the stench of Thailand

[StreetCowboy]

I once worked in Runcorn for a couple of years, you get used to it.

I'll not bore you with the whole joke (it's a bit unsavoury), but the punchline was "....so I took her to Widnes"

[Totster]

I believe us westerners are too sensitive to, as you put it, "germs and hygeine [sic]"

Refrigerate this, wash this with dettol, cook this to a precise temperature.. it's health and safety gone over the top. Don't forget just a century ago people didn't have refridgerators, didn't know about cooking things to a certain temperature (just relied on knowing when it was cooked) etc... The human race still survived.

While I agree that to our standards things seem rather dirty here in some cases, I don't worry about it. Our bodies are able to build immunity against germs so these conditions won't affect us in the long run.

So, in conclusion, Thailand is not the place to be if you are a mild hypercondriact or have a sensitive nose/stomach, but we each have our foibles eh ?

totster

Really? So how come the magical ability to build immunity against the "germs" does not protect the thousands of Thais who die each year due to GI related illness?

Why do Thais have such a high mortality associated with simple infections?

Sorry, but you should check out the WHO data for some basic illnesses.

If Thais were blessed with the ability to protect against bacteria, there wouldn't be a TB crisis going on now would there?

Food borne illness is rampant in Thailand. Because it is neither tracked, nor reported on does not mean that there isn't a problem.

Well, yes.. there are deaths from germs all over the world I suppose, even those places with no bad smells ...... maybe I should have said

"Our bodies are able to build more resistance against germs so these conditions won't affect us too much in the long run"

Also, us as foreigners usually have access to better medical care than many Thai's, if we want it.. not sure if we should be worried about simple infections..

Like I said, I don't have any worries.. and I certainly don't obsess about bad smells and the likes..

Cheers

totster

[ghworker2010]

I always step off the plane and "smell" the heat and I'm happy.

Wouldn't eat street food though ........... but that's been covered elsewhere.

I couldnt agree more. I just got back from 3 months away and the first 2 hours noticed the smell and was happy here

[WhingeingMoaners]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

[StreetCowboy]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

I think you've really highlighted the importance of a pleasant tolerant and cheerful disposition. Whenever we whinge or moan unpleasantly, or criticise rudely and offensively, there's plenty more who come out the woodwork to show that they can be more unpleasantly offensive still.

SC

[Commander Tamson]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

Have you ever written a post that has actually contributed anything to a thread? They definitely all have one common denominator!

[StreetCowboy]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

Have you ever written a post that has actually contributed anything to a thread? They definitely all have one common denominator!

I like to feel I have contributed little or nothing to keeping this thread on topic. As well as Widnes and Runcorn, what about Redcar, or Hartlepoole? Grangemouth?

Who else finds that the smell of two-stroke motorcycles reminds them of cut grass?

SC

[stoneyboy]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

Have you ever written a post that has actually contributed anything to a thread? They definitely all have one common denominator!

I like to feel I have contributed little or nothing to keeping this thread on topic. As well as Widnes and Runcorn, what about Redcar, or Hartlepoole? Grangemouth?

Who else finds that the smell of two-stroke motorcycles reminds them of cut grass?

SC

We even have the books to prove it.

[maccaroni man]

Funny but this subject is what my wife and I were just talking about. Koh Samui is beautiful and we own a beautiful villa but the stench of rotten flesh is everywhere.

[maccaroni man]

Edit that it is not everywhere it is on most main roads though

[martynsnowmans]

Having sailed into hundreds of different ports in Asian Countries, many had their own 'signature' odours. Singapore was always a standout. In the still, early morning air, you could smell Singapore long before you ever sighted land. I loved it so. Home again.

the very same can be said about GRIMSBY U.K ....

[toybits]

Where does the OP live? The slum areas (Favelas) of Klong Toey?

[David48]

I once worked in Runcorn for a couple of years, you get used to it.

'Runcorn' ... Australia?

[stoneyboy]

I once worked in Runcorn for a couple of years, you get used to it.

'Runcorn' ... Australia?

One word hazard a guess as not the one in Australia.

But the one in Cheshire.

With such delights as the Manchester ship canal.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Some places are worse than others, Bangkok and Pattaya being two that are particularly bad.

[rene123]

There is a tree in northern Thailand that produces an amazing fragrance, but the lovely scent only happens after dark. I look for blossoms but can't find any. If I could find a similar perfume I would love to purchase some. I've asked the locals if they know the name of tree, but nobody seems to know.

[seajae]

Where does the OP live? The slum areas (Favelas) of Klong Toey?

hahaha, nice try, I live in Surat Thani in a not very old "village: but this isnt confined to one place, it is everywhere from the business districts of Bangkok to the holiday areas of Phuket. Anyone thinking this is knocking Thailand is being precious, customs are fine and I understand them but ignoring the enviroment because you cant be buggered doing the right thing is something else. Every country has bad areas but here it is everywhere, appologists like you just make it worse by ignoring it and denigrating anyone that talks about it. For a country going out of its way to promote itself as a holiday destination I fail to understand why they are so backward when it comes to hygeine/keeping the country clean, is it total lack of respect for their own country/enviroment or are some people simply too lazy, no one seems to be able to answer this question, just make excuses. Understanding how thai people think would be a great start but trying to get an answer is near impossible apart from trolls that simply want to bitch.

[seajae]

There is a tree in northern Thailand that produces an amazing fragrance, but the lovely scent only happens after dark. I look for blossoms but can't find any. If I could find a similar perfume I would love to purchase some. I've asked the locals if they know the name of tree, but nobody seems to know.

Actually frangipani/plumeria/ lillawadee release their perfume at night as well to attract moths, with the heat here the scent can be pretty good and drift for some distance. With 6,000 trees on the farm in Australia, summer nights were quite nice but there are a multitude of trees that emit a great scent.

[MrJohnson]

I have always thought that TAT should dispense with 'Land of Smiles' and introduce 'Land of Smells' as a marketing tag line. Far more appropriate. All jokes aside, I am always amazed at how you can walk along a street in Thailand and have your olfactory senses bombarded with some of the best and worst smells in the world. I love walking past the garland sellers near the Erawan Shrine - beautiful floral aromas transport me to a tropical botanic garden. Ten steps on as I reach the intersection of Rajadamri and Ploenchit my senses are assaulted by the drain - smells from the depths of the Chao Phraya, a toxic blend of putrid, anaerobic fecal matter, food scraps and other refuse. Down on through Siam Square I pass a gaggle of office girls on the way to lunch leaving a heady trail of perfume down the footpath, next I pass the delectable barbecue chicken and also plunge headlong into a vat of boiling oxidized oil full of Chinese doughnuts – heart attack via my nasal cavity straight to the aorta. Just as I am about to expire my nose is cleared with a wrinkled old crone stirring up a mix of Thai basil leaves, pork and chill. Hoo Haa! Please pass me a tissue. Several sneezes later and I recover, eyes still misty but I’m back on my feet. Oops, pee corner, tucked just next to the escalator entrance to the BTS. ‘Don’t breathe through your nose’, I tell myself. Five minutes later I am happily enclosed in the sterile, and frigid, cabin of the BTS. All good! No, I spoke too soon. A crowd of sweaty westerners, scantily clad in Beer Lao singlets boards the train. Maybe that train wasn’t so bad after all. No, just kidding. Anyway, I am now writing to TAT to make my suggestion about ‘Thailand – Land of Smells’. What do you think, does it have legs?

First name's not Samual is it?

Brilliant post mate!

No, the names not Samual, Commander. And thanks for your comment.

[Sayonarax]

You aint seen nothing till you go to India..

[Danny Dyer]

I thought the same thing when I visited some tourist attractions in Thailand. Sometimes I could not help holding my breath. Then I realised it was the overpowering stink of unwashed Farangs who tend to ooze out their cheesy odour. Unpleasant smells are ubiquitous in Thailand and generally Thais tolerate them without comment. I guess the additional stink of unwashed Farangs, who seem unaware of their own pong, is just another odour Thais will have to get used to.

Toby.

[toybits]

There are a few plants that are night bloomers. . . such as those belonging to the Jasmine family. One such plant is called Dok Rat-tree - or evening plant. It exudes an almost overpowering sweet smell. As it is a jasmine species, do not look for a large tree. It is a smallish bush with cream or yellow tinted blossoms. Dok Mali (Jasminum sambac) which is commonly used for leis also releases its sweet smell in the late afternoons and early evenings. By the following morning, the blossoms fall off. Just guessing that this might be your plant.

There is a tree in northern Thailand that produces an amazing fragrance, but the lovely scent only happens after dark. I look for blossoms but can't find any. If I could find a similar perfume I would love to purchase some. I've asked the locals if they know the name of tree, but nobody seems to know.

[Commander Tamson]

You aint seen nothing till you go to India..

The Hooghly & The Ganges being particularly fragrant (not)! They used to say that the Hooghly was the <deleted> of the world and Culcutta (now Kolkata) was 100miles up it.

[Nana Cowboy]

Wow pal you got stench troubles. sorry to hear about it. As for my personal experience no more stench here than I got back in the USA

[JSixpack]

Maybe something's wrong w/ your nose. Get a doc to check it out.

[poanoi]

The stink on soi buakaow is enuff to take down an elephant

[MrWorldwide]

There are a few plants that are night bloomers. . . such as those belonging to the Jasmine family. One such plant is called Dok Rat-tree - or evening plant. It exudes an almost overpowering sweet smell. As it is a jasmine species, do not look for a large tree. It is a smallish bush with cream or yellow tinted blossoms. Dok Mali (Jasminum sambac) which is commonly used for leis also releases its sweet smell in the late afternoons and early evenings. By the following morning, the blossoms fall off. Just guessing that this might be your plant.

There is a tree in northern Thailand that produces an amazing fragrance, but the lovely scent only happens after dark. I look for blossoms but can't find any. If I could find a similar perfume I would love to purchase some. I've asked the locals if they know the name of tree, but nobody seems to know.

Agree that most of the Jasmine sp. smell great, but this is the night-bloomer that seems to get the oldies here in Oz all lathered up. Sadly, it's a nightshade and not a good choice for those with pets or farm animals, Of course, if you dont want said animals on your property ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunfelsia

Personally, I find the scent to be a little too close to something an older woman might wear - give me Frangipani any day even if is more subtle from a distance, but overall I prefer bird-attracting plants, particularly Grevillea, Banksia and Callistemon. Prune them regularly, ensure you dont plant in heavy soil and they will take anything the Aussie sun can dish up. I grew them successfully in Rocky's often humid climate but I dont know how they would fare in Thailand - CM seems to suit many ornamentals that wont grow further south.

[historyprof]

Worst smelling place I have ever lived was in Oregon, Tualatin on a hill overlooking a dog food canner. The donkeys cooking was enough to gag a maggot. I moved to a farm in Arkansas and had chicken houses on one side and a pig houses on the other. So I moved to Thailand and have had no problems here.

[teatree]

Personal hygiene in Thailand is excellent.

Others types of hygiene...especially food hygiene...are shocking.

[giddyup]

I always step off the plane and "smell" the heat and I'm happy.

Wouldn't eat street food though ........... but that's been covered elsewhere.

street food isnt a problem if you eat where the crowds eat, its the quiet places that arent recomended.

Just because the Thais don't get sick from street food doesn't mean you won't. Have you ever thought about the conditions under which most of this food is prepared, and what actually goes into it (besides cockroaches and mouse droppings) and how many times it gets warmed over? I must admit when I first came here I'd eat anything, usually after falling out of a bar after a dozen beers. These days I'm a lot more discerning and only eat what the missus prepares or from a restaurant that at least has the appearance of being clean. Call me fussy.