Night Bazaar Location and Hours
The main venue for shopping in Chiang Mai, indeed all of
Thailand, the night bazaar is a can't-miss part of the Chiang
Mai experience. Ground zero of this nightly commerce bomb
is located at the intersection of Chang Khlan Road and Loi
Khro Road but the whole thing spreads out for two blocks in
either direction. Set up time is around sunset (usually about
18:00) and shopping goes on unabated until about 22:30 with
a few vendors remaining open even later.
A good way to check out the whole thing is to start at Tha
Phae Road and work your way south towards Loi Khro. Once you
reach the end of the market, cross the street and work your
way back along the other side. Don't forget to peek down the
little sois (alleyways) and arcades along the way. If you
see something you like you might want to be patient-there
are hundreds of vendors and an absolute flood of products
for sale.
What to Buy
The night bazaar consists of countless stalls packed along
the sidewalks and spilling out into the street. Here you can
find vendors selling almost anything you can think of. The
selection is simply staggering and items on offer include
CDs, DVDs, clothes, shoes, Thai silk, handicrafts, purses,
wallets, watches, video games, luggage, housewares, furniture,
statues of aliens made from auto parts, spices, souvenirs,
samurai swords, art, jewellery, silver, antiques, and a hundred
other species of knick-knack and goo-gah that defy categorization.
Quality varies from vendor to vendor but low prices mean you
almost always get good value for your money.
The best goods on offer here are usually clothes, from hand-tailored
Thai silk to the latest 'designer' fashions to the ubiquitous
Red Bull and "Same Same But Different" t-shirts.
Another big draw for visitors is the huge selection of cheap
CDs and DVDs. When buying music or movies make sure you test
the disc before buying. The quality of the copies is sometimes
abysmally low, especially for the newest movies (i.e. ones
that are still in theatres). Most CD and DVD vendors will
have a player set up so you can check out the merchandise
before making a purchase.
Most of the stalls sell pretty much the same things as other
vendors in the bazaar (one sarong starts to look a lot like
all the rest after a while) but keep a sharp eye out-you can
find some really unique treasures if you look hard enough.
Some vendors will have a small shop or storeroom with further
wares if you don't see what you want on display.
For a step up in the quality (and price) of goods, try out
the two level, purpose-built Viang Ping Night Bazaar, near
Tha Phae Road. The handicrafts here are more authentic, the
clothes are more durable and the fabrics are of better quality.
Although there are plenty of specialist markets and shops
in Chiang Mai, the night bazaar is a great cross-section of
everything the city has to offer.
|
Food, Drink and Services
For mid-spree snacking there are plenty of restaurants and
bars in the vicinity where you can take a load off and review
your purchases. Just off the main street you will find a delightful
selection of Thai seafood and noodle restaurants, while Loi
Khro Road just east of Chang Khlan Road (towards the river)
has a number of international restaurants and pubs. If you
need your fix of western comfort you'll find a Subway, a McDonald's
and a Starbucks on the main strip. Also in the area are numerous
other useful services such as travel agents, internet cafés,
mobile phone shops and camera shops.
|
