“If we planted a tree every time we shed a tear, the earth would be green instead of blue.” ~ Yours truly. This line might sound ambitious for an amateur gardener like me but the emotion behind it is genuine. Gardening is a science that helps us create art with a good measure of hard work and dedication thrown in. It warrants an artist’s vision and an expert’s hand to bring a labour of love to life. Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya is the perfect example of what magic we, as humans, can create if we put our minds and hearts into it. Creativity isn’t limited to any medium, right?

Travelling towards Nong Nooch Tropical Garden from the city is a soothing experience. The famous Pattaya glitz, glam, shiny malls, and fancy hotels are left far behind while calming greenery, water bodies, and cute thatched houses seem more real and alive. Like India and the main city, roadside vendors selling water, fruits, snacks, etc. can be found everywhere. It’s a welcome change of scenery.

Spread across a huge area of 500 acres, Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is rated amongst the top ten most beautiful gardens in the world. Its grand entrance dwarfs you with its enormity and elates your hope with its meticulously landscaped gardens and installations. The ticket counter is a bit of a drive and it takes 10-15 minutes to get there. The journey is a breeze though with a lovely view of endless rows of well-kept plants lining the road from both sides.

You can book the tickets online or buy them from the counter. There are different options available. The one including the property tour, food, and shows would be a good choice since it covers almost everything. Once in, you’ll be greeted with this beautiful polished stone mural. The place is dotted with many such others and, trust me, it never gets repetitive.

The impressive gardens on the left have a vast collection of ferns, cacti, orchids, etc. These plants’ sheer size and health are proof of their great upkeep. Gardens in the Sky lie on an elevated level and can be accessed by stairs, skywalks, or elevators. They have an LED system to help plants in photosynthesis and a spray system for watering them. On the right are the elephant stables where you can feed them and take pictures, for a price.

A short walk later is the Butterfly Hill. From cracked dinosaur eggs to portly gorillas, beautiful flowers to towering palms, this place gives you a small glimpse of what Nong Nooch Tropical Garden promises you. Take it all in and click lots of pictures but don’t dwell too much lest you miss the Thai Cultural and Elephant shows.

Thai Cultural Show

I talked about the Alcazar Show in my last post. Thai cultural show is a somewhat similar PG version of it. From sword fighting and amazing props to Southeast Asian cultural connections and a brief narration of their history, it is quite captivating. In one of the sequences, they danced around with a huge fake snake (aka a Chinese dragon) and brought real elephants out to depict war scenes. My only grouse, the narration was entirely in Thai. We were mere spectators with no inkling of what was going on.

Elephant Show

We millennials routinely saw elephants play football and cricket, paint, and play slingshots with their trunks in circuses when we were kids. The Elephant show refreshed those childhood memories and was a thrilling experience for the kids. We clapped and cheered every time they took a shot and laughed at the baby elephants who danced and took cheerleading quite seriously!

The hour-long tour bus ride is a great way to explore the property. The entire route is lined with animal installation art on both sides. You can see everything from monkeys and snails to hippos and giraffes, decorative plants, and bonsais while passing. Stone Henge Garden and Cactus Garden were my favourites. The variety is astounding!

Dinosaur Valley

Dinosaur Valley is one of the highlights of Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, and one can see why. It is an amazing way to take you back to the dinosaur age with life size and scarily detailed dinosaur models. T-rex, velociraptor, triceratops, and hundreds more herbivores and predators eclipse you with their looming presence. Pardon my Friends, but Ross would have a field day here.

French Gardens

Inspired by the Garden of Versailles, Nong Nooch Tropical Garden has two French Gardens. French Gardens 2 is next to the Dinosaur Valley and takes natural beauty and creativity to another level. There’s a lot to absorb here so don’t feel sorry if you miss anything. Take the skywalk to get the best view and to ring the bells at the top. This picture is my favourite from our entire trip. Can there be a better way to embrace the magnanimity of it all?

Car Museum

This seems like a peculiar addition to the setup but mean machines never fail to indulge, do they? I took loads of selfies with a Polaris Ranger, Plymouth Prowler, Radical RXC, Nissan GT-R (ok, I Googled!), and more. What can I say, they were willing, lol. Angel parked herself next to a cute pink family car while A picked a Hummer to pose with. This was a machine-humming digression, if I may say so.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that they have a dedicated restaurant area for Indian tourists that serves good Indian food. You can find snack centers serving local cuisine and juices as well. Do give the fresh Mango slush a try if they are in season. We tried one and it was awesome! You can shop for souvenirs from the gift shop. We skipped it though since we had a shopping day planned in Bangkok and the prices here seemed high.

Points to remember:

• Please wear comfortable footwear as you’ll walk a lot. My platform heels gave me seriously painful blisters.
• Carry water bottles for hydration as it can get extremely hot outdoors.
• Don’t forget to wear sunblock and keep yourself protected with caps, umbrellas, and sunglasses.
• Everything other than your ticket price is chargeable. Be well informed.
• Finally, keep enough storage space in your camera/phone. You just cannot stop clicking!

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden offers something for everyone. It not only has gorgeous plants but the most unique planters too, as you can see. There are a hundred backgrounds to pick for memorable pictures and you’ll be spoilt for choice. Kids can enjoy elephant rides while elders can relax with a healing foot massage. This place deserves to be on your must-visit list of places in Pattaya, doesn’t it?

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Growing with Nemit.

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