If you are in Chiang Mai between now and March 14, 2012 and have any interest in plants or Thai culture, make sure you give yourself a day to spend at the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek expose. It is absolutely incredible, and while it is widely advertised once you know it exists, as a tourist, you may not hear anything about it.This flower show is located 15 minutes from the center of town. A lot of the red share cabs will take you there for 25 baht (we got one from Kad Suan Kaew shopping center). It is 200 baht per person for an entrance fee, and it is well worth it!! We spent the entire day wandering through the exhibits and saw literally millions of orchids. I don't know if there is a larger orchid show in the world, but I would be surprised if one exceeds this. Trees, walls, and roofs are dripping with orchids every size, shape, and color imaginable. There are numerous other gardens, including a bonsai garden with at least 50 pruned trees.
If you stay past sunset, there is an excellent display of fireworks, a 5D show about the state of the earth (which looked a lot like 3D to me), floats, and an illumination garden that rivals Vegas. I was shocked that there were so few tourists. There is enough written in English so you know how to get to the entrance, exit, food, and toilets, but a lot of the plants and exhibits are only written in Thai. It is like a state fair if your state is a prosperous monarchy and is the top orchid producer in the world. And of course there is a place in the center of the park to get a massage or foot rub, too!
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