It's a trap. And I've been caught there many, many times before. And so it was with a FIRM MIND and a CLEAR INTENT that I drove in to the Kham Thiang Plant Market on Friday morning, the first day of the Macha Buja long weekend. My objective? to buy ONE bunch of orchid plants. Only one.
With our natural products business decimated by Covid and me working 16-18-20 hours a day for 12 months already (whilst also being the solo-mama homeschooling queen) to not only survive but rebuild and refocus (with minimal resources and currently no staff), my biz coach has diagnosed a mildish case of burnout and REQUIRES me to do good, fun, self-care things every day that will make me smile. With all available funds being pushed back into product development, new packaging etc, my self-care treats need to be affordable enough to not cause severe angst. So ONE bunch of orchid plants for 100 baht (about USD $3.10) was the goal.
To appreciate the need for monk-guru-level buddhist middle path restraint, you need to understand that Kham Thiang Plant market covers an area of about 5 square kilometers. It's a grid of small roads through acres and acres of plants, landscaping and garden shops. And a death trap for your wallet if you're on a budget or simply adore gardening, flowers & plants.
It's fairly typical to see local people driving away from Kham Thiang like this 😆:
and yes, traffic chaos in there on the first morning of a long weekend.
Gotta admit it was HARD and I felt like a fatigued but determined sailor stuffing his ears to resist the songs of the Sirens. I probably have never felt quite so virtuous as when I arrived home with my one planned bunch of orchid plants. A first for me to visit Kham Thiang with serious restraint.
It gave me so much pleasure to pot them out for the table on the front porch where I like to sit with coffee. (ok... and tea early in the morning, and wine in the evenings).
I SAVOURED the delicate blooms over early morning tea just after dawn today and felt nourished. And just a weeny bit renewed.
When the blooms fade and fall and the plant withers (as it NEEDS to) I put them into hanging pots in the frangipani trees to await the rainy season. The western idea of keeping them in bloom constantly is an odd one. Thai people KNOW that they die right back till they look dead. And when the rains come they SPRING back and ERUPT into bloom again.
If ever I feel discouraged, I get up close and personal with one of my orchids that is not currently in flower, and I look carefully. Always, always, always the new blooms are forming, quietly, through even the driest, hottest days.
Bloom where you are planted.
The rains are coming.
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Wow! You got quite a few orchids for 100 baht!! That would cost us 300 baht in a market in Bangkok!
These orchids grow so fast!
Chiang Mai pricing plus no hotels buying means they're even a bit cheaper than usual. Pre Covid they might have cost 150.
I enjoy the abundance of Thai orchids just so much!!
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I do hope tourism will start up again soon!!
Sar-tu, Sar-tu, Saaaaaaar-tuuuuu !!
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