Actually its used to keep the cockroaches away! Oops SMS beat me to it, damn I thought he was on holiday! There is also a flower called Yulan, which my daughter is called after, she was born at the base of Yang Ming Shan, which is a mountain in Taipei, its a species of Magnolia that smells very nice, and is placed in taxis in Taiwan, I have seen it here too, but not so popular.taxico wrote:if that's what i think it is... it's a smell inside the cab, right?ozchick wrote:it's that corn stuff cab drivers put under their front seat. It is a sickly smell and I can't recall what it is. The locals know...some kind of grain or herb often in a bunch... but it ain't nice. Haven't noticed it so much recently. Do we all get used to it after a while maybe?
And Saint- WHY would they do THAT?! Jeesh.....
it might be 'pandan' leaves. i think cabbies use it as a natural deodorant. i don't know why. maybe coz it's cheap? it's sometimes visible on the rear dashboard.
and on longer cab rides, i would feel sick. that's when i cough a few times, then tell the cabbie i'd like to crank the window down or i'd feel bad if he caught what i have and fell ill.
(ordinarily cabbies don't like their windows rolled down as they have a belief that their a/c would suffer from irreparable damage - an excuse is necessary)
if it's a smell in the environment outside the cab, i don't know what it could be.
There is nothing more disgusting than Beijing for pissing on the street, then the meat deliver wagon arriving and throwing the pork onto the floor, in the main road. There is a stench of piss everywhere close to night clubs and bars, though i guess i am immune to all germs by now! I even recall the public toilets, where you can chat to each other while sat on the throne!
The most disgusting thing i have seen was an old man drinking water from a puddle on the street, that was infested with mossies, when i was there, there was no running water in the hairdressers and people slept in the shops, I used to take them back to campus for a shower, which they had never experienced, I had difficulty getting them out of the shower, even though the room was flooded. Asia you have got to love it!
To think UK is worse, they have baths but never use them, I'm always saying what's that smell! Christ if they did any survey I bet there is only 70% in UK with showers if that! As for durian I had my first turn off, after tasting a piece that was more mature (ripe) than normal ouch, it was really very over powering, I couldn't eat it!