A World of Orchids

20th April ‘21

There are over 28,000 recognised species of orchids, from about 763 genera. During our time in Miri, Sarawak from 2000-2005, we’d been fortunate to enjoy a dazzling display of freshly cut orchids being delivered to our house once a fortnight, from our friend Winnie Saba’s orchid farm.

We were now off to visit an orchid farm about an hour’s drive north of Kuala Lumpur, known as World of Phalaenopsis, which apparently is one of the most cultivated genera of plants in the world. This farm was set up in 2006, in a little kampung (village) called Ulu Yam on the way to the Genting Highlands. It was good to get out of the city into the clean, hilly air. To be honest, we had no idea what to expect, having done little research, just following in the footsteps of our friends.

“The café seems to have been the greatest hit when we were there,” assured our friend. “But don’t arrive too late, as it gets a bit busy!”

We arrived around noon, perhaps not the best time, but it had been a last-minute decision to come here. We parked the car on a strip of grass outside and duly paid two delightful little boys with three one-ringgit notes – they were thrilled to see two real live foreigners and held up their fingers proudly for the money!

As we entered the World of Phalaenopsis, we saw exotic displays of these beautiful plants for sale to left and right. At this stage, I hadn’t quite figured what Phalaenopsis meant, and was wondering why they all looked so similar – with basic variations on pink – some a bit spottier and more stripy than others, with the length of stem and number of flowers determining their price.

Phalaenopsis are commonly known as moth orchids, due to their shape, and though many of their species are native to Malaysia and SE Asia, they are cultivated around the world for indoor displays due to their ease of propagation and ability to flower under artificial conditions. Apparently, they were amongst the first tropical plants to be included in Victorian collections.

We rounded a corner and our eye was drawn to a couple of ponds full of flowering water lilies, with fish and little turtles lurking in their shade. A gossamer-winged dragonfly gently landed on one of the flowers.

A hum of bees in a corner signalled the presence of stingless bees (lebah kelulut) in hives in a couple of tree stumps. There were signs asking us to look but not disturb. These tiny, fascinating bees are found in the forests of Malaysia and have recently garnered much interest both here and overseas as their honey is now being considered a superfood. It is being produced for the health food market as well as to cure all manner of ailments from aches and pains to cancer. Kelulut honey’s antioxidant medical properties could be exploited as a natural nutraceutical to treat free radical associated disease.

The bees are quite tiny and hard to spot – even harder to photograph. Their hives are made of propolis rather than wax and I’m thinking it must take an awful lot of bees to make even a teaspoon of honey. They are selling tall, elegant 0.5L bottles for 28EUR a piece.

We stop in the café for a jug of deliciously refreshing ice lemon tea as we watch other visitors hungrily devouring plates of tasty-looking looking nasi lemak (a traditional rice dish) and sweet local cakes.

On leaving, we stop to buy an orchid, choosing, after much debate, a medium-sized spotty one with 10 flowers. Having spent so long choosing which one to buy, we are then told we have to choose a pot too and are given detailed instructions on how often and how much to water it. It feels like we are bringing home another pet to the house.

The journey back to KL takes us by a different route – this time via the windy E23 which wanders through the hills and past several waterfalls, a large lake and a few springs where families have stopped to fill up their water cans. We enjoy taking in all the lush jungle greenery and pass the Batu Caves as we head back to the bright lights of the city.