Soap Carving in Thailand

The beauty about going on holiday to a location which is entirely different to one's own is that you learn and see things which you wouldn't normally.

An art form which I had never seen before and which is practiced in Thailand is soap carving.  I bought this exquisite flower carved from soap which was presented in a beautifully painted lacquer container from a Thai lady who showed me how she carved the soap.

As soon as I got home I couldn't resist extracting the flower and seeing what I could do with it.  From one art form to another:

Big in Thailand is also fruit and vegtable carving:
Check this out: http://www.jmcreativedesigns.com/Vegetable%20Fruit%20Carvings.htm

I also discovered after some digging around that the Thais are not the only people to carve soap:
http://www.dimidumo.be/Lester%20Gaba%20text%203.htm