1 year in SE Asia

December 25th marked a year since I left the UK for ASIA to live my dream! What is my dream I hear you say? well as most people who know me, know that I have been an avid plant collector, hoarder and seller which started during the desperate Covid pandemic.

I have been to many plant shows here in Thailand including regular visits to plant shops, markets and boutiques. I have also crossed the borders a few times into Vietnam and Bali and had a stint living in Ubud Bali for a few months.

Buying, selling and shipping plants from here to the EU and UK is not for the faint hearted, there were lots of problems at the start of my journey including being scammed out of a considerable amount of money in Indonesia hence the move to Thailand. Im not saying that all Indonesians are scammers but the thing that concerned me is that when you tell anyone they have the same reaction, laughing!!!

I am sure they still see the westerner as a cash ATM so if you do decide to come over and visit these plant nurseries make sure you do your homework.

So what does my second year in Asia have installed for me? Well hopefully after making lots of friends in the plant world both in Thailand and Indonesia, (mainly Bogor on the beautiful Island of Java), I am also starting to get to know a few of the Vietnamese growers and sellers which can be a little hard to communicate with as their English is not as advanced as say the Thai’s.

One thing I have learned from some of the dealings I have had with people over the last year, is that there is an incredible amount of jealousy, anger and damn right bullying on some of the plant facebook groups out there, even if they don’t know you they will jump on the bandwagon when people make comments. These people are not worth the time or energy and I do urge caution when people pretend to befriend you in these groups as the tide of hatred can turn very quickly.

Thank you to all my customers who have stuck with me over the turbulent course that was 2023.

I wish everyone wherever they are in the world a happy new year, bring it on 2024

Deep in the jungle nursery | Bogor 2023

Many trips around the plant nuseries of Asia | Bogor 2023