Asianbloke Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Everyone smells different and if you live in one country where most people smell the same that becomes your base smell; you do not recognize it as smelling. For example, people from south asia with their pungent spices and onion rich diet have a rather unique odour, and yet they do not find it offensive in each other as they are accustomed to it. A Thai or westerner on an Air India air plane though can find that smell over powering. The Farang smell is more often than not fungus growing on their skin because their bodies are not used to very humid environments. A wash down once a week with an acid solution such as lime juice or vinegar lowers the pH of the skin and kills it all off. Then the only smell comes from the food they eat. Thais smell as well, but because they are accustomed to the smell, they do not notice it and thus believe everyone smells except for them. That's complete trash. Many people from India (South Asia) don't eat onions/garlic and you are mistaken when say that the entire South Asian diet is onion-rich diet. Some Indians don't eat eggs (actually their numbers have declined over the years in the wake of modernization) A large no. of Indians are complete vegetarians and never ever had any meat/seafood (dead animals) all there life then it is safe to assume that they will find non-vegetarians (that's what we call people who eat meat/seafood in India) stink. Anything that had strong smell including alcohol was shunned by Indian Hindus and hence they stuck to vegetarian food (which does include cereals but no meat/fish) And, what do you have to say about British which eat blood/black pudding early in the morning as it forms a part of full English breakfast in England. They are many more examples that I can give. When we talk about offensive smells here, we are talking about those emanating from poor body hygeine because those which are a result of food habits (alien to other people's olfactory senses) dissipates rapidly when one uses a mouth wash or something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinchester Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Only foreigners I have heard Thais complaining about the smell have been Japanese and Indians. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Only foreigners I have heard Thais complaining about the smell have been Japanese and Indians. Few people will be rude enough to tell you to your face that they find your smell (or others like you) offensive... But I'm always v aware that if I've been sweating - and who doesn't sweat here - then I need to take a shower before going out again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendejo Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 ... Depends on if you consider the smell of alcohol and broken dreams to be an offensive odor. ... If you're going to post stuff like this you're going to have to show your poetic license. (but a 500 baht gift will suffice). Dreams ain't broken down here, they're walking with a limp --Tom Waits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penkoprod Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 A quote from the book "Roots" by Alex Haley, where an elder is describing how to detect the white man's presence to the young tribesmen who have never seen a white man. "And remember, when you are close to where he has been, his scent remains in the air. It is a smell like a wet chicken. The white man is here." Penkoprod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardenedSoul Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 If we do sweat more, it's probably to do with the fact that we maybe walk around more than Thais do. Some of us think Thais avoid walking out of laziness but it really is because they don't want to sweat. I'd like to think that most foreigners feel obliged to shower at least twice a day especially if they're out and about town so, in instances where I've noticed a "ripe" odour from westerners, I've put it down to less-than-thorough laundering processes. I went through several laundry services in BKK because of their insistence on using cool water and cheap, Mickey Mouse detergents that simply didn't get my clothes clean. Finally found a good one who actually respects my insistence on minimum 40 degree washes and thorough rinsing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommoPhysicist Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) If my wife doesn't like the way I smell, she drags me into the shower and washes me, which inevitably leads to ....... If my wife doesn't like my earwax ...... attack with cotton buds. Excess nasal hair ....... attack with tweezers. Fingernails and toenails ...... get the idea? My personal grooming level is much higher in Thailand than it ever was in the UK. Mainly because if the wife sees or smells something she doesn't like, she considers it her duty to put right. I can only assume the western guys that go out stinking are single. Oh, and the day I tried to sneak out to a Karaoke bar with her brother, she grabbed me as I was leaving, and insisted I had a shower and change my clothes. "I don't want the young girl sitting on your lap all evening, to think I'm a bad wife". Edited August 18, 2012 by TommoPhysicist 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjj Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 If my wife doesn't like the way I smell, she drags me into the shower and washes me, which inevitably leads to ....... If my wife doesn't like my earwax ...... attack with cotton buds. Excess nasal hair ....... attack with tweezers. Fingernails and toenails ...... get the idea? My personal grooming level is much higher in Thailand than it ever was in the UK. Mainly because if the wife sees or smells something she doesn't like, she considers it her duty to put right. I can only assume the western guys that go out stinking are single. Oh, and the day I tried to sneak out to a Karaoke bar with her brother, she grabbed me as I was leaving, and insisted I had a shower and change my clothes. "I don't want the young girl sitting on your lap all evening, to think I'm a bad wife". So in Farangland you looked like a Gruffalo? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 So in Farangland you looked like a Gruffalo? :-) His eyes are orange, his tongue is black, he's got purple prickles all over his back! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelmann Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 My only problem with thais is bad breath, so the solution is deodorant for one and mouth wash for the other. I find they have bad breath but its masked by chillies, on saying that I think once over mid 30's everyone does no matter how hard they clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinrada Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Only ones I really notice especially on the crowded com train in the morning is the character who has obviously spent the night sleeping in an ash tray....jesu...wota honk......... ...men can be just as bad...and in the hot weather.......phueeeee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surin steve Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Lived in Thailand 30 odd years and Have never heard any Thais complain about farangs smelling exepting the hippy type back packers and Arabs and Indians I do beleve though the sence of what smells good or bad between farang and Thai is very different we cooked a joint of lamb once and all our Thai friends complained about the terrible smell while they sit and eat fermented fish (pla lar) which to me smells worse than a burning tire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaBanana Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Every fox smells his own hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyserSoze01 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 So thanks for that TV........I've gone from being a fine and upstanding member of the community to a vinegar doused chip shop stalking ladyboy loving weirdo. Look on the bright side, you will now fit in perfectly with the expat crew in Thailand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyb789 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) Farangs do a lot of walking. Thais generally make sure they never break a sweat. Having said that, I seem to meet a lot of Thai girls that don't know about deodorant. But most the deodorant I find in THailand never works anyway. I always bring back 2 year supply everytime I visit home. Edited August 18, 2012 by kyb789 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huayrat Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thao skool girls are worse.. they stink my car out everyday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I am currently smelling a little of beer. I confidently predict this whiff will get stronger as the day goes on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyserSoze01 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 My only problem with thais is bad breath, so the solution is deodorant for one and mouth wash for the other. I find they have bad breath but its masked by chillies, on saying that I think once over mid 30's everyone does no matter how hard they clean. No amount of chilles can cover up the pungent aroma of phrik nam pla. If farang smell like dairy products, many Thais breath smells like dead fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuturatica Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 This thread is pointless. Anyone, any race, anywhere can smell if they don't shower or clean themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 This thread is pointless. Anyone, any race, anywhere can smell if they don't shower or clean themselves. Yes but what do they smell of? This is Thaivisa so every nook and cranny must be sniffed. Ugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestar Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Timely topic. Just came back on the BTS and had to change seats because of the stink, second time this week. If you are visiting Bangkok and do a lot of walking, take a replacement shirt or something, an aircon taxi once in a while isn't going to ruin you either I am a farang, so no racism here, but honestly sometimes it's embarrassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Apparently it takes 6 hours before sweat starts to smell sour...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastitche Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Actually a higher body fat % and being overweight does make people sweat more. Seeing that many foreigners are fatter then Thais in general id say yes they smell a lot worse. Add to that the fact that many Thais seem to stay dry and don't sweat at all and you got a winner. I used to sweat a lot more when i was heavier, now i still sweat more then the average Thai, i just make sure i shower enough or have a spare t shirt with me. I'm not sure that you are seeing the same farangs as I am, most of the ones I know could not be described as fatter than the local Thais where obesity is not uncommon; perhaps it depends where you live. Sweating is a natural response of the body and its odour may well be nfluenced by the food that is eaten but your ideal of having no fat and an excess of muscle is not natural and completely contrary to how the modern human evolved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quadman Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I have heard that some Thais seem to think that Europeans smell of butter?? ...... And some smell of money, bad smell? No not really, less its a fistful of coins left for the night, then you stink to high heaven in some parts of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quadman Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Timely topic. Just came back on the BTS and had to change seats because of the stink, second time this week.If you are visiting Bangkok and do a lot of walking, take a replacement shirt or something, an aircon taxi once in a while isn't going to ruin you either I am a farang, so no racism here, but honestly sometimes it's embarrassing. But some of the taxis smell worse than a week long dead farang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Just shower or wash properly! I never use anti-perspirant, just deodorant. I sweat a ridiculous amount - shirts you can whring out after 3-4 hours, but I shower at least 3 times a day, mostly just to cool off and I don't smell. You ''think'' you don't smell . Do you think smelly people realize they smell ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msg362 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I have heard that some Thais seem to think that Europeans smell of butter?? I've heard that too, Thais don't eat butter and now, after eating it i can smell it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I'm reeking of beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Heard somewhere, or read it that Japanese people think we smell slightly of meat and to us they have the slight odour of seafood, how's that for delicate. Must admit though that one morning my wife and I got in a lift in BKK to go down for breakfast and four rather large farang people got in, this is at 8am by the way, it was quite obvious that most if not all had not had a shower as the smell of stale sweat was pretty bad. Not a back street hotel by the way, one of the main hotels on Petchaburi road. For me it's a hang on from being in the army for 12 years where some had to be "instructed" in the fine art of personnal cleanliness during basic training. Seeing someone scrubbed down with 4 or 5 Bass Brooms in a shower leaves a long lasting impression. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
submaniac Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I'm reeking of beer! Yeah you are. I can smell you over the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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