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The Fragrance of a City
By Mihar Dias August 2026
There are things we forget almost instantly. Hotel room numbers. Taxi registration plates. Even the names of people who insisted we “must keep in touch.”
But smells?
Smells never leave us.
Scientists have spent years explaining how the human nose has a direct hotline to the brain's memory department. The rest of us didn't need scientists. We already knew.
The first time I landed in Bali many years ago, I stepped into the lobby of a hotel in Nusa Dua and was greeted by the unmistakable fragrance of tuberose. Sweet. Delicate. Almost hypnotic. It floated through the air-conditioning ducts as if every molecule had been instructed to whisper, “Relax. You're on holiday.”
Since then, whenever I encounter that scent anywhere in the world, my mind packs its bags and flies straight back to Bali. No passport required.
That is the remarkable power of aroma.
Unfortunately, the reverse is equally true.
Some smells are ambassadors. Others are fugitives.
Anyone who has wandered through a crowded city on a hot afternoon knows exactly what stale perspiration smells like. It is the scent of buses without windows, trains without ventilation and office workers who have fought both traffic jams and tropical humidity before breakfast.
It is hardly the fragrance tourism boards dream of bottling.
Recently, however, I discovered that one need not travel very far for this particular sensory experience.
Our supposedly upmarket condominium has developed an unexpected attraction.
The air-conditioning in the lobby has broken down.
Normally this would qualify as a maintenance issue. But without cool circulating air, the lobby has transformed into an experimental laboratory demonstrating what happens when yesterday's sweat decides to spend another night indoors.
The moment the lift doors open each morning, the aroma greets residents with all the enthusiasm of an unpaid debt collector.
It does not knock politely.
It attacks.
One almost expects it to produce an identity card and announce, “Welcome home.”
It is extraordinary how quickly one's expensive condominium begins to resemble the memory of a crowded city pavement after a tropical downpour.
Marble floors?
Imported lighting?
Designer furniture?
None of them stands a chance.
A single unpleasant smell defeats millions spent on architecture.
Property developers devote fortunes to landscaping, water features and Italian tiles. Interior designers argue passionately over paint shades that differ only to trained eyes.
Yet somewhere nobody asks the simplest question.
“What does this place actually smell like?”
Hotels understand this.
Luxury boutiques understand this.
Casinos certainly understand this.
Many intentionally create signature fragrances because they know guests remember emotions long after they forget décor.
Imagine if Kuala Lumpur embraced the same philosophy.
Instead of tourists leaving with memories of overheated lifts and crowded pavements, they might associate the city with jasmine, pandan, frangipani or yes, even tuberose.
Every arrival hall.
Every hotel lobby.
Every public building.
Every condominium entrance.
Cities spend billions promoting themselves through slogans.
Perhaps they should invest a little more in perfumes.
After all, no visitor has ever returned home and told friends, “The marble flooring was unforgettable.”
But they will say, “There was something about that place. It smelled wonderful.”
Or unfortunately…
“It smelled like someone had forgotten yesterday.”
Our condominium management may eventually repair the air-conditioning. I sincerely hope they do.
Not merely because residents deserve cool air.
But because every building, like every city, deserves a pleasant first impression.
After all, memories have a funny habit of travelling through the nose.
And unlike maintenance contractors, they rarely arrive late.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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