Shopping in Thailand

Thai pottery comes with unique and attractive designs like those pictured here.

View Photos (9) Image © 2000 Lucas Ngu

I have travelled to Thailand a few times, mostly on business or official trips. After the day's job is done, I do get the craving to immerse myself in the hustle and bustle and discover as much as possible about cosmopolitan Bangkok. Sometimes, my curiosity takes me behind the modern façade of skyscrapers, impressive highways and awe-inspiring flyovers. Indeed, there is more to Thailand than sight-seeing and the red light district.

For those who need to take the long and costly journey to Thailand, your holiday is not complete without looking for a good bargain. Shopping or just window-shopping provides another avenue to discover even more about this exotic Asian destination, providing you with an even more in-depth understanding of the Thai people, their art, culture and unique capabilities. It can even turn out to be money spinner for those who combine holiday with business. I do consider shopping an integral part of the holiday, an eye-opener and a value-adding experience.

And there is more to shopping in Thailand than just getting a souvenir to commemorate your visit to enchanting Thailand. The huge variety of buys, combined with high-quality workmanship and extremely competitive prices, make Thailand a veritable shoppers' paradise with an unbeatable edge over most other countries in the region. This is certainly true for one who comes from a more costly place like Singapore.

The favourable currency exchange provides the passport to an exciting shopping experience and the drive to go on and on,.as long as budget permits. For those carrying US currency in their wallets or purse, the allure is even more irresistible.

Whatever your shopping goals - luxury purchases, decorative items for the home, a personal treasure or a truly distinctive gift - you will find that this part of your holiday should never be missed.

Thailand presents the shopper with unparalleled opportunities, offering a wide selection of unique locally made goods. The product of time honoured cottage industries or of modern technological skills, all items are distinguished by superb Thai craftmanship.

Whether you are looking for luxury buys, such as silks and gems, fashion items, artworks, handicrafts or attractive souvenirs and gifts, you'll discover an exceptional range of quality buys offering excellent value.

The variety of what to buy is fully matched by an exciting choice of where to buy. From the ease of modern air-conditioned shopping plazas and department stores to the fascination of traditional markets and street stalls, there is every scope for both the browser and the dedicated bargain-hunter.

Fixed prices are the norm of department stores and a number of shops in Bangkok but at most other places, bargaining is acceptable and expected. Generally, you can obtain a final figure of between 10 to 40 percent lower than the original asking price. There are no hard-and-fast rules for bargaining and much depends on your skills and the shopkeeper's mood. But always remember that the Thai people appreciate good manners and a sense of humour. They are put off by loud voices and loss of temper. With patience and a broad smile, you will not only get a better price; you'll also enjoy shopping as an art.

Thailand is justly renowned for the quality and variety of its traditional handicrafts. And no finer examples can be found than those produced under royal patronage.

In 1976, Her Majesty, Queen Sirikit sought a way for rural Thais to seek alternative sources of income and revive some of the kingdom's time-honoured crafts. The result was the establishment of the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, popularly known as SUPPORT. The project has flourished and today, craftsmen working under SUPPORT guidance produce a wonderfully rich collection of many kinds of traditional handicrafts.

Among items available are exquisite handwoven silks, including the famous tie-dyed mut mee silks of the Northeast; elegant yan liphao woven handbags, Thai cottons and many other reasonably-priced souvenirs. These SUPPORT crafts may be purchased from the Foundation's chain of exclusive outlets, known as Chitrlada Shops.

There are a number of Chitrlada Shops are in Bangkok - at the Decorations Pavilion in the Grand Palace, the Oriental Plaza shopping centre; Hilton International Bangkok Hotel; in the compound of Wimanmek Mansion and at the Bangkok International Airport. Other Chitrlada Shops are located at the Rose Garden in Nakhon Pathom Province; in Pattaya and at Chiang Mai Airport.

Thailand has earned a fine reputation for its high-quality rattan and wicker furniture. Both elegant and durable, items are available in a wide variety of designs and styles.

Handwoven Thai silk is a fabric of worldwide renown and ranks as perhaps, the most popular of all Thailand's shopping treasures. Produced in countless colours and eye-catching designs, Thai silk has traditionally been used for clothing and is sold both by the length and as ready-to-wear fashions.

With enhanced production in recent years, Thai silk is also now produced in heavier weights ideal for draperies, upholstery and other household furnishing. Additionally, the rich fabric is further used for place mats and napkins, neckties, scarves and other accessories, as well as exquisite coverings for a whole range of souvenirs from jewellery boxes to notebooks.

A unique style of Thai silk, known as mut mee, is a handicraft traditional to the northeast region of the country. Produced from tie-dyed silk threads, the fabric is handwoven in a variety of beautiful designs, typically distinguished by intricate patterns and subtle colours.

Once a neglected craft, mut mee silk has been revitalized in recent years through rural development projects initiated by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. Today, mut mee enjoys an unprecedented vogue as a fashion material favoured by Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family as well as the elite class of the Thai society.

Thai cotton has gained an enormous reputation over recent years and is today as famous and as popular as silk. A fabric of fine texture and durable quality, Thai cotton is produced in a broad range of colours, prints and embroidered designs and is found in a wide variety of goods from clothing to bedspreads, table linen, cushion covers, rugs, bags and many others.

Notable among specialty cottons are hilltribe handicrafts and batik designs. Woven in traditional patterns by the tribal people of the North and typically displaying bold designs and often lavish embroidery, hilltribe cottons make an especially attractive buy. Different in style but equally distinctive are original batiks crafted at several studios in Bangkok.

Centuries-old crafts offer shoppers a dazzling choice of exquisite decorative and home objects produced in a rich variety of media.

Practised in southern Thailand for hundreds of years, nielloware is the craft of decorating gold and silver objects with delicate etched designs filled with a metal alloy. Workmanship of high quality finds expression in a number of beautiful nielloware trays, boxes, vases and other items widely available in Bangkok and, of course, in the South, notable in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Shoppers have long recognized the excellent value of made-in-Thailand brass and bronzeware. Skilled craftsmen combine traditional methods with modern innovations, such as silicon coating to prevent tarnishing while designs reflect both the old and the new. Especially popular are fine cutlery sets, bowls and other tableware, as well as brass sculptures of figures and animals in classical and contemporary styles. Functional and aesthetically pleasing, Thai brass and bronzeware are ideal for home decoration.

Very oriental and very attractive are lacquerware bowls, boxes, trays and numerous other items for interior decoration or for souvenirs. Special to Chiang Mai and the North, the craft involves coating split bamboo or wood with lacquer, than adding intricate hand-painted designs. Typically, objects are produced in either gold-on-black lacquer or yellow and green on a red-brown background.

Silver-beating is another craft traditional to Chiang Mai. Bowls and boxes with skilfully worked relief patterns are popular buys while vases and other ornaments in both old and modern designs are available, particularly in Chiang Mai but also in Bangkok and elsewhere.

Like silver, pewter is fashioned with great skill by Thai Craftsmen. The smooth, silky finish of this attractive alloy is often enhanced by delicate relief decoration. Among pewterware items are plates, boxes, vases and pocket flasks.

Pottery of consistently high artistic accomplishment has been produced throughout the more than 700 years of Thai history. Various styles, both indigenous and Chinese-influenced, have predominated at various periods to leave a rich legacy. So today's shopper is presented with a full choice of both faithful reproductions of traditional styles and modern wares. Among the former are the distinctive sea-green celadons, Chinese blue-and-white and the colourful enamelled Benjarong wares which are unique to Thailand. Modern ceramics are produced in an exciting range of contemporary designs which exemplify the continued vitality of the craft.

Whether old or new in style, Thai ceramics are available in many forms - from dinner services and bowls to vases and lamp bases, from small figurines to huge glazed water jars perfect for garden decoration.

Good and inexpensive craftsmanship, combined with standard gold prices, give Thai gold articles excellent value. Hand-crafted chains, bracelets, earrings, pendants and other articles are all widely available at the many specialist gold shops in Bangkok, as well as jewellery stores.

Thailand is one of the world's major sources of rubies and sapphires, and this has prompted the rise of a huge gemcutting and jewellery-making industry. Today, in addition to indigenous stones, items are also imported for cutting and polishing to make Bangkok an unrivalled centre for coloured gems.

Skill in cutting is matched by creative flair in jewellery design and setting. Thus the shopper is presented with excellent opportunities for buying individual polished gems and finished jewellery items, including custom-made pieces. In addition to jewellery, gemstone pictures and other decorative items can be found.

There are many specialist jewellery shops with large selections of goods displaying the highest quality of materials and craftsmanship. Bargains do not exist in any quality gem and jewellery business, but competitive prices are in store.

A symbol of Bangkok's status is the world-ranking gem capital, the 55- storey Jewellery Trade Centre. This prestigious high-rise tower was built to facilitate gem and jewellery buying for both the serious trader and the casual consumer. Facilities include an international gems and diamond bourse, a computerized trading board and five floors of retail shops.

Thailand is blessed with a huge variety of orchids. Through meticulous cross breeding, plants previously found only in their natural forest habitat have been domesticated and now more than a thousand species are available from specialist orchid farms. For visitors interested in this extensive and intriguing cultivation, study tours of orchid farms are organized by leading local travel agents.

Magnificent colours and durable beauty make orchids a very popular purchase. Specially packaged flowers, complete with water supply, can be transported easily and their freshness and beauty retained for a long period of time. Orchids may be bought at many shops in Bangkok and most conveniently at Bangkok International Airport. With nimble fingers and a sure eye for beauty, Thais are adept at producing superb artificial plants and flowers. In what is a rapidly growing export industry, a wonderful variety of faithful replicas are available. Entirely hand-made and relatively inexpensive, they make splendid items for home decoration.

The art of doll-making in Thailand dates back hundreds of years and remains very much alive today. Doll collectors will delight in a broad assortment of detailed and beautifully crafted figures of classical dances in full costume, hilltribe people in their traditonal colourful dress and rural folk. For children, there is a variety of soft cuddly dolls, manufactured according to the strictest international safety requirements.

The Thai art scene is vibrant and there are numerous shops offering original works by local artists. Subjects range from renderings of classical temple mural and manuscript paintings to landscapes, typical Thai scenes and contemporary works of high aesthetic value. Art lovers should also remember that local framing is inexpensive and of high quality.

Thailand is one of the world's leading manufacturers of ready-to-wear clothing, producing garments not only for local shops and department stores but also for ever-expanding export markets. The staple of this booming business was formerly T-shirts and jeans, but while these still offer excellent value, product lines now include a whole range of fashions which meet international standards of workmanship and design originality. Fashion boutiques are found in every shopping mall, while cheaper clothing is available from ubiquitous street stalls.

Tailor-made clothing in Thailand is as affordable and as easy as buying off the peg. There are literally thousands of establishments, small and large, which can produce the perfect fit in virtually whatever style you want in just a few days. Tailors may suggest patterns or copy any you care to provide. You can also choose from a wide selection of materials, both locally-made and imported.

Complementing Thailand's clothing industry is an extensive production of quality leather goods. Renowned for their durability and beautiful designs are shoes, either ready made or made-to-order, leather jackets, belts, handbags, briefcase, luggage, wallets and a host of other accessories. Specialist leather shops abound and, together with street stalls, offer a staggering variety of products at very attractive prices.

Generally shopping in Thailand is easy, fun and very rewarding.

Bangkok International Airport has very extensive duty-free shopping facilities, while a smaller selection of duty-free items is available at Thailand's three other gateway airports at Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai,

In Bangkok itself, there are downtown TAT Duty Free Shops at Mahathun Plaza, on Phloenchit Road, and Na Phra Lan Road, opposite the Grand Palace. Both offer a wide choice of goods which can be ordered prior to departure. With shopping well established as one of Thailand's major attractions, most shops are experienced in packing and shipping goods, as well as in arranging insurance, custom permits and any other necessary documentation.

The Central Post Office also offers a parcel-wrapping service for those who want to make small shipments themselves. For larger items or bulk shipments, there are several Bangkok companies who specialize in such matters.

The Department of Export Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce, Royal Thai Government, offers a permanent exhibition for buyers interested in exploring trade opportunities.

While in Bangkok, I had the opportunity to visit the expo which covers 4,000 metres of exhibition space. The DEP's One-Stop Export Showcase displays the full spectrum of quality Thai goods, comprising more than 10,000 items.

DEP staff further extend a variety of free services, such as arranging appointments with manufacturers, as well as providing meeting rooms with full office facilities.

Shopping in Bangkok is not limited to one or two major streets, and there are many areas throughout the city affording ample choice and easy access. The following is just a selection of some of the principal shopping districts:

Silom-Surawong-Patpong; Silom-Mahesak - New Road

Phloenchit-Ratchadamri; Sukhumvit

Patunam-Phetchaburi

Bang Lam Phu

Chinatown; Chatuchak Weekend Market

Baiyoke Tower

Pinklao - Nakhon Chaisi Road

Ratchadaphisek Road

Bangkok International Airport

Beyond Bangkok : The main city for shopping outside the capital is Chiang Mai which ranks as one of the world's largest centres for handicrafts and cottage industries. The extensive range of local products includes silverware, lacquerware, cotton and silk, hilltribe clothing, Burmese tapestries and hand-painted umbrellas. Pattaya also offers bountiful shopping opportunities for Thai goods, while virtually all other tourist centres give ample opportunity for buying gifts and souvenirs.

Published on 4/25/01