Chiang Mai is the shopping mecca for all of northern Thailand, and the amount of stuff for sale was absolutely staggering! Here are some pics of some noteworthy shops & stores.
These jars were full of intriguing stuff. We had to hurry by, tho & didn't stop.
These jars were full of intriguing stuff. We had to hurry by, tho & didn't stop.
One of the many red & GOLD shops! Wow!
The evening flower market.
Here's the way to buy eggs!
These big guys are called Jackfruit. We ate some cooked into an Indian style dish that was quite delicious. I estimate 15-20 inches as the diameter of these guys.
We spotted these jelly cakes at the mall food court - pretty, huh?
Warorot Market was one of our favorite places to shop. It was a bit of a hike from our hotel, but so much to discover here! It's a 3 story 'mall', here we are looking down on the main floor. At the top of this pic you can just see one amazing vendor...
Here she is 'in her vegetables'. She was completely surrounded -don't know how she got in & out - a trap door?
At a street market - insect edibles!
This is a great shop selling every kind of spice, and what a fabulous aroma!
We went looking for some Kao Soi curry powder - THE dish of northern Thailand that we just loved, and we were directed to this shop ... and success!
We went looking for some Kao Soi curry powder - THE dish of northern Thailand that we just loved, and we were directed to this shop ... and success!
Down at the end of Warorot Market is a long hallway full of vendors -
we always stopped for these little yummy bean filled buns.
Of all the varieties, our favorite was anise flavored - I miss them!!
The fabric shops are amazing - so much to discover!
The aisles are about 8-12 inches wide, no room for passing, and watch out for dead ends!
we always stopped for these little yummy bean filled buns.
Of all the varieties, our favorite was anise flavored - I miss them!!
The fabric shops are amazing - so much to discover!The aisles are about 8-12 inches wide, no room for passing, and watch out for dead ends!
More bugs! No we never tried any!
This was my favorite shop - about 10 feet wide & absolutely crammed from floor to ceiling with craft materials, and spilling out onto the sidewalk, too. I think if you were to pull something out of the lower section, there would be a huge landslide!
This shop of rolled stock opened right onto the sidewalk - this is the whole store!
This is one of our favorite fruit stands up the street from our hotel. At the front from the left you can see persimmon, dragon fruit, asian pear, papaya & fresh tamarind in the mesh bag.
These bad boys are called Durian. This is the notorious fruit that is either loved or hated - it's very smelly, but has a sweet creamy taste. We tried it once but didn't like it much. There are lots of stories of durian being forbidden on public transportation and lots of other places because of it's smell (No Smoking, No Eating, No Durian).When we saw it for sale it was always set off in it's own area with no other vendors around!
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian for more information.
Bookstores, ahhh! Chiang Mai is a great area for books. One day I counted 15 used bookstores within easy walking distance of our hotel - full of mostly English language titles. Most of them were small stores unlike the large Thai bookstore pictured below (1 of 2 that we found). So, if you go to Chiang Mai, you don't need to pack half a suitcase with books (like I usually do).They are a bit expensive tho - a just-OK-condition used paperback book can cost much more than a great meal from a street vendor.
All sizes, styles & colors of religious figures are available.
Painting & drawing classes are offered in art galleries. This famous National Geographic photo of a girl from Afghanistan is a popular picture to copy.
A beautiful sidewalk stand!
A beautiful sidewalk stand!
This is part of Sompet Market - another favorite of ours. We often shopped here for fruit & would see groups of students from the many local cooking schools gathering with their chef to learn about the local produce.
Here's a bunch of typical Thai flavors used in many basic dishes - lemon grass, lime leaf, galanga root & ginger. Handy!
These are all sorts of sweets & treats - mostly made from coconut, aren't they pretty?
More interesting fruit - in front is mangosteen & behind is a tall pyramid of hairy rambutan.
One of our favorite fruit sellers - Yoda!
But this was hands-down my favorite store - the cookie warehouse!
