A change of perspective

[Wathepleela]

A rare nice Saturday when there are no threatening dark clouds on the horizon. Ever since fellow members put in requests for pics of Bangkok (preferably with orchids) I’ve been kind of on the look out for some Kodak moments featuring orchids in bloom… The thing is: -1) this is a working class/student neighborhood so there are no orchids enthusiast (except for yours truly) ready to show his/her collection. I’m talking about a stand-alone terrarium house (there is one for vandas a couple of miles away up the main road); -2) in Thailand, dens are normally considered inconsequential, they are produced to end up as cut flowers or are grown in public space, tacked on tree trunks or gilding shrines etc so nobody thinks of them of much value.But I did find one place facing the canal that makes typical use of dens: a nice row in clay pots hanging at the front.

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Notice the surrounding flora: on the left is the papaya tree, on the right the mango - in between are bushes of all sort of garden-varieties plantation. A local friend helped me with the thai signage: the white sign is the name of the house,” Thiem Thiep House, Guesthouse for Males”; the orange sign is the rating: 4-star 6 years running given by the Ram University (one of two universities in the area) Commission Board (for cleanliness I guess.)

More pics of Soi no 29 (or Pier Alley because this one leads to the pier):

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One is the seller on foot pulling a cart full of pillows , futons and other bedding materials. Look up to the left side for more signage: 1) right underneath the ATM sign is the sign of another apartment house “Sukkothai, Guesthouse for Females”. The other signs both in green, the one in front says “Drugs (medicine)” the one in the back says “Sell Drugs” both mean pharmacies.

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Coming up from behind the pillowman is a nurseries on wheels (with loudspeakers blaring its wares) Half of Thai domestic economy runs on the back of these ubiquitous pickups. The one in the pic carries a whole garden of house plants on its bed; piled on top of the driver cab is the pottery and garden supplies section for all your growing needs. They usually carry a couple of dens (but not this one.)

Last but not least one more pic of the busboats in action.

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One interesting item regarding boat rides: affiched on each pier is a fare chart written in both Thai and English to let you know exactly how much to pay for your distance. On the boat, due to the prevalent jam-packed situation and the constant deafening engine noise, the best way to pay is to hand your money to the controller and then quickly stick out just how many fingers so he/she knows how much change to give back to you.

Here’s a riddle for you: if you stick out just your thumb, that means 16 bt, but if you stick out both thumb and forefinger that means 12. At the beginning as I was only guessing I always gave the wrong number, but those days are gone. Early this summer the fare (not raised but) dropped by one baht (1 usd = 35 bt) across the board so that put me in a lurch momentarily but I recovered my footing (in every sense of the word) in no time.

Hope these pics bring you a different perspective to wherever climes you find yourself in. Have fun!

[lotis146]

Wow, thank you for sharing all of this! I've never been to your side of the world but it looks intriguing. Having spent my whole life around water in one form or another - a large pond maybe 100 yards behind the house fed by a natural stream that then cascaded down a man-made waterfall into the stream that coursed across the street through the yards of our few neighbors and back onto our land then life on a lake that led out to Lake Michigan - I was still new to with the idea of water as a central theme as was the case when I visited Venice. I can just imagine what "Venice of the East" must be like, thank you for making that an easier task.

Much time is spent , by me, envying all the people in the warmer states of the US, in particular states in the Southeast & even Northwest, more tropical regions. It seems a blessing to be able to grow orchids outdoors year round! That said southwest Michigan allows for some envy in the spring & summer that I am proud to harbor. Our summers are quite marvelous if I'm being honest.

Temperatures average in the upper 70s to mid 80s (~21-30 C) with not so infrequent - enough to appreciate - days or week(s) in the 90s (~32 C). This summer we had a lot of rain, quite the opposite of our friends out in California with relatively high humidity, safe to say almost always 70%+. Some days mind as well be tropical as far as I'm concerned. The land around me is green and lush and while we don't have 'exotic' plants we have plenty of beautiful colors that might as well be exotic to new and old eyes. The spring, when so many trees are in flower, is magical in both sight and scent, never mind the enlivening sounds of the year-round native birds rejoicing in the dawn of warmer days and the visiting songs of so many migrating birds that make their way through the neighborhood like tourists. Tropical or not there's always something new in flower as each new week and month takes the stage after the last. Every bug-bothered plant and trove of hidden seeds in my pots is trivial compared to the wonder I can share with my orchids outside and them with me. It's undeniable that they enjoy the constant indirect yet bright sunlight, even if they have to suffer here and there because I'm not on top of shifting things before the summer sun does. Summer gives me the chance to take a step into the life of wild orchids, I feel blessed that I can feel and breathe and see their love for life.

No matter how much of a pain it is to haul them to and fro in the beginning and end, rearranging the spaces indoors & out, or the serious guilt (embarrassment sometimes) I feel admitting maybe I bought a 'few extra' over the summer [read: because there's more space on the deck] it's all worth it in the end. Just think one minute watering takes hours, the next the rain's got my back for weeks or I just need to bust out the hose!

But now the leaves are changing colors and this too is splendid, green is now bright yellow, vibrant red, and glowing oranges. My daily view is one of rainbows. They fall and fall with the delicacy of butterfly wings, soon all the trees will be bare. Temperatures are sticking around the 50s (~10 C) with nice days in the 60s (15 C) here and there and the evenings dip toes into the upper 30s (~0 C). I know soon the rain will be white and it will dominate my life, my bills, the way I drive, walk my dog, exercise, everything. Temperatures will often drop below freezing and stay there. But if I'm honest, it all deepens my intense gratitude for warmth and love and all things magical.

Until about two years ago I relied on spring garden work, summer blooms, and fall colors to quench my attachment to the living green world. Now thanks to my orchid collection that all stays very close to me no matter what's happening outside.

[gngrhill]

Oh, lotus, What a beautiful narrative. You should be a writer with the way you can make one see the picture you paint. You are indeed an artist. Coming from one in upstate NY, our conditions are much like yours, and I see my yard in your colorful descriptions and feel your appreciation in all things seasonal. I also feel like I have "saved" winter with my inside garden

[Wathepleela]

Thank you lotis146 for a marvelous tribute to all natural wonders, creatures big and small that surround us in our daily life. I’m sure your sentiment echoes that in many of us who take a moment or two to smell the flowers (and let ourselves be swooned by their beauty…)

On the other hand, your post made me feel homesick (even though I’m from the West Coast - SoCal to be exact) and got me sniffle slightly by the thought of a (white) Xmas with all the trimmings!

Thanks again for taking the time to share a wonderful pastoral scene, and count yourself blessed for being a part of it.

Here’s another pic of the local flora, taken today just outside my lunch canteen.

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