Does Southeast Asia smell?

What a ridiculous question! Everywhere “smells” - that's part of life. The smells around us right now we scarcely notice, unless they are unusually pleasant or pungent, but anyone from a very different culture would immediately notice them. read more

I visited Southeast Asia off and on for more than thirty years, sometimes staying for months, and I certainly wasn’t bothered by the smell in general. One smell on which Southeast Asians and outsiders agree is that of durian, a fruit with a wonderful custardy taste accompanied by a totally rank odor. read more

Southeast Asia is a collection of related but dissimilar states squeezed between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. read more

Talking about Bangkok, it has a unique, intoxicating smell that might drive you back to this place again, intense due to various factors: burning charcoal, fish sauce, exhaust fumes, diesel incense, canal water, pungent fire smell, cologne, dried squid, fruits like mango and durian, dozens of spices, its air and humid weather. read more