Nakhon Pathom (3 of 3): Through Rose Garden Colored Glasses

wish we had more time at the Rose Garden. This HUGE property is BEAUTIFUL!!!

manicured lawns, beautiful landscapes  and gorgeous greenery surround the Rose Garden

Lingering an extra hour at the Samphran Elephant Grounds reduced our allotted time at the Rose Garden Riverside (see website here). This eco cultural destination has been recommended in nearly all the guidebooks and article I've seen.

the place is well maintained, clean and handsomely put together

The Rose Garden isn't just a huge garden filled with flowers. This 70 acre property houses a 160 room 4 star hotel, thai houses, a spa, 4 restaurants, a lake, an organic farm and a Thai Cultural Village centre.

the shrubbery tunnel as you enter the  Rose Garden compound

Entrance fee is 500 baht per person. Kids (or at least our 3 feet and 6 inches kid) came in for free.

A Thai Cultural  show is highly recommended. Here's the schedule:

Showtimes:
Thai Village Cultural Show, daily 2 shows: 13.30 and 14.45
Elephant Demonstration, daily 14.30 and 15.30

We had about an hour to go before the Cultural Centre would close at 4 pm. This is how we spent the hour:

Sawadee--fy your pictures by getting your pics taken with some of the cast from the Thai Cultural Show. No need to decide whether to tip them or not. The lady on my right told us right after the photo-op to tip em :P

Watching the Thai cultural show halfway through wasn't so bad. It was interesting to note that some of the Thai dances were identical to some of our Filipino folk dances, like the tinikling (bamboo poles dance). Quite entertaining, they also encouraged audience participation where the tourists were taught basic steps. 

After the cultural show, an elephant demonstration was held in a different venue. As we had just come from an elephant show, we decided to check out the place and take pictures. I also did a bit of shopping here:

hand painted designs on these clothes 

You could haggle. Don't be shy and name your price! As the village was about to close shop, I got great deals on the souvenir t-shirts, cosmetic bags and authentic Thai silk scarves. You may also find local artists who do hand paintings on fashionable apparels such as blouses, dresses and casual cotton short sleeved shirts for men as well has bags and scarves. Real pretty stuff here (around 500-700 baht each depending on the item).

Wish I had more time to explore the entire Rose Garden. Go on a river cruise, boating in the lake or maybe next time, stay at their hotel. More thing to look forward to in the future.

back to the Prince Palace

Nakhon Pathom was a very good idea. Try to check it out the next time you're in Thailand. 

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!