THAILAND IS JUSTLY famous for its many beautiful orchids, or Gluay Mhai in Thai. It's surprising to many visitors that these tropical plants can be found flowering during the winter in the north of Thailand, when the weather is cool. January is a great month to see an amazing range of shapes, sizes and vibrant colours of Thailand's orchids. Although the weather is so dry at this time of year, orchids employ many different ways of retaining the moisture necessary for flowering. Some have spongy roots that can absorb water from morning mists, other have bulbs that store the precious liquid of the rains of the previous year, while still others shed their leaves so that none of the moisture needed for blooming is wasted.

     Orchids naturally grow on the bark of forest trees and collect much of their water and food from rain water running down the trunks, and are classified as epiphytes because of this way of growing. In the wild, these winter-blossoming orchids make a wonderful splash of colour at a time when the woods are dull and drab, with many trees having lost their leaves. The orchids will flower again in August, in the middle of the abundant rains, and then collect water and food during September downpours to provide the energy for flowering again the following January.

     There are more than 1,000 species of orchids in Thailand, and these come in a bewildering and dazzling range of colours - all the hues of the rainbow. Probably the most beautiful of the north's many orchids are the White, the Bright Yellow Oncidium and the Brick - red orchids. The White orchid is highly prized because of its extreme rarity in the wild. Few have ever been discovered in the wild, and it is only through the efforts of Thai orchid nurserymen to multiply it, that this gorgeous bloom can be seen.

      Many of the other orchid varieties are easy to grow, and abundant at any time of the year, thanks to the skills of the numerous Thai horticulturists, who have developed their art into a major export industry. Typical of these common orchids is the violet bloom that is often presented to visitors, for example to women passengers travelling on Thai Airways international flights.