Living There
Conveniently located at the very heart of the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, intersecting Chang Khlan Road and Loi Khro Road, allow me to welcome you to the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, which is an experience not to be missed if you happen to be travelling in Thailand.
The Chinese merchants once owned the market but eventually it grew to a huge size spanning up to a whopping two blocks including the stretch between Tha Pae and Sri Donchai roads. Over time, more commercial buildings were erected thus offering more selections of goods.
Experience Chiang Mai in any way you like, be it by day shopping or by night shopping; either way get the best of both and be thrilled with the unique activities each offer.
By day, the place transforms into an ordinary street market filled with a plenitude of shops and restaurants including hotels. Go berserk in the main street literally flooded with shopping arcades although at this time, you’re quite looking at a preview of what’s to unfold when the night descends turning the streets into a frenzied gathering of shoppers. Daytime shopping quickly drains your energy so refresh and charge up by getting a cold blast of Starbucks coffee or simply snack up on either Burger King or McDonalds.
While lazily strolling the streets in the late afternoon, witness how the locals pedal their merchandises and finally turn the streets into what is popularly known as the enthralling Night Bazaar.
As the sun sets, the magic begins, the streets light up and the shopping spree gets unstoppable until midnight although some vendors remain open even later. Get ready to brisk amid like-minded crowd trying to cut amazing deals on fabulous selections of various items.
Essentially a shopper’s paradise, feed your passion by breezing through bargain selections of various designer goods ranging from clothing, belts and shoes to jewelry collections. There are also thousands of dirt cheap DVD’s and CD’s to choose from if you don’t mind the poor quality. In Chiang Mai, bargaining is like a sport so add a unique twist to your shopping tactics and have more fun. A great tip is being the first shopper; don’t shy away from bargaining to your heart’s content as the locals consider it bad luck for the first customer to not buy anything.
Visitors usually come for the hand-tailored Thai silk. Although, you won’t be blamed if you decide to look for the “same-same but different” t-shirts which are basically imitated brands. Nonetheless, if you’re all set to give it a try, head straight to the two-level Viang Ping Night Bazaar, near Tha Phae Road, because they offer better quality goods such as clothing and handicrafts.
Shopping in the Night Bazaar is absolutely stunning and the Thais are friendly people. The cleanliness of the place is superb and the cool night brings even more surprises.
