Many people today travel to Thailand simply for the beaches in the south of Thailand, this is fine if you are a beach fan.
However, if you are planning to visit Thailand, might I suggest that you try to include the North of Thailand in your schedule. Whilst the north is landlocked you will, assuming you’re interested, see all the arts & crafts made in Thailand. In Chiang Mai city and province, you will experience a multitude of crafts on display.
Unfortunately, each village tends to have its own particular product that it concentrates on. This can make it particularly difficult for those of us on a tight time schedule.
Fortunately, since the Thai people are of a very business oriented nature, they have found an ingenious way of offering all their crafts together daily at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.
The bazaar starts to get prepared from 3 pm, so no need to get up too early, it continues as long as there are customers about which is usually around midnight. If your feet start aching you will find a delightful restaurant complex in the centre of the Night Bazaar, the food is inexpensive, yet extensive and they present a cabaret of Northern Thailand dancing. Most enjoyable.
You will find almost all the craft offerings are a little more expensive here than in their respective villages. The time and expense required to visit the village will only pay off if you are thinking in terms of large quantities.
It is an exhilarating experience simply to walk around and take in all the sights and aromas that abound but, if you are going to enter into a bartering situation with a trader, my advice is to have a native Thai person bargain for you. Of course, you might wish to attempt to barter for yourself this is fine but, don’t expect to win.
Should you be looking to buy in wholesale quantities then it is essential to go to the village. You will be surprised how small the actual factories are.
Make no mistake however because, they are most productive, and the prices will astound you, even in to-days adverse conditions. If you are buying in extremely large quantities you will want to employ a local agent to ensure your orders are made up to your exact requirement.
It will be money well spent since it is much more expensive if you receive items you did not order. My suggestion would be Mr. Lal at, I think, Lal Shipping (or forwarding) located in an office to the left of Bangkok Bank in Thapae Rd. Chiang Mai.
Another shipping alternative would be to use the shipping companies in the village of Baan Tawai. They are very efficient and well known to all the retailers in the village. The shippers here would be more than happy to collect your quantity purchases from around Chiang Mai.
I hope these tips will encourage you to visit Northern Thailand and that your stay will be rewarding.