A Miniature of Taj Mahal at the Bank of Kahayan River

A Miniature of Taj Mahal at the Bank of Kahayan River.  In the name of love, Freddy Sachonk dedicated magnificent orchid palaces for his beloved wife, Dian Rahmawati, an orchid hobbyist. He built 2 palaces at the same time: by the Kahayan River and in Pisau Island. The first orchid palace measuring of 30 m x 20 m x 15 m, while the second is larger measuring of 80 m x 15 m. The grandeur of the orchid palaces can be seen in the extremely firm building structure. The bu ilding framework is made of steel that usually used to build bridge construction.

The roof is covered with polycarbonate plastic in piggy back design, i. e., small roof arranged over big roof. At the lower part of roof, shading nets are installed to minimize the amount of sunlight penetrating in. The shading net installed on the walls functions to hamper pests from coming in and also to muffle sunlight coming alongside. The growing houses are also equipped with automatic fogging.

Freddy was reluctant to share infomation on the cost he had spent, but as an estimation he spent IDR150-millions only for the wages of labors. 'It is definitely the grandest greenhouse for any orchid collectors,' Franky Handoyo, an orchid expert in Jakarta, who accompanied Trubus to visit Freddy's residence in March 2009, said. The palace is inhibited by 500 orchid species and thousands of hybrids.