Peanuts and Puke (and other wonderful aromas)

Anyone who has ever used an outhouse in July knows that heat magnifies smell. And it's hot here in Thailand. Like the 100's.

It is fairly common knowledge that many pregnant women have a "super nose." They can smell things before others can, at times gagging at how strong it is. And I'm pregnant.

If you've been to Thailand, you know that they cook some...repulsive things. And then eat them. And think that it tastes good.

Most mornings I wake up at 6:00 to the sound of my neighbor pounding- she has a stone morter and pestle- chilies or garlic or something. We live in a concrete townhouse, so things echo and are pretty loud. Until yesterday morning.

So here I am in Thailand, pregnant, and the smells are kind of offensive to my hyper-sensitive nose. But besides the sewer and rotten fish, the smells haven't been all that bad. Until yesterday morning.

I was pleasantly surprised to sleep until 7:30 with no pounding! I really enjoyed that until I stepped outside our bedroom door. My first thought was, "Did someone throw up in the stairs?" Then, "Peanuts?!?" And then the gagging started. No actual puking, but the smell was so horrific it was triggering my already overworked gag reflex. David smelled it too, so I know I wasn't just imagining the atrocious scent. Needless to say, we left and went out for breakfast.
On our way back from breakfast, one road we drove through smelled like rotten tomatoes and body odor. "WHAT IS WITH THE NASTY COMBOS TODAY?!" I thought to myself. Puke and peanuts? Rotten tomatoes and body odor? And it's not even really hot, they tell me. Oh so glad I won't be here in April. I think I would probably not make it.
I'm not sure what our lovely neighbors had to eat that morning, but I figured we were safe until after we leave Mae Sot. After all, it's the first time she's made that in a month, so it would be another four weeks or so until she cooked that again. And how often could you even eat that? Right?
Wrong.

Late this afternoon we were sitting at the computer, minding our own business, and then "it" came wafting through MY kitchen and hit me. I started gagging, and said, "There it is again!" David couldn't smell it for a minute (lucky him), but then he, too, pulled his shirt up over his nose in a desperate attempt to escape the retched smell.
Needless to say, we went out to eat tonight.
Thankfully, the smell was gone when we returned, and I am really hoping that was our last taste/smell of whatever in the world that miserable Thai delicacy is. And we leave for Chiang Mai in the morning, so maybe that's not something they make up there at least. Hopefully, but I won't hold my breath. At least until the next smell hits.