Thailand’s royal house of horticulture

CHIANG MAI. Not many Filipino travelers venture into this northern part of Thailand. The average Pinoy will definitely choose the capital, the extremely cosmopolitan Bangkok, for obvious reasons (shopping). Chian Mai in contrast will appeal to the adventurous "welt bummler" (this is the original 80’s word coined for world traveler) who wants to roam and discover.

Chiang Mai is accessible by train, an efficient bus service, or maybe a hired limo. You may opt to take any Thai Airways flight (Chiang Mai is 55 minutes from Bangkok). Chiang Mai airport is international with other carriers flying in from neighboring regions, except Manila. The province is rich in culture and the arts. It has everything Bangkok has to offer except the traffic. The food and shopping are inexpensive. I had been there once before and I must admit, it has changed quite a bit, due to well organized tourism programs by the forward-looking Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

There are many activities in this charming walled city spanning centuries of development. Edifices of national and cultural importance are intact. The

TAT has a website (listed below) where one can gather all the needed information about Chiang Mai. Keep in mind that the peak season is September to January, during which the night market is packed with shoppers. Haggling is standard.

Chiang Mai used to be a kingdom. The descendants of the old royalty and nobility are active in all sectors of society. In fact a lot of projects are established by royal decrees, mainly emanating from the court of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. One of these noble projects is the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens.

Initially I had thought the garden was in Chiang Rai, but much to my delight, I learned it was just 30 km from our hotel. And what an awe-inspiring place it turned out to be. It consisted of modern tropical glass houses spread out over hundreds of hectares of virgin forest on the hills of the Mae Rim district.

Nineteen ninety-two marked the 60th birthday of Queen Sirikit. It was then that the Botanical Garden Association of Thailand (BGAT) was founded by royal decree in honor of Her Majesty. The main aim was to collect various plants and vegetation, with emphasis on rare and endangered species of flora native to Thailand, for further planting and propagation. In 1994 the Queen granted her permission to name it the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden.

The garden is located at the Doi Pui-Suthep on the Mae Rim-Samoeng road. Three major waterways converge in the area, providing water to the garden all year round. The climate is ideally suited. It provides a working environment for botanical study, with research facilities and horticultural data banks.

Horticultural and botanical groups have collected Thai plants for research, as well as conserve those species at risk in the wild. Plants under threat from commerce, like orchids and medicinal plants, are mass-propagated. The library is open to researchers and the general public.

BGAT is definitely not into conservation and propagation for superficial or commercial reasons. Filipinos should learn from the Thai example. The environment should not be ignored. It should not be abused. It should be saved for future generations.