Royal Flora Exhibit off to Slow Start

The Royal Flora 2007 festival of flowers opened on August 1st to less than the usual fanfare. Funding cuts and problematic politics have left the festival with inadequate funds for staff salaries, meaning that a mere 2,000 visitors will be permitted on site a day.

During the flower festival, the beauty of Chiang Mai really comes alive. Orchids are perhaps the most distinctively Thai flower on display but the festival makes some unusual and memorable combinations, bringing together tropical blooms with cold weather petals in a creation that is a delight to the senses. Flowers aren’t the only thing on display as typically the yearly festival hosts stage shows, beauty contests, parades and large exhibitions.

In previous years, the festival, which is hosted by the Royal Thai Government, opened on August 12th, the date of the Queen’s Birthday. This year it seems uncertain if the exhibition will fully open to the public at all.

Department director-general Adisak Srisapphaki said members of the public will not be able to access sections of the gardens including the international and corporate areas. In addition, although individuals may visit those sections open to the public, groups wishing to tour the facilities must arrange to do so at least five to seven days in advance.

Accommodation in Chiang Mai can be hard to find during the most popular days of the flower festival but there are over 100 hotels with more than 10,900 rooms in the city as well as 128 guest houses and 24 resorts. Chiang Mai is easy to get to from Bangkok with overnight sleeper trains, air conditioned buses and regular flights from Bangkok making the trip several times a day.