Do farangs smell bad to Thai people?

[pdm3547]

I've read a number of articles about how bad farangs smell to Thai people. This could be anything from a dairy-rich diet, to simple lack of hygiene.

What experience do UK/US ex-pats have of Thai complaining about our malodorous tendencies?

[Lung Per]

None. But don`t be a stinker.

[dtaai-maai]

Never heard this one before. Perhaps more frequent showers are called for...?

[Rob W]

Ive been told by some Chinese friends that its generally known that we smell to the asian nose of sour milk.
showered or not and its due to our consumpion of dairy products, which is tradionally not consumed by asian people.

Rob

[richard]

They have a very keen sense of smell. Remember being in a restaurant down Nebkehardt with my ex some years back and she complained to the waitress that they should move a fan as it was located behind the owner who sweated profusely.

Maybe our diet does effect our body odour. When I lived in Zimbabwe I was told by the locals I worked with that foreigners smelt of pork.

[dtaai-maai]

When I lived in Zimbabwe I was told by the locals I worked with that foreigners smelt of pork.

Only when being roasted over an open fire...

[Nereus]

.................Maybe our diet does effect our body odour. When I lived in Zimbabwe I was told by the locals I worked with that foreigners smelt of pork.

You obviously misunderstood them--they were talking about eating you!

And Thais cook dried fish and do not think it smells!

[PeteC]

It's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. Take a whiff of any parade of Thai patrons departing from their sum tum lunch, or any meal accompanied by a variety of fish paste used as a condiment, or a snack of dried squid. Not just breath but on their clothes and in their hair for hours.

But of course, this is their place so they can smell as they wish. Pete

[PeteC]

This "dairy rich diet" confuses me as well. Probably half of Thai TV commercials are about milk, yogurt, ice cream and associated. There isn't a Thai school kid who doesn't drink some kind of milk several times a day. It's pushed as a health benefit.

As for foreigners over 40 which represent most living here, those I know have significantly cut their dairy intake for health reasons. I would bet our daily intake of dairy is the same or less than a Thai kid.

It's all a bunch of racist nonsense, similar to a foreigner walking around London sniffing at Thais to see if they smell like fish sauce.

If they're talking body odor, that's a different deal. Unclean and stinking is a universal trait of the great unwashed, Thai included, although it does seem stronger with foreigners after exercise or out walking in the heat. Perhaps a bottle of roll-on on the tables along with the nahm blah pic and sriracha sauce would be a good idea.

[Spitfire]

Indeed, all the locals eating that fermented fish sause (pla ra), amongst other goulish things, can't do any wonders for their body odour either.

[dtaai-maai]

It's all a bunch of racist nonsense, similar to a foreigner walking around London sniffing at Thais to see if they smell like fish sauce.

I wouldn't get too het up about it.

Apart from one poster's Chinese friends and the unlinked 'articles' referred to by the OP, nobody seems to have had any experience of this.

Mrs DM is here with a friend, so I asked them. Mrs DM clearly thought I'd been sniffing the incense sticks or sneaking a glass of sang som. Her friend, on the other hand said that farang use perfume and aftershave more often than Thais and it lingers on their bodies...

[Terry]

Just try holding your breath when traveling on Delhi Metro - unfortunately it's very difficult.........

[PeteC]

This whole thread stinks and really gets up my nose!

[Lung Per]

I smell a troll!

[moater]

There was a similar thread on thaivisa about 2 years back (not allowed to post links yet, google it). I think the conclusions were lack of hygiene and/or dairy rich diet, which makes farangs smell like sour milk.