Orchids from Chiang Mai

Slipper Orchid

Spider Orchid

I think Orchids are amazing plants. They are very hardy, and have some of the most beautiful flowers. I went to a supermall in Chiang Mai, the Central Plaza near the airport. There is this unmanned flower shop at the basement, selling some very nice orchid plants!

Have you ever seen merchandise that are so good and so cheap and so desirable that you absolutely have to buy them? Finally happened to me here.

And they were really cheap! Bought a total of 10 plants, and paid about 30 bahts to 180 bahts for the plants. Most of them cost about 50 bahts, and the most expensive is the Slipper Orchid, or Paphiopedilum Hirsutissimum at 180 bahts. As the shop is un-manned, the kid in the next shop came over to wrap the plants and collect the payment. Didn't manage to get the names and information of all except one of the orchids, (the slipper orchid has a label and picture of the flower with the scientific name) and most of the plants were not flowering. It will be quite interesting to see what kind of flowers they produce.

It's quite a logistical nightmare to bring them back. First, I had to place them on the table in the Chiang Mai hotel room for a few days. Then I had to pack them into my luggage for a domestic flight to Bangkok. Next I had to hang them near the window of the Bangkok hotel room. Then they were packed in the luggage and checked in for an international flight back to Singapore.They had to be wrapped in magazine papers and cushioned by soft cotton clothes in the luggage. On the final leg of the flight, some of them were placed in a shoe box. I was surprised that the plants all survived the rigors of the trip, but they were worth all the trouble.

Here are the pictures of all 10 of them.