Going bananas!
- By: PATSINEE KRANLERT
- Published: 2/10/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Horizons
Touring Kamphaeng Phet's ancient ruins and an orchard was no piece of cake
Contrary to the popular Thai saying "khong kluay kluay" that roughly translates into "peeling banana" - an analogy used for things simple or easily done - my trip that began with a 5am wake up call to the "land of bananas" in Kamphaeng Phet was anything but a piece of cake.
The call was followed by a five-hour adventure through flashes of lightning and non-stop rain that refused to relent. Soon after the car carrying us entered the vast Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park, we got off our vehicle, boarded a shuttle tram and rode past numerous ancient laterite ruins.
Declared by Unesco a World Heritage site in 1991, together with two other sites - Sukhothai Historical Park and Si Satchanalai - in Sukhothai province, Kamphaeng Phet and its ancient archaeological remains scattered across a lush forest-covered landscape are evidence that the civilisation that once thrived in its embrace was on par with what existed in Sukhothai around the same time.
History has it that Kamphaeng Phet's strategic location made it a major buffer against the Burmese during the Sukhothai period. This historical fact is clearly evident through structures in the old city compound which was protected by a three-tiered moat that still stands, and reinforced by strong laterite walls and fortifications.
Even though this ancient heritage offers a glimpse into the glorious history of the province, Kamphaeng Phet's origin still remains a mystery. Unlike its northern neighbours, the story of its birth has been pieced largely from popular legend and common perception.
By now the sky had begun to clear and the sun emerged from the clouds. We decided to move to another prominent symbol of the province, the banana fruit.
Nestled in an area of Kamphaeng Phet Chalermphrakiat Museum inside the old city wall is a banana orchard set in the backyard of a group of traditional wooden Thai-style buildings.
At the orchard that is huge, there are not only the typical Thai varieties like kluay khai, kluay hom or fragrant banana and kluay nam wa , but almost 200 other species of various shape, size and colour making it a tropical banana treasury.
There were quaint-looking bananas, some ripe some raw bearing names weird and comical as their form, hard to pronounce and harder to remember. It wasn't so much as "peeling banana," after all.
Strikingly colourful flowering bananas in shades of brilliant red, pink, orange and yellow thrived on the front side of the garden. Among them were the ornamental pink variety whose bright sheath resembled a lotus bud. Grown for decorative purposes, these bananas are sought after because they add a lush tropical feel to your garden.
Next were the edible varieties. The highlights included the Theppanom species, which caught everyone's eyes with its peculiar cluster that resembled a big bunch of Siamese banana. You couldn't peel them off one at a time because the skin at every tier was inseparably fused to the one next to it.
Next up was kluay klai shaped like elephant tusk. Its distinctive characteristic has to do with its reddish blossom or hua plee that wouldn't be found on the tree like your regular banana. Interestingly, the history of this variety is believed to date back to the reign of King Narai the Great of Ayutthaya.
Then we spotted kluay nak , that irresistible ink red species that turns golden brown when fully ripe, and then wrapped up our orchard tour after a look at the Black Tanee species, or kluay tanee dum in Thai. Its eye-catching black leaves emit a delectable aroma when put to steam or a flame.
Black Tanee leaves are durable. They can be folded into whatever shape desired without risking tear, making them ideal for artistic works such as ornament made from its elaborately-folded leaves used in traditional "Bai Sri" religious rites or for wrapping savoury food or sweets.
It takes most seedless banana species grown at the orchard seven to eight months to bear fruit, while for ornamental banana you need to wait longer - two or three years.
The tour and the day proved a nice learning curve, but around dusk I was forced to flee the banana treasury after being attacked by armies of red ants. It seemed they had taken offence of my trespassing their territory.
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