After Bangkok it's a great relief to be back someplace small enough
that I can get around on foot. Not that there aren't plenty of rides
available. I can't seem to walk more than half a block here without
someone pulling over their samlor / tuktuk / taxi / sawngtaow / pedicab and
offering to take me for a ride.
I went to see the new Star Wars flick last night and found it quiet
enjoyable. I have a sneaking suspicion the dialogue was complete
garbage, but since it was in Thai I didn't actually have to listen to
it.
This morning I visited the famous Udon Sunshine Nursery, just
outside of town. This was the first nursery to ever breed orchids
suitable for producing perfume. I can't fathom why anybody gives a
damn about these orchids though, when they've got the only dancing
flowers in the world here.
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The dancing flowers
A tiny little garden surrounded with
barbed wire sits at the back of the lot. Inside are the collection of
dancing flowers that have all had their buds removed to prevent anyone
from stealing them and breeding these flowers elsewhere. When you
make sound around these flowers the small leaves on the stalk twist
around in a circular motion. This is one of the eeriest things I've
ever seen in my life and I'm at a complete loss for why people don't
make a bigger deal out of this. Why the botanist who bred these
things doesn't sell/distribute them all over the world. Why the
brochure for the nursery doesn't even mention them. The web site for
the nursery says they're looking into marketing a tea made out of
these flowers... WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!?
Scott
