Orchid Collector's Heaven

My landlord came in today and saw the group of orchids that had started cluttering the yard and suggested I might want to go and have a look at the 'open market' that is set up in Phuket Town's Sapan Hin park for the week surrounding the New Year festival.  Given that I was in the general area I went looking for it and after only about twenty minutes of driving circles in the madness of Phuket town, I spied what looked like the right place.  It takes a lot to leave me speechless, but this did it in spades.  Stall after stall full of plants, orchids and others, that I have looked at in books for years and years and thought I would never see in the flesh, and most of them available to buy!  To put it in perspective, I found a plant I have wanted all my life, laying in a pile and had a battle to understand what it was going to cost me to get some.  I was given a price and paid as fast as I could and was selecting the piece I wanted and the vendor kept grabbing other bits as well.  Then I understood as he started weighing them.  The price I had paid was not for a piece, but for a kilo.  I got three pieces in my kilo and it may be a year or two before I really know if it is the Dendrobium chrysotoxum var. suavissimum he assured me it was, but it was an eye opener anyway.  My legs gave out and I had only been through each stall twice!  I tried to be verycontrolled and only bought ten plants.....   today.  Going back tomorrow with a full wallet and a camera.  Even if you are not into plants, and especially orchids, don't tune out.  The food section of the market is another story.  Tonight I ate frog (yes, it did taste like chicken) and 'beetle grub' which tastes sort of roughly like nothing I ever want to put near my mouth ever again.  I stopped short of the segment worms, grasshoppers and beetles as big as my thumb.  Pictures will follow.  For tonight there are just two special plants to put up.