Surprising Things You’d Only See in Thailand

Deep in the forests of southern Thailand grows a flower that hardly looks real. Rafflesia produces an enormous five-petaled bloom roughly 50 to 60 centimeters across, with thick reddish-brown petals and a strange central structure that gives it an almost prehistoric appearance.

The spectacle is remarkably short-lived. A bud can take eight or nine months to develop, yet the flower remains open for only four or five days before darkening and decaying. In Thailand, these unusual blooms are found in Khao Sok and Khlong Phanom national parks. Months of waiting lead to just a few extraordinary days.