Shopping In Chaing Mai: An Overview

Chiang Mai has a reputation as the place to buy traditional Thai handicrafts. This is, to a great extent true, partly because the area around Chiang Mai- that of the mountainous north - is inhabited mostly by hill tribes, most of who have a culturally rich lifestyle which they refuse to exchange for modernity. Among the best known and most exquisite crafts of the region are cottage industries like lacquer work, woodcarving, textile weaving (silk and cotton), celadon pottery, silverware, jewellery, embroidery, hand painted paper umbrellas and Burmese tapestries. Some factories and workshops in Chiang Mai, besides selling their products, also hold demonstrations of how these are produced. Within Chiang Mai, there are lots of street stalls and craft shops where you can make your purchases; the best known, however, is the `Night Bazaar’, where you can get nearly all the handicrafts of the northern country.