As summer comes upon us, the heat does too! The Shanghai heat is infamous for its high temperatures, raging humidity, and killer mosquitoes. All of which I thought I could deal with. I love the heat, I don’t have temperamental hair, and I will always be prone to mosquitoes biting me… it’s time to get over it. But it was during a typical commute home from work that the one thing that I couldn’t deal with hit me.

The smell of summer.
As I should have expected Shanghai people sweat and it doesn’t smell pretty. On the train packed in like sardines, with arms up grabbing the plastic handrails the summer heat gets the best of everyone.

It’s worse than anything I’ve ever smelled. The smell of BO is pungent, like dead animals are rotting under the seats of the train. You can even taste it in your mouth. The humid air had taken the reaping smell and turned into a wet paste that entered through your nose and landed on your tongue. A sour taste of spoiled chicken noodle soup and moldy orange juice.

One often expects the smell of summer to consist of flowers, barbeques and haystacks. For some those smells are bad because their allergies get the best of them but for most these reassuring smells remind them of the carefree days of childhood. In Shanghai, the smells of summer aren’t so grand!

Maybe the city should provide coupons for extra deodorant during the summer time!