Chiang Mai Travel Information
General Information || Attractions || Interesting Activities || Festivals || To Shop || How to get there
Local Products : Chiang Mai is, quite simply, Thailand’s major centre for quality handicrafts. The visitor need merely visit the nearest city emporium or night market to purchase an extraordinary variety of antiques, silver jewellery, hilltribe opium pipes and embroidery, Thai silks and cottons, basketry, celadon, silverware, furniture, lacquerware, woodcarvings and parasols. A major advantage of shopping in Chiang Mai is that the visitor may watch artisans working within the city and in several outlying villages, particularly along the Bo Sang-San Kamphaeng Road where, in genuine cottage industries, parasols, silk and cotton weaving, jewellery, woodcarving, silverware, celadon, and lacquerware are manufactured, and number among popular purchases. Major Chiang Mai products include:
Cottons & Silks - First-class Chiang Mai cottons and silks are of incomparable quality. Cottons and silks have innumerable fashion and furnishing applications. The largest possible selection is available in San Kamphaeng. Umbrellas/ Parasols - These are inextricably associated with Bo Sang where villagers have been engaged in their manufacture for at least 200 years. All materials, silks, cottons, Sa paper (manufactured from the bark of the mulberry tree) and bamboo are produced or found locally. Visitors to Bo Sang will see literally hundreds of designs and sizes ranging from the miniature to the gigantic. Silverware - The finest Thai silverware is exquisite, and is made in Chiang Mai, where certain families have practised their art for several generations. Traditional skills and a guaranteed content of at least 92.5% pure silver invest bowls, receptacles and decorative items with authentic value. Silver shops are concentrated on Wua Lai Road, where silverware artisans and their families live. Lacquerware - Striking black and gold designs give lacquerware its visual appeal and sheen. This decorative are enhances items made of wood, bamboo, metal, paper and baked clay, in the form of receptacles, ornaments and various souvenirs Furniture/ Woodcarving - Chiang Mai’s Ban Thawai village in Hang Dong district, is a major centre of furniture making. Major woods and materials include teak, rosewood and rattan. Items may be unadorned or, especially with teak and rosewood, artfully carved in traditional or modern designs. Woodcarving is a traditional northern Thai art featured in numerous temples. In recent years, wood carving has increasingly embellished furniture, gracing screens, chairs, tables, beds, indeed anything bearing a wooden surface large enough to be carved. Carved elephants, figurines and tableware number among other popular purchases. Hilltribe Products - These include silver ornaments, such as bracelets, necklace, pendants and pipes of intricate design, and embroidered items including tunics, jackets, bags, purses, caps and dress lengths. Gold Plated Orchids & Butterflies - Orchids and butterflies are preserved and plated with 24-carat gold to create unusual gift items such as necklace pendants, hairpins and earrings. Pottery - Chiang Mai is the major centre of Thailand’s pottery industry. Prized items include high-fired celadon which is produced in many forms, including dinner sets, lamp bases and decorative items. Car a) From Bangkok drive on Highway No.1 (Phahonyothin) to Highway No.32 passing the provinces of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, and Nakhon Sawan, then take Highway No. 117 to Phitsanulok and drive on to Highway No. 11 to Lampang, Lamphun and Chiang Mai. The route is 695 kilometres. b) From Bangkok drive to Nakhon Sawan and then take Highway No. 1 passing Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, Lampang, and Chiang Mai. The route is 696 kilometres. Bus The 10-hour journey from Bangkok can be made on air-conditioned buses originating from the Northern Bus Terminal (Mo Chit 2), contact tel. 936 2852 for more information. Buses leave for Chiang Mai several times a day from 8.00 to 21.00 hrs. There are services from Chaing Mai’s Chang Phuak Bus Terminal to various districts in Chiang Mai. Buses ply along the northern route (Highway No. 107) passing through Mae Rim, Mae Taeng, Chiang Dao, Chaiprakan, Fang and Mae Ai. Some buses continue to Tha Ton. Local city buses ply between Chiang Mai and Lamphun on Highway No. 106. Train The State Railways of Thailand operates daily services from Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong). Trains leave for Chiang Mai 6 times a day from 8.00-22.00 hrs. For more information, contact tel. 1690, 223 7010, 223 7020. Chiang Mai Railway Station, tel. (053) 242 094. Air Air Andaman provides regular flight services from Chiang Mai to other northern provinces like Chiang Rai, Mae Sot, Nan and Phitsanulok. Bangkok Airways has 2 daily flights connecting Chiang Mai with Bangkok. In addition, they have daily flights servicing the Chiang Mai-Sukhothai route. Thai Airways has numerous daily flights servicing the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route. In addition, they have daily flights connecting Chiang Mai with Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, and Phuket. To make an air ticketing reservation, please contact pam@asiatravel.com ASIA TRAVEL'S PRIVATE AIRPORT TRANSFER SERVICE Getting Around For relative short distance you can take a tricycle (Sam Lor). Short rides within the city cost between 20 and 30 baht. Longer rides may cost as much as 50 baht. Tuk-Tuks (three-wheeled motorised taxis) are also popular for short and quick journeys. Fares must be bargained in advance. Minimum fares are approximately 20 baht. The most common means of transport is a “See Lor” (literally “four wheel”) or “Song Theao”. They all are red-coloured and look like pick-up trucks but with a roof over the back. They pick up as many passengers as they can and drop them off as the drivers reach their destinations. To go by “See Lor”, simply tell the driver your destination. Fares range from 10-20 baht according to the distance. |
