the hotel’s guidelines before we check-in.