Our group of "Merry Guavs" returned to Pattaya late in the evening from a very eventful trip through northern Thailand. In the morning, we decided to explore the local sights. We wanted a relaxing excursion to gather our thoughts and digest our impressions. For this purpose, we chose Madam Nong Nooch's Tropical Garden. It was both the right and somewhat wrong choice.
The thing is, this place occupies a vast area, filled with all sorts of interesting sights, and is designed for active recreation. You need to walk and explore a lot. To properly appreciate the park, you need to spend a whole day there. So, I imagined a quiet, peaceful park, but instead I got another barrage of impressions.
Entrance to the park.
You need to get there on your own. It's best not to take any tours. Otherwise, you'll simply be rushed through Asia, not allowing you to fully appreciate this magnificent work of park art.
Some of the exhibits are designed in the traditions of European landscape design.
The park is owned by a Thai family, the Tanchasa, and is named after its first owner, Madam Nong Nooch Tanchasa, who, together with her husband, purchased the land on which they later built the park in 1954. The park opened in 1980. Her son has managed the park since 2001.
The park is full of unexpected and colorful sculptures. They always stand in groups and are a favorite among tourists.
The park itself is divided into zones where examples of European ornamental parks, Asian landscape parks, and zones that can be described as a botanical garden can be found.
This is where Christmas trees are decorated all year round in a completely natural way.
Another object of close attention of tourists.
There are also some very remarkable structures, such as, for example, a cromlech, very reminiscent of the famous English Stonehenge.
The structure looks unusual surrounded by palm trees.
A very beautiful composition opens up from above.
It was quite interesting to watch how the park's designers combined European architecture with tropical flora, and, conversely, Asian architecture with the traditions of European decorative parks.
Lovers of colorful photography will certainly appreciate the vast number of installations on display in the park. Taking photos with each one alone will take several hours.
Another group of sculptures…
Some figures are made from rather unusual materials.
A mother was found for the baby mammoth.
And although you won't encounter real mammoths in the park, you can still get up close and personal with representatives of the proboscidean family.
The park has an elephant nursery where you can buy a bunch of bananas and feed the baby elephant you like.
Or simply book an elephant ride and enjoy new perspectives.
In addition to elephant rides, the park hosts hourly performances where visitors can enjoy traditional dances, Thai boxing, and a theatrical performance based on Thai history.
One of the participants in the show.
There are many beautiful women among Thai women. For this reason, their men had to invent Thai boxing—Muay Thai—to preserve and expand it.
The plot is unknown to me, which is a pity...
The park also boasts a decent collection of bonsai, which will impress lovers of this type of floristry.
Even here there were sculptures.
Many Russian-language guidebooks, tourist guides, and brochures refer to Madame Nong Nooch's garden as an orchid park, which isn't entirely accurate. While it boasts a respectable collection of these beautiful plants, calling it an orchid park isn't quite accurate. It's an understatement and a bit of bad publicity. Incidentally, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, boasts a much more impressive orchid collection. But that's just a digression.
Let's add some color...
…but let’s not get carried away. 🙂
Besides the decorative areas, the tropical garden boasts one of the world's largest collections of palms. Rare species of cycads are also cultivated. There's a section of succulents, xerophytes, and other delights for the discerning botanist. But I'm not one of those people—I was drawn to the sculptures. 🙂
I don't know about you, but our family is especially obsessed with pandas. Which animals do you like the most?
We also came across a fish pond with catfish and carp. You could buy bags of fish food and feed the fish. But the most interesting inhabitants of the pond turned out to be the giant arapaima—one of the largest freshwater fish. You can buy a small fish and, using simple fishing tackle, feed the giants and watch them literally shoot out, ripping the food off your line.
Oddly enough, even though I'm not a fan of crowded places, Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is a place I'd like to return to someday. There's truly something to see there. It's easy to get there, and the entrance fee is inexpensive. If you're planning a vacation in Pattaya, I highly recommend it.
With a slight regret of the “good, but not enough” kind, I looked back and took a farewell photo.
Source: travel.ru