Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard has a new tourist attraction; an Asian Spice Museum has opened in Pattaya and is ready to welcome visitors.
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The Asian Spicy Garden claims to be the first and only spice museum in Thailand and is the brainchild of a Russian businessman, Maxim Kosikhin, who has worked over two years to create a garden dedicated to the history and science behind the spices we use to flavor our food. {timg title:=”Spice” thumb:=”images/stories/srv/blog/small/spicy-garden.jpg” img:=”images/stories/srv/blog/big/spicy-garden.jpg” gal:=”gallery-content”} The project consists of beautifully landscaped botanical gardens laid out of 5,000 square metres. The garden contains over 200 different plant species. Alongside the spices are medicinal plants that have been used throughout history to treat many different ailments. The garden also has a wide variety of fruit trees growing the fresh exotic fruits for which Thailand is world famous. The gardens are not only educational, but a pleasant place to take a stroll among the many features including a stunning manmade waterfall.
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A separate exhibition is an opium museum dedicated to displays on the role that the drug has played in South East Asian society. Although the poppy is not technically a spice, the museum’s founder felt that is was important the opium story was told. Visitors are shown the history of opium in Asia, the traditions surrounding the poppy and the problems it causes in the modern world. Visitors touring Asian Spicy Garden at lunchtime are in for an additional treat. Every day just before lunchtime, there is a cooking show by a professional Thai chef. Naturally spices place an enormous part in the menus. The chef demonstrates and explains how the dishes are prepared and cooked and visitors are then lucky enough to try them. Asian Spicy Garden is located off Highway 7 just three kilometres from Sukumvit Road. It opens from 10am-5pm daily and is sure to be a hit with tourists and residents alike. The centerpiece of Asian Spicy Garden is the spice museum itself, where visitors are encouraged to learn about the many different types of spices and how they travel the road from plant to cooking pot or table. The museum looks at the history of the spice trade, once the most lucrative in the world and demonstrates old-fashioned production tools and methods.
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