Being an orchid enthusiast and species collector, a visit to a local orchid nursery led me to the fortuitous discovery of the Thailand December Horticultural Fair 2004, an annual event being held at the Rose Garden in Nakorn Pathom just outside of Bangkok. The weather here during the dry season is so incredibly predictable that the week-long fair – with its elaborate flowering plant displays – is set outdoors under the thick canopy of native Thai trees. This is simply unheard of in most other parts of the world, where weather is always a looming threat.
The Rose Garden is a fairly large resort that houses a five-star hotel, botanical garden, conference center, golf course (claimed to be listed on someone’s top 24 courses in the world), spa, and expansive cultural center and Thai village.
In the village visitors can wander around the premises, observing villagers as they partake in traditional handicrafts: silk-weaving, pottery, umbrella painting, mask making, and even fruit carving. Also on display are the various housing styles from north to south Thailand, with a diversity that surprised me, as I had always viewed Thailand as a pretty homogeneous culture.
Within a large indoor amphitheatre, tourists are treated to the 60-minute Thai Village Cultural Show held several times daily. This show doesn’t really intend to give the tourist an in-depth knowledge of the wide range of Thai customs and history – impossible in such a short time. Rather, it provides a reasonable cross-section of Thailand’s culture, heritage, and way of life, from demonstrations on Thai martial arts and sword fighting to a somewhat comedic enactment of Thai boxing, or muay thai; to the rituals of the traditional Thai wedding; and to the pageantry of Buat Naag, the ceremony where a young Thai is ordained into Buddhist monkhood. And of course there are numerous traditional dances representing the various Thai regions: the famous Fingernail Dance from the north, the skillful bamboo dance from the south, and the Yoey Dance from the central plains.
Immediately following the cultural show, just outside the theatre, villagers put on a short demonstration on the intelligence and usefulness of the Asian elephant – one of the most important and often revered of the domestic animals in Thai culture.
About 1 hour from downtown Bangkok, the Rose Garden can be accessed by taxi, with whom you should set up a round-trip fare (he will wait for you) of about 1,200 to 1,500 Baht. Otherwise, there are tour operators that send busloads of tourists, mostly for an afternoon tour. Perfect for first-time Thailand visitors, I highly recommend the Rose Garden Cultural Center – well worth the 380 Baht admission.