Serious question: what in the world is with the obsession people have with sniffing/smelling other people here? I haven’t been in Taiwan for very long, but the one thing that has stood out to me is this addiction to smelling others’ bodies - the students at school are constantly putting their hands in peoples’ faces and asking to be sniffed, and the kids will always grab someone’s hands or face and smell them. 5 out of the 5 guys I’ve dated here have sniffed my face, hair, neck, etc whenever they were being ‘romantic’. I asked them why and they all just said they ‘like to smell me.’ One guy said it’s how he remembers the people he loves. Another said I just smell good. I thought it was weird the first time, but it has been a repeated experience and seeing it at work as well has just been so beyond baffling. Is this a cultural thing? Is there some sort of meaning to smelling people’s bodies? Close contact makes me so uncomfortable and I frankly just find it a bit creepy to be sniffed by another human being… every time we meet… truly the first time I’ve ever encountered this. Any insight or explanation would be very appreciated.
Seems you’re doing quite well for yourself. Just go with it.
I have never seen this, or anything like it. That said, I don’t interact much with children here or anywhere
I’ve done this. I don’t think it is uncommon
This strikes me as more unusual, and more of a you thing
Ok, that’s a bit much. Maybe you smell fantastic?
Anyways, sniff kissing is a thing. In Thailand it was a big part of romantic culture, a little googling shows it is not uncommon in SEA. Pheromones?
I haven’t experienced any excessive smelling here.
This is about drugs, partying, etc., but I’m reminded of this tune:
I’ve heard that “sniffing cats” is not uncommon - people will literally sniff a cat because of the (apparently ?) good smell.
If they said you smell good its a compliment isn’t it?
Isn’t there a movie called Scent of a Woman?
Scent of a Cat and Sniffing Cats.
What’s really going on 
Sinus problems are extremely common in Taiwan, and many (most?) people end up with poor senses of smell by the time they reach middle age. So people do their best to take full advantage of their noses while they’re still functioning properly. This is my pet theory anyway.
They are getting your pheromones directly into their noses.
Are you using perfume or any makeup with fragrance? Perhaps it’s your shampoo? Try not showering for a week and see if it changes their behavior
I have never seen this.
Is there a reason why nobody sniffs me?
I’ve never seen this either. But I’m one of the “smellers”. I have a really good sense of smell (it is more often a curse than an advantage) and it helps me to identify people because I’m bad at remembering faces. I know it might sound creepy, but I don’t need to get close to people to identify them by smell, just be in the same room. Actually, I’ve only told a few friends about it.
Only amongst cat loving mentalists. Now, sniffing dogs is normal. They smell great.
Cats are evil. End of
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
And now you’ve told everyone.
I just Googled ‘sniff kisses’ and man oh man that’s exactly what it is. I guess this is a thing in Taiwan as well. Thanks for the enlightenment.