30/07/2024
So much of my modern Bangkok life is spent indoors in purified, cool, air, that I've forgotten that this city has a really distinct aroma.
In my student days as an international kid homesick abroad I remember we would talk about that first instance of stepping off the plane at Don Muang Airport onto the stairs. As one left the climate controlled airplane, the heat and humidity and smell would envelope you, signalling that you were home -- truly back to a very different place.
Yesterday, I discovered a local perfume company that tries to capture some of these scents. "Zilom" and "Khrungdhep by the Rain" intrigued me and somehow smelled accurate, but I couldn't explain why. As an experiment, I sprayed two testers and had my husband guess. He got them both correct without hesitation and laughed, "I grew up in Silom, of course I'd get it right! 'Zilom' smells like the Hindu temple -- flowers and incense, and the other smells like Lumpinee park after the rain!"
(This was at Gaysorn Amarin, but also available online.)
