Bao Sheng Durian Farm

Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Bao Sheng Durian Farm (GPS: 5.24.1755, 100.13.165) is a durian plantation at Titi Kerawang, near Pantai Acheh in Penang. It is located between Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang, on a hill side overlooking the west coast of Penang Island. The farm is owned by Mr Chang Teik Seng, better known as Durian Seng, who inherited it from his father Chang Fatt Hin, and is now grooming up his son to eventually take over from him.

In addition to the durians, Bao Sheng grows several types of fruit trees such as mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit, soursoup, startfruit and others. I used to organise the annual AsiaExplorers Durian Feast at Bao Sheng because the owner, Mr Chang, provides very clear and professional briefing to participants who join, helping them to identify the various types of durians and how to recognise them. He also explains the climatic condition ideal for the growing of durians and why the freshest durians taste the best.

Chang Zhi Vooi of Bao Sheng Durian Farm explaining the durians of his farm. (14 July 2018)

However since 2008, I have not organised a durian fest, as I have moved away from direct engagement with participants to concentrate completely on travel search for my then new website Penang Travel Tips. It wasn't until 2016 that I made another visit to Bao Sheng, as I was invited to be a speaker during the Bao Sheng Durian Festival.

In my absence, I saw that the farm has grown tremendously. There are now chalets being built along the hill slope that can take overnight guests. These chalets or guesthouses appear quite comfortable. On my visit to Bao Sheng, I saw that it has become extremely popular among Western durian enthusiasts. This is indeed a breakthrough as Westerners generally shun durians. It was Lindsay Gasik, whom I regard to be the Durian Ambassador to the West, who has done the groundwork to popularise the fruit.

At Bao Sheng, I saw that there are many Westerners volunteering at the farm following the WWOOF concept, and Bao Sheng Durian Farm has smartly taken advantage of this movement, for it not only brings in volunteers from the West, it also helps provide free exposure to organic farming on the local front.

Mr Chang has been farsighted in making his farm comfortable to receive Western guests. There are chalets and villas for rent and a swimming pool for the guests to use. Pricing is according to season, and is naturally higher during durian fruiting season.

Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Timothy Tye with Mr Chang Teik Seng @ Durian Seng (20 June 2016)


View of the west coast of Penang Island from Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


The durian trees at Bao Sheng were planted decades ago by the current Mr Chang's father, Chang Fatt Hin. (13 June 2016)


Mr Chang's son Zhi Vooi helping to open the durians for participants of the Bao Sheng Durian Festival 2016 (13 June 2016)


Mr Chang explaining things durians to participants of the Bao Sheng Durian Festival 2016 (13 June 2016)


Hill road linking the main house to the guest accommodation at Bao Sheng (13 June 2016)


Chalet at Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Another view of the chalet at Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Guest villa at Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Guest villa at Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)


Swimming pool at Bao Sheng Durian Farm (13 June 2016)

Bao Sheng Durian Festival

The Bao Sheng Durian Festival is an annual durian-appreciation fest organised by durian connoisseur Lindsay Gasik. It drawns mainly Western durian enthusiasts from all over the world to converge on Bao Sheng Durian Farm, where they are given accommodation over the durian of the festival. I met up with the participants for the 2016 fest.

Bao Sheng Durian Festival 2016 (19 June 2016)

How to go to Bao Sheng Durian Farm

If you are coming from the direction of Balik Pulau to Teluk Bahang, Bao Sheng is located immediately after the Titi Kerawang waterfalls. It is at a bend in the road. Look out of the signboard saying "Bao Sheng Durian Farm". Another way to look for the location is to look for the JKR board in front of Bao Sheng Durian Farm which has the number FT006 / 042 / 24.

Bao Sheng Durian Farm location (28 June 2008)

Contact

Bao Sheng Durian Farm
150 Mk.2, Sungai Pinang, 11010 Balik Pulau
Phone: 012-411 0600/012-401 0800

Nearby Sights

Enjoying Durian Feasts at Bao Sheng

I used to organise yearly durian feasts for my website AsiaExplorers, drawing participants from all over the country, particularly those from Penang itself. These feasts are often held at Bao Sheng, indirectly giving a boost to the farm's popularity.

Durian lesson during the 2008 AsiaExplorers Durian Feast (28 June 2008)


Durian Seng explaining how durian is appraised (26 May 2007)


Durian Seng making a point about the durian flesh (1 July 2006)


Durian Seng taking visitors on a walk through his durian farm (28 June 2008)


AsiaExplorers Durian Fest 2016 (1 July 2006)

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.