Traditionally,
Thailand has been an agricultural economy, and the cultivation of
rice using old methods continues even today. In recent times, an
increasing number of tourists are showing more interest in exploring
the unseen side of this country. With the rise of eco-tourism,
travelers have started visiting some remote areas of the region.
Thailand's history is characterized by a series of military coups
that were largely peaceful. Today, the country has achieved a
considerable amount of stability, thanks to its new prime minister.
This has been of immense benefit to the growing tourism industry of
this region, which attracts plenty of travelers every year coming
from different corners of the world. Many of the country's towns and
cities are favored by majority of travelers, but there are certain
areas that remain rather unexplored. A very interesting aspect of
Thailand
tourism is the visit to farms that
are created by building terraces to shore up the hillsides. People
living in the hilly areas of the country pioneered this concept of
farming, and thus adapted to their surrounding environment easily.
Since the steep-sloping hillsides are the only option in terms of
land to grow their crops on, terrace farming developed as an
innovative way of cultivating rice in these areas. As a result, one
can find many such farms in the remote parts of Thailand, and several
tourists have taken this concept to their own countries.
Thailand Rice crops
Rice
crops have been cultivated using this method since ancient times, and
farmers have created several levels of farms in this process. An area
that seems very inhospitable is utilized by people inhabiting the
region to grow their crops in this way. A Thailand
rice terraceappears
more like steps on a steep slope that is extremely beautiful to look
at with its rice crops swaying to the tune of winds. Water stops on
the level plain, instead of flowing down the hillside. This prevents
erosion of lower terraces and higher ones get enough water. In this
way, water is put to good use, which would have otherwise been
wasted. Vast quantities of rice which comes from Thailand are grown
on such kind of terrace farms, a concept which has also been adopted
by a few other Southeast Asian countries. Invention of this type of
farming was made out of necessity, as people of these areas had no
other way to get their food.
Thailand rice farmer carrying rice bundle.
When
rice has matured slightly it called as “Baby Rice” byThailand
farmers, it is cut and moved to the mud in the flooded fields. Each
grain in the bundle is then stuck upright in the mud. Rice
requires plenty of water to grow, and terrace farming is the best way
to ensure adequate supply of water to the farms. For promoting Rice
Farming Thailand Government organizes “Thailand Rice Convention”
each year.
Thailand Rice Terrace
In
recent times, many tour operators are coming up with innovative ways
to attract tourists wanting to visit Thailand. They include tours to
the areas where travelers can witness rice terraces and know more
about the method by which rice is grown in such a way. People who are
a part of these tours would also get the unique opportunity to
interact with local farmers. In this way, a rather unusual option has
been added to the itinerary that is generally offered to the
tourists. Every year, plenty of tour operators or travel companies
come up with excellent vacation packages for people who wish to
explore Thailand.
Rice Terrace Field
Most
of the exciting places
to see in this country are included
in these packages. On certain occasions, there are discounts or
special offers that are provided for travelers, which help them to
save big time while booking their tour packages. Booking of
international flights, hotels and Thailand tour packages have been
made easy today due to the presence of various travel websites.
User-friendliness of such sites enables tourists to book their
desired Thailand
packages instantly without any
hassles.