Thank you to Dr. Jae for this unique souvenir from Thailand. :)
At first, I did not know what to make out of the wooden orb with a stencil drawing of the famous icon of Thailand - the elephant. My colleague told me that it is a soap.
Me: What? Seriously??
Liz: Oo! Buksan mo para makita mo yung sabon.
(Oo nga naman..may sabon bang kahoy??? Duh?!)
So I opened the orb and lo and behold! A beautiful carnation flower was inside the mysterious wooden orb.
Me: Ohhhhh! Sabon ba talaga to? Parang ang baho naman...Sorry, I don't like the smell. It's like a combination of moth balls and citronella concoctions.
I googled the said souvenir item hoping to be enlightened by its beautiful creation. What I learned from Oddity Central was that this craftmanship originated in the villages around Chiang Rai and just started out as a hobby when the locals were not working in the rice fields. They mastered it over time and the rest is history. Genius eh?!
What really striked me most (aside from the smell) was the detail on how every petals of the flowers were skillfully carved out. And the wooden orb is also a beauty!
I also found out that you can order these lovelies online: Wholesalers of Thai Soap Flowers
Oh well, I am thankful and contented with just one. :)
Photos taken by my Blackberry Passport
At first, I did not know what to make out of the wooden orb with a stencil drawing of the famous icon of Thailand - the elephant. My colleague told me that it is a soap.
Me: What? Seriously??
Liz: Oo! Buksan mo para makita mo yung sabon.
(Oo nga naman..may sabon bang kahoy??? Duh?!)
So I opened the orb and lo and behold! A beautiful carnation flower was inside the mysterious wooden orb.
Me: Ohhhhh! Sabon ba talaga to? Parang ang baho naman...Sorry, I don't like the smell. It's like a combination of moth balls and citronella concoctions.
Beautifully Carved by Thais
I googled the said souvenir item hoping to be enlightened by its beautiful creation. What I learned from Oddity Central was that this craftmanship originated in the villages around Chiang Rai and just started out as a hobby when the locals were not working in the rice fields. They mastered it over time and the rest is history. Genius eh?!
What really striked me most (aside from the smell) was the detail on how every petals of the flowers were skillfully carved out. And the wooden orb is also a beauty!
I also found out that you can order these lovelies online: Wholesalers of Thai Soap Flowers
Oh well, I am thankful and contented with just one. :)
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| Other varieties (What is left of Dr. Jae's pasalubongs to all of us) |
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