A few rice fields near Phitsanulok

Rice is one of the most important foodstuffs in the world and one of the oldest known cultivated plants.

Along with Vietnam, Thailand remains one of the world's largest rice exporters.

During my recent long walk across the country, I had the opportunity to see rice paddies that were beautifully green in places, yellow in other corners, but also rice paddies where it was time to sow the seeds collected from a previous harvest...

At the time of sowing the rice, the landscape is not so beautiful... I stopped a few minutes to meet these workers in the area of Phitsanulok that I found sunk in the mud up to the knees, but the smile which I was gratified, was worth all the beautiful landscapes of the world!

A few weeks later, the shoots rise in the fields with just the right amount of water....

At any given time, these are magnificent landscapes, a strong green that can sometimes be admired as far as the eye can see

When the rice starts to yellow, it means that the harvest is close. Other long and hard work....
But how beautiful the landscapes are!

Superb rice field on the Phitsanulok side

It takes three months to get a rice harvest.
In the Khon Kaen region (Northeast/Isan), harvests are often difficult due to lack of water.

In many parts of this region, farmers only harvest rice once a year.

In the Phitsanulok region, i. e. more in the centre and west of the country, water is much more abundant.

In this region you can have three or more harvests per year.