Something smells fishy...

On certain days, it stinks here.

I've read advice that you should visit potential apartments and houses a few times, at different times of the day and maybe once at night to see if, for example, there's a karaoke parlour just next-door that slumbers through the day and rocks all night.  

The day after I arrived, I couldn't escape the odour -- if I had to guess, a noisome mixture of sauerkraut and decaying seafood. 

Every few days, I've now noticed, the neighbour across the street spreads out a new batch of prahok on the sidewalk to dry in the sun.  

What is prahok? A salted and fermented fish paste.  After the fish is either crushed or ground, it's laid out in the sun for a full day to dry, then packed into jars with salt and allowed to ferment for as long as three years.

In truth, I wouldn't have turned this apartment down because of the prahok smell, but on the particularly hot days when it's most pungent, I wish they'd give up their fishy business and just plant a durian orchard instead.