Chiang Mai is a shopping paradise, simply because there is such a wide range of unusual goods at knock down prices. The quality is variable but the value for money undeniable, and most leave with much fuller luggage than when they arrived. When visiting Thailand it’s advisable to leave your shopping for Chiang Mai, it’s considered one of the cheapest places in Thailand and getting about town is easy.
Chiang Mai - a shoppers’ paradise
Chiang Mai - a shoppers’ paradise

Chiang Mai is one of the handicraft centres of Asia, and not surprisingly many of the market traders from overseas come here to source their goods. Silk, silver, clothing, rattan, ceramics, interior décor, antiques, Buddhist art, lacquer and neilloware—the list of options is endless for shopping in Chiang Mai.

The centre of shopping is undoubtedly the Night Bazaar, which takes up several blocks every evening along Chang Klan road. Here you can wander among the countless pavement stalls and arcades admiring the beautifully crafted Northern Thai handicrafts. The more serious can head out to the huge handicraft wholesalers at San Kamphaeng and check out Borsang village with its colourful umbrellas. Baan Tawai to the south of the city is a busy working carving centre with some exquisite pieces on display and the best selection of antiques.

Read more about Chiang Mai’s markets in our “A day at the markets” article here, and about Baan Tawai in our “Baan Tawai - a shopper’s paradise” article here.

Scattered around the centre of Chiang Mai are plenty of handicraft shops catering to tourist shopping tastes. These are more specialised and slightly more expensive but present a better quality. There are fabric shops and tailors everywhere, quirky little establishments selling curious hill tribe products and crafts, shoe shops and boutiques, jewellers and gems dealers, and some very exclusive antique shops.

We’ve had some incredible birthday parties with guest attending from around the world. Our Australian Surfer friend, Rex and his lovely wife (who did most of the work) planned a 50th birthday party at Foxy Lady that was attended by top surfers together their spouses from Bali, Hawaii, California, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The bar girls were blown away and so were the guests. “Hang eleven.” Years later, Rex’s 50th is still talked about around town and I’m sure his guests are still in shock.

Sporting events are also a perfect venue. Club Foxy Lady sponsors local golf tournaments and is a sponsor for the famous Chiang-mai Cricket International Tournament that takes place annually. You can laugh with the bloopers just as hard as the crowd hoots and hollers with a spectacular performance taped the day of the matches and played on our 100” projection screen. In one memorable Cricket match a player took a ball right smack on the nose which bloodied his nose. All night the crowd was screaming “play the bloody nose!!” If you’ve never seen yourself perform on a 100” projection screen, that, in itself is an experience, but with all else that goes on at Foxy Lady the experience is amplified to unforgettable proportions.