The Power of Smells

I don't know about you, but I have always been quite sensitive to smells, a lot of memories, of events or emotional states, are linked with smells in my mind. Having grown up near the sea, the salty smell of the ocean transports me right back to faint memories of the beach, sandcastles, warm summers in bathing suits, and my impressive jellyfish collection. Or take fresh coriander, in my case the smell is addictive to me, a bag of fresh coriander will last me a while, reminding me of cooking sessions with friends, and the lovely curries that were the results. Or coffee, especially freshly ground and brewed first thing in the morning...

In a country that has not quite gotten the hang of sewage treatment, or even street cleaning, smells are a daily part of your life. Which isn't meant to say that all smells here are bad. Yes, you do have the bad ones too, especially if you chose a seat close to the gutter running by the food court you are eating at. But also, since this is THE country of food, you are constantly haunted by wonderful smells of braised vegetables, cooked meat, fried rice, spices and herbs... it's mouthwatering. And then you are dragged back to earth by the scent wafting in from the garbage bag next to the sidewalk, which the dogs have ripped open in search of dinner.

Nonetheless, some smells are just heavenly. Imagine travelling around for a while, and staying in cheap places. Yes, you have found a cheap place, but it's clean. However, since they have to make do on the money they earn from the guests they save elsewhere, such as using less detergent when washing the sheets and covers. So these will have a fairly neutral odour, and with a bit of bad luck you may have a faint smell of sweat, possible from the pillow underneath the cover. My pillow did not really have much of a smell, which I only noticed by comparison when I moved on to the next place and booked into a place a little pricier, since it was right by the beach. A place that sends their laundry out to the professionals. The pillows smelled of fresh laundry soap and drier, this warm breezy fragrance that transports me back to times when I was supposed to help my mum put away the washing, fresh from the drier on a cold winter's day, but I never could resist throwing myself into the pile, swimming in the warmth and the cloud of fresh laundry smells, and only releasing the clothes when I had completely soaked up the heat. Is there anything that smells better? To me at least there isn't. But then I am also incapable of passing by a laundry without someone dragging me away bodily from the wonderful scent outside the ventilation, where you can sometimes even see, and feel, the warm steam from the machines inside.

Which reminds me, now back in KL, I should wash my pillow case, just so that I have something wonderful to sink into when I go to sleep tonight...