Chiang Mai Hotels Travel Guide

Located at Changklan Road, in the center of Chiang Mai's downtown, is the most famous night shopping for tourist. The whole stretch sideway of Changklan Road on both is occupied by stalls from as early as 06:00 pm to 12:00 pm daily. These stalls sell from local handicraft, food, watches, modern dresses to

The night bazaar consists of countless stalls packed along the sidewalks and spilling out into the street. Here you can find vendors selling almost anything you can think of. The selection is simply staggering and items on offer include CDs, DVDs, clothes, shoes, Thai silk, handicrafts, purses, wallets, watches, video games, luggage, house wares, furniture, statues of aliens made from auto parts, spices, souvenirs, samurai swords, art, jewelers, silver, antiques, and a hundred other species of knick-knack and goo-gah that defy categorization. Quality varies from vendor to vendor but low prices mean you almost always get good value for your money. Most CD and DVD vendors will have a player set up so you can check out the merchandise before making a purchase.

For mid-spree snacking there are plenty of restaurants and bars in the vicinity where you can take a load off and review your purchases. Just off the main street you will find a delightful selection of Thai seafood and noodle restaurants, while Loi Khro Road just east of Chang Khlan Road (towards the river) has a number of international restaurants and pubs. If you need your fix of western comfort you'll find a Subway, a McDonald's and a Starbucks on the main strip. Also in the area are numerous other useful services such as travel agents, internet cafés, mobile phone shops and camera shops.

Prices in the night bazaar aren't fixed so make sure to do a bit of haggling to get the best deal. If you're a serious bargain hunter you might want to try being the early bird. It's considered bad luck if the first customer of the day doesn't buy anything and watching proprietors whack their goods with the day's first cash is a great photo opportunity. The end of the night is also a prime time to get some real steals as many merchants are willing to give a very good price to squeeze in one last sale.

When haggling with Thais remember to smile and be light hearted and friendly. A good joke and some patience will get you a lot farther than hardball tactics. Although haggling and getting a good deal is all part of the fun of the market, don't forget that most of these vendors make very little and ten baht means a lot more to them than it does to you.

Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai attracts large crowds every evening. You must visit this bazaar to get a unique shopping experience.