TotallyOz Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Chiang Mai has several options for shopping. They have several malls and shopping areas. Two of them I went to on several occassions. Both are called Central Shopping. One of them is very close to PJ's Guest House and within walking distance of the hotel and the other area is close to the airport. Both have movies and many stores. They also had metered taxies outside and was very easy to take a taxi or to get a Tuk Tuk. The night bazar is close to the D2 bars. It is nightly and has tons of discounted merchandise from clothes to trinkets to Thailand souvenirs. It is a favorite of tourists. I bought several things here and all were discounted for me from the regular sell price. It is no problem to find a Tuk Tuk from this area. They are in abundant and easy to find. There is a Sunday night market which is lots of fun and a large area of shopping. I noticed that Sundays were very slow in the bars and many told me it was because of the Sunday night market. Not sure if that is the real reason but I was told many Thai boys love to go there. There is an entire area for flowers and I love flowers. I went there a few times and got an arrangemnt for my room and it was very inexpensive and beautifully decorated. If antiques are your thing, there are several really nice places for antiques but you need to find them and ask someone who knows. I have a few places I shop for ancient Buddhas and have always been happy with the service I get from Chiang Mai area shops. If you are looking for wood crafts and homemade tapestries and other things that are made by hand, there are areas for all those things. There are a few silver factories that will custom make anything you want. You should ask your tour guide to take you to the place where they actually sell straight from the craftsmen and not to a store that buys and then resells. The cost for savings is large and it is wonderful to see the work in progress. All in all, I really loved shopping in Chiang Mai. It is cheaper than other cites as far as I could tell and it has a wide diversity of shopping experiences. Quote
Guest jomtien Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Chiang Mai has several options for shopping. All that is fine and dandy. The real question is, "What did you buy me?". Quote
Guest Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 All that is fine and dandy. The real question is, "What did you buy me?". Well, of course I bought you a boy. Sorry, but I not good at surprises so I opened the present early. Lets just say, I picked the cream of the crop for you. You would have adored him! Quote
Guest jomtien Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Well, of course I bought you a boy. Sorry, but I not good at surprises so I opened the present early. Lets just say, I picked the cream of the crop for you. You would have adored him! But.....I never told you what size I took........ Quote
Bob Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Naraiphand is a 4-5 story government sponsored handicraft center in Bangkok. If you are ever interested in buying better quality (better quality than night market items but still reasonably priced) Thai handicrafts (many varieties of lacquered boxes, the gold-edged porcelain, silk items, and everything else under the sun), Naraiphand is a great place to pick up your souvenirs/handicrafts. There is a much smaller version of Naraiphand in Chiangmai. It's on the southeast corner of Chang Klan at the south end of the night market (it's over and behind the McDonald's on the corner - and now kitty corner to the new Le Meridian Hotel). Some pretty decent items there (it's a branch of the Bangkok store) and there is a very decent shipping outfit 10 feet outside the Naraiphand door. Just noting this as I'm doubtful if just about anybody knows about this place (at least the one in Chiangmai). For flowers, I think GT is referring to Warrarot Market (which is just north of Taipae Road along the west side of the Ping River). Huge selection of flowers and fruit (and many other items). And if you go to the north end of the market and head west 1/2 of block, you'll be in the middle of a ton of gold shops, clothing shops, etc., that are busy all the time. For wood furniture (and some larger wood handicrafts), spending a few hours walking around the furniture area of Hang Dong is a lot of fun (I'm occasionally a wood handicrafter at home so I can get real excited window shopping in the Hang Dong area). This area is 3-5 miles south of the airport area. And you'd be surprised that the cost of shipping some of these items back home is really not all that expensive. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 If you want beautiful little silk items similar to those found at Jim Thomson in Bangkok but considerably cheaper, find a shop across the river named Vila Cini on Charoenrat Road near and on the same side as Wat Chetuphon. And if gorgeous table runners, bed runners, napkins etc. are your thing, go to Sop Moei Arts a little further up on the same side. These incorporate some hill tribe workmanship and are not cheap, but they are unique and I have never met anyone who does not adore them. Quote
Guest buaseng Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 For wood furniture (and some larger wood handicrafts), spending a few hours walking around the furniture area of Hang Dong is a lot of fun (I'm occasionally a wood handicrafter at home so I can get real excited window shopping in the Hang Dong area). This area is 3-5 miles south of the airport area. And you'd be surprised that the cost of shipping some of these items back home is really not all that expensive. Another note of caution (especially for any Brits). I bought a beautifully made carved and highly-polished teak writing desk at Hang Dong and had it shipped back to the UK. The total price including shipping was in the region of £400. When it arrived in Southampton (the UK port of unloading) I was stung for custom duties, customs inspection costs and in-country transit insurance to the tune of £510 i.e. 125% of the original price/shipping cost!. Beware! Quote
Bob Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 A few years back, I bought a teak roll-top desk and three large teak chests (very heavy "hope chest" type items with hand carving on all sides and the top) and paid just shy of $500.00 for all those items (I'd guess one of the chests is worth more than $1,000.00 in the states). It cost me $450.00 to ship all of them back to Michigan and some idiot in California made me pay $45.00 for something (think it was a bribe to some longshoreman). Still, got everything back here for just shy of $1,000.00. Great deal in my view. P.S. When you pay for shipping, you end up paying for an entire container and it's the same cost whether you have the container full or less than full. The furniture vendor pointed that out and told me I could buy more items to fill up the container (I declined as II already had what I wanted). P.S. The value for customs was what I paid for the items and, based on that, there wasn't any cost (I could be wrong but think US citizens can bring back about $750.00 worth of stuff duty free). Quote
payless Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 It cost me $450.00 to ship all of them back to Michigan P.S. When you pay for shipping, you end up paying for an entire container and it's the same cost whether you have the container full or less than full. Your goods went as a part load of a container. You did not pay for a full container, the price would have been considerably more even way back when. Currently a 20' container to the USA port to port would be about 5000 US. Quote
Bob Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 That could very well be. I was told I was paying for a 10' container which I took to mean a container 10' x 10' x 10'. But perhaps I was paying for a partial container, hell if I know (I never saw the actual container). Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 For wood furniture (and some larger wood handicrafts), spending a few hours walking around the furniture area of Hang Dong is a lot of fun I am proobably in the minority, but 2 years ago I went to several stores in the Hang Dong area to get a smalll dining table and some chairs for my Bangkok apartment. I finally selected one on the basis of what I saw in the showroom and the large 'factory' out back, plus recommendations from various parts of the world. When the shipment arrived a few weeks later, I was appalled at the workmanship. There were problems with every item - even with the varnishing. The store arranged for them to be sent back to Chiang Mai, repaired and returned to Bangkok. Well, they were better, but they certainly were not of the high quality I had seen on my visit. So beware that there may be a 'quality' for overseas clients and 'another' for suppposed locals. Quote
