When I was in Phuket, the front lobby of my resort had a sign advertising moringa oil. The sign boasted of the oil’s wonderful properties, and claimed that the price it offered for a bottle of oil was an exclusive deal.
I ignored the sign and forgot all about it until I got to Hong Kong, my destination after my Thai adventures. By then, I was burnt to a crisp thanks to the days I spent in the sun in Phuket. My skin had started to peel, so I dipped into The Body Shop to see what kind of body scrubs they had to alleviate the visible aftermath of my sunburn.
One of the body scrubs that The Body Shop offered was moringa. Being an indecisive person and unable to differentiate if there were any differences between the types of body scrubs beside scent, I selected the moringa one to purchase. What the hell, I saw a sign for that moringa oil in Phuket, let’s see if it lives up to those claims.
When I opened the jar later that day, I was wowed by how wonderful the product smelled. It wasn’t quite like any other aromatherapy or essential oil I had ever smelled, and I remember wondering if I would ever smell anything like it in this lifetime.
Predictably, I promptly forgot about that jar of moringa-scented body scrub when I returned to the U.S.
I rediscovered it yesterday while rummaging around my bathroom cabinet and decided to use it again. When I opened the jar, that distinctive scent hit me square in the face and I was keeled over by the memories of last summer. The warm salt water along the beaches of Phuket, with the grainy sand between my toes. Sunshine kissing my bare shoulders as the breeze gently tugged my hair. Evenings spent eating dinner along the beachfront, followed by nighttime walks along the beach with nothing but the teeny tiny crabs that scuttled along sideways for company. Wandering along the crowded streets of Hong Kong, moringa body scrub in hand, hoping that it would do something, anything, to help with my burnt, peeling skin. The distinctive click of the 热水炉, or the hot water boiler, turning on every time I jumped into the shower. The unique, muted shade of pink that was the bathtub in my aunt’s apartment, where I stayed during my time in Hong Kong.
I will always associate the scent of moringa with travel, adventure and wanderlust.
I absolutely adore linking amazing smells with certain amazing feelings or events. I love that you will always associate that smell with such awesome things like adventure and wanderlust. Wanderlust is such an awesome word, by the way.