Yesterday, I asked Thy where I could see some lotus flowers, and he told me there was a lotus farm where I could see them. I knew I had to get there as soon as physically possible.
This morning, he came to pick me up, and we went straight to the lotus farm. It was an interesting setup, and they had a number of experiences you could partake in. I chose to do everything, which included a boat ride tour of the lotus farm, four craft activities, and a tour of their facilities.
To get to the lotus farm, I took a ten-minute tuk-tuk ride down to the shore of "Lotus Lake." Below, you can see the sign from the farm and a photo I took from the back of the tuk-tuk.
Once we got to the lake, a young man who couldn’t have been more than 20 years old led me down to the water. We quickly established that he didn’t speak a word of English, but he seemed to know what he was doing.
We took off in a thin, wooden, turquoise-blue boat. At first, he used a rod to push us along, and then he switched to a motor for a while. As we continued, we entered an area where I could see a sea of water lilies. They were beautiful.
As we went along, the young man picked some lilies and placed them in the boat with us.
As we pushed on through the water, the density of the leaves began to thicken, and then suddenly, there were lotus flowers everywhere. They were spectacular—iconic-looking, bright pink blooms nestled among vibrant green leaves. To make the moment even more magical, there were lots of dragonflies flitting about.
I love it when nature is chaotic, bursting with life and colour. I especially love it when plants, flowers, and water come together.
Below, you can see some of the lotus flowers among the leaves.
The young man began peeling back the petals of the lotus flowers, giving them a tighter, more refined look. Then he bunched them together with the water lilies he had picked, wrapped them up in a large leaf, and handed them to me.
It was the most beautiful bunch of flowers I have ever received.
We spent some time among the lotus flowers, and I loved every moment of it. I looked down and saw drops of water forming intricate shapes on the leaves. Some of the leaves had snails on them, and I wondered if there were any fish in the lake. I could have stayed there for hours with these majestic flowers, but eventually, we had to leave.
As we moved through the water, the young man suddenly stopped. He pointed at something, but I couldn’t quite make it out. Then he said, "Buffalo." There was a group of buffalo in the lake! It was literally the last thing I expected to see.
I didn’t know if I should be scared, but I trusted him. He obviously spends his days on this lake and would know better than anyone how to manage the situation. It was a beautiful sight to see these buffalo in the water, but I couldn’t help noticing that some of them had leather straps around their heads. I realised that even here, in this seemingly untouched part of the world, humans have left their mark on the animal kingdom as usual.
The tuk-tuk drove me back to the facility, which wasn’t actually a farm but more of an area where they work with the lotus stems and seeds. I had four craft activities to do, as well as a tour of the place. We started with working with the fibres inside the lotus stems to make candle wicks.
Below, you can see my teacher cutting open a stem and extracting the fibre, which she then rolled and shaped into a flower for me.
Below, you can see the lotus seeds and my unfinished bracelet.
I’m definitely going back to this place when Maiki gets here, and I’m going to buy a scarf. Just the thought of the work that goes into something like that blows your mind.
The most interesting thing about this whole adventure was learning that they use scraps from the stems to make vegan leather. I’ve had an interest in vegan leather since I was researching becoming a vegan myself, and I thought it was incredibly innovative that they are doing this at the farm.
Below, you can see the vegan leather.
When we got back into town, I had some lunch and then decided I wanted to get a massage away from the hotel. Thy took me to this upmarket place, which wasn’t really what I was after. When I asked how much for a full-body massage, they said $37. Thy was with me, and I looked at him and said, “What do you reckon?” He smiled as if to say, go for it.
I agreed to get the massage. They sat me down, made me fill in all these forms, and gave me tea. I just felt like saying, “I don’t want foreplay; let’s get down to business.” When we finally got to the massage room, I took my clothes off and put on the disposable underwear they provided.
The lady who was going to massage me, an older woman, came into the room and turned the lights completely off. There was still some light coming through, but it was very dark. Through the little hole where my face was, I could see a bowl with a lotus flower and water in it, which was a nice touch.
She then sat on my back. She gave a good massage, but I didn’t like it when she asked me to lie on my back. She got a little bit touchy-feely with my boobs and gave my tummy a full-on massage, which I didn’t enjoy because I have a belly. Regardless of the unwanted intimacy we shared, I gave her a good tip, and then Thy dropped me back at the hotel.
My room had an air conditioner that didn’t do much. It’s very hot and muggy outside, and the air conditioner seemed to blow out warm air. I didn’t sleep with a doona or even a sheet—just nothing—and I assumed all the air conditioners were like that in every room.
One of the big managers was around when I checked in, and I got chatting with him. I actually feel really bad about the interaction because I wasn’t sure if he understood me when I said something. Then I realised how condescending I sounded. He was really polite and just responded by saying, “Yes, I understand,” but I feel like he might have thought I was being rude. Because of that, I’ve made every effort to talk to him when I see him, and we’ve gotten along quite well since.
This morning, I saw him and mentioned the air conditioner in my room. He said he would have someone look at it while I was out. When I got back, I asked the front desk if they knew whether anything had been done with the air conditioner. She made a few calls and told me it had been fixed. She then walked with me up to my room to check if I was satisfied, and I said I was. The difference was amazing.
I lay down on the bed, ready to settle in for the evening, when the doorbell to my room rang. It was the manager, and he had a couple of workers with him. I thanked him for having the air conditioner fixed, and then he told me he would like to offer me another room. The staff were there to move my things.
I said it wasn’t necessary because the air conditioner was working now, but he insisted, saying it was a better room, closer to the lift, and not an adjoining room like the one I had. He was essentially upgrading me for no reason. I inspected the new room and liked it, so my things were quickly moved over.
When everyone left, the manager stayed in the room with me for a moment. I wondered why he took the time to get me a better room. Had I been too demanding in asking for the air conditioner to be fixed? Or maybe the staff had been talking, and I had a reputation for tipping well. Whatever the reason, I decided to tip him well because it was such a nice thing to do. I gave him a $20 tip, and he was extremely grateful.
The only thing is, the air conditioner in this room is absolutely freezing. At first, it was nice, but now I’m shivering, and I think I’ll have to sleep with both doonas from the two beds. I turned the temperature up to 24 degrees, but it’s still freezing, so it must be set low from somewhere else. I guess it’s true when they say—be careful what you wish for!
