Bogor Botanical Garden: King Rama V favorite place in Java

During his three visits to Java in 1870, 1896 and 1901, King Chulachomklao (Rama V) went as often as time allowed to the Bogor Botanical Garden in Buitenzorg (today known as Bogor) about 65km south of Jakarta in West Java, Indonesia.

Bogor Botanical Garden, a research center equipped with a laboratory, lecture hall, library, museum and so, forth all open to the public, covers an area of 87 hectares and abounds with excellent examples of floral and fauna. Build in 1817 by Java's Dutch Governor-General Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff, the objective was to create a research center built around tropical cash crops like coffee, rubber, quinine, tea and others, while acting as a demonstration center for growing heven brasiliensis rubber plants. At that time, Bogor Botanical Garden was the most modern and largest in Asia.

King Chulachomklao's keen interest in agriculture and botany later became an important part of government development policy in Thailand. By the end of his reign, agricultural development had made a great leap forward.

At Buitenzorg, the King relaxed, enjoying the wondrous landscapes of colorful plants before him, while paying particular attention to plants not seen, or available, in Thailand. He took home with him seeds and saplings including the bottle-shaped palm trees, berries (Takob Farang), licorice, water hyacinths and many more.

On his return from visits to Java and Europe, King Chulachomklao commanded the building of Suan Dusit Garden Palace, landscaping it – Javanese-style – with imported plants. A number of spotted deer were also imported from Java and housed in a deer zoo at the palace – today the location of Suan Ambhorn Palace. He also hired a Dutch agricultural expert and two Javanese assistants to design the landscape at Suan Dusit Palace.

Initially King Chulachomklao planned to build a botanical garden in Thailand for research purposes, similar to many, other big cities abroad, as a key facility for studying genetic improvements and plant reproduction for economic gain. Although he had allocated 100 rai (40 acres) of land at Suan Dusit Palace for this purpose, the king's vision never materialized due to a lack of capable, trained agriculturists to run the project.

In any event, it would have taken over a decade to establish a well-stocked botanical garden for public visits. Each plant would have had to be researched and checked for origin; carefully nursing each one to the fullest extent before planting into well-prepared soil with suitable landscaping to ensure each plant's survival. Moreover, the process of collecting imported plants would have taken a very long time, requiring some plants to be obtained through an exchange process with foreign botanical gardens.

Although King Chulachomklao's initiative failed to materialize, Thailand today has two, large, well-stocked botanical gardens that also serve as public parks: Suan Luang Ror 9 in Praves District, Bangkok, and the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden in Mae Rim District in Chiang Mai.

King Chulachomklao's initial idea to build in Thailand a botanical garden similar to the Bogor Botanical Garden he so much admired demonstrated the King's insight and vision in wanting to develop and modernize the country in terms of botanical science, natural science, medicine and agriculture. It may not have worked out during his lifetime, but the King's ideas, today, are indeed a reality.