Whatever you did wrong, Bangkok flower market has the antidote!

If you've ever bought cut flowers in Thailand, you'd find they are overpriced and generally die within minutes of you putting them in water, hence the giving and receiving of floral gifts is not as common a practise as it is in the west.

You do see flowers, the flower girls that wander the bars at night with sad-looking single roses at 20Baht a piece and the hooded traffic hoppers that run up and down between the vehicles when you're stood at junctions waiting for the lights selling the 'good luck' garlands that also cost 20B, which is a bargain price to stop you from dying in a horrific fireball car crash in my opinion, are the main times you see flowers being sold and bought. Oh, and funerals, but they're mainly fake!

This is the main entrance to the market itself but there is just as much 'flower action' going on on the street outside with smaller vendors on the road and every shop jammed full of flowers.

One of the smaller roadside vendors with bunches of bulk wrapped in newspaper. Parking is a bugger so go on the bike and just abandon it, local style!

Almost all these blooms have one thing in common, to wit, they came from Bangkok Flower Market, or Pak Khlong Talat, as we say in Thailand!

Well worth a visit if we ever let tourists back into the country, the market is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is a cacophony of colour and the scent of a million flowers fills the air.

What you learn is what an incredible mark-up florists in Thailand make, the flowers here, whether you buy in bulk or just normal bouquet quantities are so cheap, this will be the place I will drive 20km to the next time I have come home from the pub pissed on a Saturday night want to show the wife how much I love her.

There is a surprisingly large choice, from mums to roses and carnations (they're the only ones I named as they're the only ones I recognise but there are many other species on sale), and of course, the ubiquitous orchids, which are my favourite. They also sell all the gadgets and bits and bobs to create your own fancy bouquets. As someone who likes getting all the 'stuff' to do something, whether that be woodwork or model railways, I had to be careful not to spend a fortune on special scissors, oasis and fine mesh! Seriously though, some of the things on sale would be very useful when I finally start on my model railway.

As always here, the streets themselves are always bustling with activity. Here, some people are sat making some sort of arrangements. For decent roses, a lot of the shops were air-conditioned or had drink cooler cabinets in which to store their blooms. The heat here kills cut flowers in no time at all.

I will also have to go away and find out how many of these blooms are grown here, and how many are imported. I can't imagine anyone here is growing tulips but I might be wrong. Perhaps this tropical climate means you can grow anything here? You can never find a horticulturist when you want one!

Anyway, this is where we ended up for the first time last Sunday on our Sunday night scooter excursion downtown. There is not a lot more I can waffle on about so enjoy the photos!

These are the flowers they use to make up the 'lucky' garlands. Purple orchids and what I believe are a type of orange marigolds.

Don't be getting any ideas, Missus. It's neither your birthday nor valentines day and I didn't even have a bevy last night.....

A shop supply Monk stuff and other assorted bits of string and sticks and flowers by the bin bag full.

The sign over the shop says 'Interflora' in Thai.....possibly!

We do grow Sunflowers here. Fields full of them. I know this because they are a big tourist attraction for Thais and I once got dragged off to a field full of them near Lopburi so the wife and her mates could have an 'Instagram day'! However, its not sunflower season so heaven knows where these came from!

So that's another post wrapped up. A big thank you for dropping by and as always, its pinned to @pinmapple but it's not difficult to find, being down by the river and close to the equally photogenic Memorial Bridge. One last attempt at a decent 'arty' shot and you're free to go!

Hmm, I wonder if I could get away with posting this in the Stem community?

Stay safe and sane and best wishes to all

@nathen007

BONUS HBI SHARE TO WIN

"I won't send roses, or hold the door." The first person to name the musical that song comes from wins an HBI share!