I arrived in Singapore on Friday. I haven't travelled in Asia at all. The only place I've been is a trip to Bali with my family when I was 12.
I'm here for 5 days before I head down to Darwin to visit my sister. Since I've decided to delay getting a job again I'm on a pretty small budget. Yep, I'm even staying in a dorm room, gap student style.
Arriving here reminded me yet again what an amazing sense smell is. I was almost immediately transported back in my memory to that first overseas trip as a twelve year old. I think Asia has very distinctive smells: the food and all the amazing spices, the woody yet plasticky smell of the clothes, the flowers in the humid air.
To my nose Latin America also has a very distinctive smell, I think primarily from the cleaning products. I remember landing in Mexico City having first travelled to South America some 18 months earlier and not been able to stop commenting on the similarity of the smell.
In Europe the smell is more familiar but still memorable. One of my favourite aspects of a trip cycling around Provence last June was experiencing the beautiful smells of the countryside (including the infamous lavender) all day long.
Finally, there is the smell of home - one of my favourite things about NZ which I mentioned in my last post.
Of course I'm not just enjoying Singapore's smells, the food has been incredible and the architecture outstanding. Due to budget constraints I've mainly been sticking to hawker stalls for food and wandering the streets to fill my time. I've even satisfied my inner planning lawyer geek by finding a gallery (with no admission fee) solely dedicated to the town planning history of Singapore. (The Singapore City Gallery).
All in all, a great foray into the world of Asia.
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