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If flowers had feelings, the rafflesia would have a chip on his or her petal. Just because they don’t quite smell like a fistful of lavender or a blooming rose, the locals call them ‘corpse flowers’ or ‘meat flowers’. Luckily, the flower does have some redeeming qualities. In fact, people travel from all corners of the world just to get a glimpse. With a nose plug.

Here are a couple of top facts for you:
-the flower is the world’s largest flower! Measuring up to 39 inches in diameter
-being such a big, badass flower also means they can reach up to 22 pounds in weight!
-with no stems, no leaves and no true roots, the 5 petals stand alone
-the rotting flesh smell is to attract insects which transport pollen
-they have a 6-9 month budding period
-they bloom for only 7 days

I was really hoping to see one during my climb up Mount Kinabalu-but no such luck. I crossed my fingers again when I got to Sarawak-but no such luck. The flower only grows in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Philippines, Thailand and Sumatra. Guess I’ll have to start planning my next holiday!