what's that smell?

Bali, 2015

Bali is gorgeous. That is well known. Many people consider it paradise.

What is less well known is that Bali does not actually smell like paradise.

As soon as we landed and drove to our accommodations, we immediately noticed a persistent acrid burning smell. The primary reason for this I have mentioned elsewhere: there was no garbage collection or recycling when we were in Bali in 2015. Instead, people burned their trash; all paper, food scraps, and even plastic. And it was the burning plastic that filled our noses with a smoky chemical scent. It was harsh and pervasive and impossible to escape.

The cottage we rented had a housekeeper/gardener who came every couple of days to take care of things. When he arrived, one of the first things he did is gather the trash and recycling we had carefully separated, put it all in one pile in a corner of the yard, and burn it. And since our cottage was somewhat open air, the smoke would waft through the rooms and cause everything to smell like burned plastic.

So that was fun. (Not.)

But beyond the smoky scent of burning plastic, there was another pervasive smell in Bali. Something more organic that would come and go as we moved around. It would hit us in the face as soon as we walked into markets and grocery stores and it took us a couple of days to identify. Was it ... rotting onions? sewage? decomposing animal? It was cloying and triggered a mild gag reflex every time. What was it? It wasn't everywhere, but it was a lot of places.

We eventually figured out that the smell was durian, a large, prickly fruit that is famous for its strong, intense (and frankly, disgusting) odor. So much so that it's actually banned in some places, such as hotels and public transportation. Some people love it, some people hate it, so I guess it's the cilantro of Indonesia.

We never ate durian, as we just couldn't get past the odor. When we were returning home at the end of our trip and spent time in the Singapore airport, we passed a bakery that specialized in durian pastries but we did not buy anything. If pastries can’t convince us to try something, you know it’s bad. Maybe it's damn delicious but we just couldn’t do it.

Have you ever tried durian? And have you ever traveled somewhere and been completely surprised by how it smelled?

It occurs to me that this is the third post I’ve written about our visit to Bali in which I sound more negative about it than it merits. I promise it’s a beautiful place and I have no regrets about going.