Thai name: Farang
Season: all year
No one seems to know how the Thais came to call the guava by the same name used for Westerners, but perhaps the fact that the fruit originally came from Spain had something to do with it. In any event, the guava is one of the most popular fruits for snacks, eaten either ripe or when still green dipped in a bit of salt or sugar. In addition to the usual one with white flesh, another variety is bright red when peeled.
In modern times, Phuket's economy rests on two pillars: rubber tree plantations (making Thailand the biggest producer of rubber in the world) and tourism, with a thriving diving industry attracting thousands of divers each year.