To Chiang Mai for Good Buys

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Maybe it was Chiang Mai’s altitude (1,027 feet) that was to blame, but I really wanted to buy a set of traditional 6-inch-long, sharply curved metal nail tips that I’d seen worn by a graceful troupe of Thai dancers in Bangkok. And there, in a dusty little shop in the darkest corner of the Night Bazaar, I spied my exotic quest, laid out on a low shelf cluttered with bird-shaped opium weights and carved water buffalo bones.

Behind a glass counter the bespectacled proprietor sat, calmly surveying my every move through a haze of burning incense. But before I could utter the magic words, “How much?,” my husband was at my elbow, bringing me back to my senses.

“Come on, Freddy Krueger,” he whispered, leading me away from the shiny talons and out onto the street thick with shoppers from around the globe. “Come see this place I found across the road. They’re selling silk bedspreads for next to nothing!”

Shopaholics be warned: Bargain-hunting in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai (pronounced Chan MY), where quality is often high and prices low, can be a heady experience. Even seasoned shoppers like me can lose their focus. But in addition to being the country’s center of arts and crafts production, Chiang Mai is also a spiritual hub, graced with more than 1,000 temples. Hundreds of gilded Buddha images gaze down from surrounding hillside shrines, silently watching tourists whose mantra may more likely be “Let’s make a deal” than anything hinting of spirituality.

I must admit I was among them.

If, indeed, a third of my life has been spent sleeping, I’ve probably spent a good quarter of the remaining hours shipping something home that I purchased from somewhere on the planet. But I’m usually careful in foreign markets, searching for beautiful work rather than mere bargains. What dazzled me about Chiang Mai was its sophisticated level of artistic skill, which has placed it at the forefront of Thai woodwork, silk weaving, embroidery and ceramics.

This rich cultural tradition is enhanced by the distinctive folk art from the more than 20 hill tribes that inhabit the surrounding rugged mountain terrain: colorfully beaded coats ($60), handmade quilts in intricate geometric patterns ($45) and lovely silver earrings that I just couldn’t resist ($7). Largely of Tibetan, Burmese and Chinese origins, these ethnic tribes have preserved their languages, and vivid styles of dress and crafts. The hill people, I learned, are engaged in a thriving cottage industry and their villages are filled with lean-to gift shops attached to nearly every dwelling. (Their work also can be seen at the Night Bazaar in the center of Chiang Mai.)

In and around Chiang Mai, shopping is particularly good at several locations. At the Night Bazaar, a swarming consumers’ carnival in the middle of town that begins at 5 p.m. and goes on past midnight; along Sankampaeng Road (nicknamed Handicraft Highway), east of the city, where many of the best workshops, factories and showrooms are located and where you can see the crafts from their beginnings, then purchase the end product; and in the various villages--each dedicated to a single craft--on Wulai Road, running south from the city.

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The handicraft tradition in northern Thailand is centuries old. In 18th and 19th century Thailand, it was the custom for wealthy families to maintain full-time artisans, gold workers, silversmiths, painters, woodcarvers and lacquerware experts as part of their household staffs. But this practice declined as the upper class became fascinated with all things European. Following their lead, at the turn of the century, Western fashion became all the rage and the rich replaced their native styles with mass-produced products from other countries. Although the royal court continued to support large communities of artisans, their crafts were more likely to be found in provinces outside the capital.

Fortunately, the craft tradition continued uninterrupted in Chiang Mai, where most of the inhabitants were rice farmers. (Even today, 80% are farmers or employed in some fashion by the industry.) During quiet periods in the rice cycle, when crops are growing, they turned their hands to weaving silk, carving wood and crafting silver, proudly passing on their skills from generation to generation.

Jungle elephant trekking, one of Chiang Mai’s most popular tourist draws, was our initial reason for visiting, and the trendy boutique resort and spa, the Regent Chiang Mai opened by Regent International a year earlier as the city’s first five-star hotel, provided extra incentive. But when I found out Chiang Mai’s Night Bazaar is better than the fabulous January sale at Harrods, I got a little sidetracked.

Like thousands of other tourists each year, we flew the 427 miles north from Bangkok to Thailand’s second-largest city, a big section of which is surrounded by ancient, deteriorating ramparts edged by a moat. Compared with Bangkok’s estimated 8.7 million inhabitants, it is sparsely populated: The entire province of Chiang Mai has only 1.5 million inhabitants who, like most of Thailand’s population, are primarily Buddhist. Hikers are drawn to Chiang Mai’s natural wonders: towering mountains streaked with cascading falls, majestic national parks, dense jungles and raging rivers. Diversions--besides shopping--include the world’s largest crocodile farm (40,000 plus), snake shows, orchid gardens, pachyderms, navigating on bamboo rafts down rivers, Thailand’s best zoo and the mountaintop Wat Doi Suthep, one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Thailand. Some travelers drop in because they adore the fiery northern Thai cuisine, which is influenced by the cuisine of nearby Burma and differs significantly from that of central Thailand. Redolent of garlic, lemon grass and chilies, dining in northern Thailand can be a memorable experience.

The first evening we were there--at a poolside cocktail party in our hotel--we chatted with fellow guests about temples, trekking and Thai food, but somehow the subject seemed to return again and again to shopping. It was then that I became aware of what it is available.

One stylish American woman who worked in Japan for CNN mentioned a cashmere blazer a Chiang Mai tailor had made for her in one night for only $140. “My friends in Tokyo thought it was a Calvin Klein,” she purred, a Cheshire cat smile on her red-glossed lips. “This is my third trip to the city, and this time I’m going to be trekking to a hill tribe village. But I have to admit, it’s the bargains that brought me back. This place is a treasure trove.”

Later that night, we decided to try our hunting skills at the Night Bazaar on Changklan Road, a modern, indoor multilevel market that straddles both sides of the street.

It’s important to sift carefully to find choice goods here, but the bazaar is packed with booths and shops devoted to clothing, furniture, leather ware and decorative arts. Outside in the balmy air, the sidewalks are crammed with gaudy stalls hawking lesser fare: designer knockoff sunglasses, pirated CDs and cassettes, fake Ralph Lauren Polo knits, faux Louis Vuitton luggage.

Some of the merchandise at the bazaar is beautiful but pricey. I fell in love with a 200-year-old wooden chest, but the going price, even after 30 minutes of haggling, was stratospheric: a cool, inaccessible $2,000.

Yet the contemporary furnishings, including intricately carved teak beds and dining sets, are affordable ($200 to $250), and it would be possible to furnish an entire medium-size house--including the cost of shipping home--for less than one room would cost in the United States. (Dozens of cargo companies including DHL, Boonsak Cargo and C.R. Shipping will ship parcels by sea for you and the prices are surprisingly moderate. A 3.3-square-foot container, for example, costs about $215; although sea shipping takes at least two months.)

Teak bed prices were especially good at the Night Bazaar. And it was here that we snagged our best-loved purchase: an ebony-colored, ginger-jar-shaped vase that was seamlessly carved from mango wood. It looks great filled with white lilies. Price: $12.

Also at the Night Bazaar I found sa, the textured handmade paper that feels like cloth and is unique to northern Thailand. Made from the bark of a kind of mulberry tree, the paper is combined with flower petals, exotic leaves and pine needles to create lovely stationery, picture frames and desk accessories. Tucked away in the middle of the Night Bazaar, we scooped up several delicate pink and white scrapbooks with dried, pressed-flower covers to give to friends back home. The cost, after light bargaining: about 70 cents each.

Among the most splendid of the crafts we saw was celadon. We found it in abundance along the Handicraft Highway. One of the oldest Thai crafts, this pottery is glazed in luscious shades of green or blue, from jade to azure. In the huge showroom of Siam Celadon, which was overflowing with teapots, dinner sets and lamps, I was drawn to the smaller, more delicate items, and chose a celery-green, floral-patterned vase, blue sunflower-shaped dish and sugar bowl with a tiny bird perched atop the lid. They cost $3 and $4 a piece and they are beautiful. In the United States, I’ve seen similar celadon vases selling for $75 and up. Another good celadon factory, San Kamphaeng Kilns, is located almost directly next door to Siam Celadon. It offers slightly different designs but similar prices.

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Although I loved the night market and the Handicraft Highway, some of Chiang Mai’s best craftspeople ply their wares in villages south of the city, along Wulai Road.

Among my favorites was the collection of buildings known as Borsang, the Umbrella Village, which is devoted exclusively to the hand manufacture of brilliantly colored parasols, displayed in the blinding sun like giant tiddly winks. Frames and handles are fashioned from bamboo with shades made from paper, silk or cotton artfully embellished with beautiful free-form designs. Prices vary with size, but an average-size umbrella costs $3 to $4.

In the nearby craft village of Bang Khurn, just to the south of Borsang, we discovered beautiful lacquerware painted in black, gold and vivid colors layered onto wood or bamboo. Each coating must be dried and polished before the next can be applied. Some pieces require 15 or more coats. The vast variety of lacquerware items range from cigar boxes to full-size doors and room screens. Elaborate styles include extraordinary mother-of-pearl inlay and gold leaf embellishments. Masterpieces are museum quality and highly prized, but simple pieces are quite reasonable. I saw small jewelry boxes and bowls that cost only $5.

Those who share my penchant for silver jewelry would enjoy the Silver Village, continuing south on Wulai Road. A stroll through this area was a step into history. I saw silversmiths laboring in their workshops, firing, beating and engraving elaborate dinner services, cutlery, statues, necklaces and hair ornaments over tiny forges and wood anvils. Many of the villages are like this, with the factories open so that it’s possible to watch the work being made.

At the Silk Village, about 1.5 miles past the turnoff to Borsang, dozens of weavers’ workshops display silkworms and their cocoons as well as the finished product: colored silk fabrics in dramatic colors and finished items including pillows, dresses, scarves and jackets. Although prices were not cheap (a man’s tie could cost $15 to $30 or more), bargaining is acceptable.

Although shopping Chiang Mai sounds like a lot of legwork, we hired a car and driver and accomplished quite a bit in one afternoon. We also managed to squeeze in our elephant trek, bamboo river rafting and a visit to mist-shrouded Wat Doi Suthep, 3,051 feet above sea level, climbing the 301 steps to the golden shrine that looks out over the city.

For three evenings, we combed the Night Bazaar. But on our fourth and final night in Chiang Mai, my husband threw in the towel. “That’s it,” he said, stretching out on our veranda and putting his feet up. “I’ve had it . . . I’m all bargained out.” A burning sunset faded into the mountains. Darkness descended quickly over the resort. Kerosene torches were lighted along the paths, silhouetting the rice field scarecrow in an eerie glow. It was then that the evening symphony began.

“Do you hear the ones that go ‘clack-clack, clack-clack’?,” he asked. “That is the frog. And the singing notes that accompany it, high, like a song? That is insect like cricket. They are the orchestra of the night.”

I think of our Chiang Mai experience almost daily, the memories flooding back each time my eyes fall on our prized mango wood vase spilling over with fresh-cut blossoms, or our little celadon bowl, shining sweetly in the afternoon light of our living room. I recall the fun I had searching for these little pleasures, yet remembering the wisdom of the Zen prayer that says, “Earthly goods have no meaning.” It is then that I sigh wistfully to myself and think: “Why didn’t I buy two of those?”

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GUIDEBOOK: Thailand’s Craft Capital

Getting there: Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways fly from LAX to Chiang Mai, with one change of planes. Advance-purchase, round-trip fares start at $1,114.

For more information: Tourism Authority of Thailand, 3440 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1100, Los Angeles 90010, (213) 382-2353; fax (213) 389-7544.