When we travel, we usually talk about seeing new places. But the reality is that it involves just more than one sense.
I was reminded of this in a mundane way when a woman pointed at a stall on the side of a road in Ban Phe, near where I am currently staying in Thailand, and asked me if I knew what fruit was being sold.
“Sure,” I said. “That’s durian.” Then I held me fingers to my nose and added, “Smelly!”
The young Thai woman replied: “Yes, but I like it.”
I remarked that some people loved it and others hated it, there was no in-between — I was going to add “like Marmite or Vegemite”, but I didn’t think she’d get the reference.
Durian are banned from many hotel rooms, on airlines and other confined spaces because of their pungent odour. But that odour is a much-loved fact of life in South East Asia — as are many other smells, ranging from fragrant flowers and sensual spices to stinky cesspits.
And, of course, there is so much to taste in your travels. Everywhere you go, the food tells a story. National cuisines are built around the geography, ecology and history of the place.
Cold countries have solid, hearty food, often created from minimal ingredients, while those places blessed with abundant produce offer a range of tastes to tease the traveller’s palate.
Historically, the introduction of an ingredient can change an entire eating culture. For example, it’s hard to imagine southern European food without tomatoes, yet they are relatively new additions to the menu, only arriving from America in the 16th Century.
And don’t get me started on the beverages, which can truly define a place. Germany without beer? Russia without vodka? Unthinkable.
Meanwhile, as I write this, I can hear chirping in the distance. The birds, and the sounds they make, are different everywhere you go.
As it is with the croaking of frogs, some birds just have to be heard. A friend who returned to Australia recently noted how he was delighted when he heard the call of the kookaburra for the first time in years.
Many of us travel to hear the music we love, or to experience new sounds. There is plenty to be heard, from the call to prayer in the Middle East and Asia to church bells across the Western world. There are choirs and orchestras and bands of all genres to savour, along with the crisp speech of actors on a stage and the laughter of children in the street enjoying simple pleasures.
Even the sounds of industry — a foundry, a shipbuilding yard or a construction site — can be beautiful if they add to the story of a destination.
The message is that the full experience of travel includes everything you can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. Enjoy it all. Even the smelly bits.
