| Sure, travelers can find some great bargains in | | | | Ask the people who know where to find good |
| Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. But a lot depends on | | | | quality at a good price. The desk clerk at your hotel |
| what you want to buy, what you know about what | | | | may can be a good source of information and it |
| you want to buy, where you are and when you | | | | never hurts to ask. A taxi driver may know but he |
| want it. A bargain is finding and buying what you | | | | may also offer to take you to the factory that will |
| have been looking for at a price that makes you | | | | pay him the highest commission. Maybe better yet is |
| happy. There have been times and places when I | | | | to buy a necktie in a small local tailor shop and ask |
| thought that ten dollars for a cool drink of water | | | | where he buys his silk. You can expect him to |
| would be a great trade but most of the time I can | | | | arrange a commission also but you will find a good |
| find a drink for a lot less. The same goes for | | | | buy and at least you won't end up in one of the |
| shopping anywhere, including Thailand. | | | | tourist traps. |
| The days are long gone when the simple native folk | | | | For other goods produced locally, whether in small |
| would part with their treasures for a handful of | | | | factories, workshops or in village homes go where |
| trinkets. I think they ended just about the time the | | | | the locals shop. The large permanent marketplaces |
| wheel was invented. Now the steady stream of | | | | that aren't on the tourist trail, like Woororot Market |
| tourists in Thailand is met by some of the most | | | | in Chiang Mai, are where the locals go to buy the |
| skilled small traders and well managed large retailers | | | | daily necessities; food, flowers, clothes, cloth, shoes |
| anywhere. This isn't necessarily bad, the competition | | | | and just about everything else. For handicrafts, |
| does keep prices within reason but don't expect to | | | | decorating items, T-shirts, small antiques, food, music, |
| find the buy of a lifetime when the sellers know that | | | | a great foot massage and more than you can |
| another tour bus is due in fifteen minutes. | | | | remember plus a relaxing evening of entertainment, |
| I live in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand and see | | | | the place to go is one of the one-day markets. |
| the tourists come and go, they are good for the | | | | These can be found in several areas of the city and |
| economy and I feel good that the vast majority | | | | in small towns one or two days a week. The best |
| leave happy. Their money gets spread around to | | | | one that I've ever found is the Sunday Walking |
| hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions and the | | | | Market on Ratchadaemon Road in Chiang Mai. |
| things they take home with them are usually | | | | The market gets into full swing in the cool of the |
| purchased at the large (high overhead) tourist shops | | | | evening on the plaza in front of Thapae Gate, the |
| or at the large (high overhead) Night Bazaar. There's | | | | main entrance to the walled city, and continues |
| nothing at all wrong with this. I go to those places | | | | across the city moat, covering more streets than can |
| myself for the entertainment value but I don't | | | | be explored in one evening. If something is small |
| expect to find any real bargains. When my family | | | | enough to carry into the market area (and small |
| visits I take them to those places to have a good | | | | enough to fit in your suitcase) there is a good chance |
| time but we go somewhere else when it's time to | | | | that at least one small-trader has staked out a place |
| buy souvenirs or "Made in Thailand." | | | | on the cobblestone pavement and is doing a brisk |
| Silk is often high on the list of thing to buy and it's | | | | business. Whether you go to buy or to just soak up |
| possible to get some really great buys. A small | | | | the sights, sounds and tastes, this is where you will |
| amount of time invested can pay good dividends. | | | | find a bargain. |