Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand

Karen and I have been out of touch for several days while touring Northern Thailand, and even a few feet into Burma. We’ve been working 14 hour days to see as much as possible during our short stay. Now that we are back to civilization, we can report on that beautiful part of the country.

We were shown around by some wonderful locals in Chiang Mai, and met up with Arika Virapongse, one of Botany in Action’s own ethnobotanical graduate research grantees. These individuals have proved indispensable for navigating and translating, not to mention making us feel at home.

(Photo 339) Photo of Heather and Arika learning about the ancient Thai craft known as laquerware.

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We’ve been touring botanical gardens, National Parks, an arboretum, and learned about some traditional crafts. Check out the following posts to read about all the fascinating places and people we’ve been working with.

(photo 341) example of laquerware and tools.

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Queen Sirikit Gardens

(photo 069) This garden sits about 1500 feet above sea level, in a deciduous tropical forest. The garden is about 15 years old and is named after the current Queen of Thailand. The elevation necessitates glass houses because this area receives frost.

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We were honored to meet the Director and Associate Director of the gardens, and receive a personal tour. This photo shows the Director demonstrating the use of a traditional medicinal plant which is made into a poultice for burns. (photo 073)

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The collection has an impressive collection of medicinal plants, lotus flowers, desert plants, white-flowered forest plants. The most interesting component for us was the gardens’ constructed tropical forest, where we gained many ideas for developing our planting plan. This photo is just one example of the collection’s Asiatic insectivores, whose size dwarfs Pennsylvania’s native relatives. (photo 072)

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