Top 3 Handcrafted Souvenirs to Buy When Shopping in Thailand

Thailand is a true shopper's paradise! Everywhere you look there are malls, markets, street stalls and people walking the streets with baskets of goods on their shoulders, as well as vendors riding bikes with carts transporting their wares to sell here and there. The prices are terrific in Thailand. It will not be hard to truly "shop 'til you drop" when visiting Thailand, I know because I experienced this shopping pleasure during my recent visit to Bangkok. My downfall was it was close to Christmas and I had the perfect excuse that I needed Christmas gifts plus souvenirs for everyone.

If you are looking for special handcrafted souvenirs that represent Thailand then you will want to purchase these top 3 items:

Thai Silk

Thai silk is made from the cocoon of the silk worm. It is a very complicated process and is painstakingly completed by Thai women in the Northeast region of Thailand. From raising the silk worms to the weaving of the fabric, it is a real work of art. You will find Thai silk in many forms. Already made pieces of clothing, dresses, shirts, vests, scarves, and decorative wall hangings or you can purchase full bolts of Thai silk fabric so you can make your own creation. My purchase was a Thai silk scarf that I have displayed on my wall held by a carved teak wood scarf hanger. The intricate pattern and bright colors are amazing and I love this souvenir because I realize the time that went into making this work of art. The Thai silk scarf I purchased cost $20 US dollars, when I compare that price with the cheap $5 imitation polyester scarves; I know I made the right purchase with a real Thai silk scarf.

Celadon Ceramics

Celadon ceramics are another Thai signature handicraft that you don't want to miss purchasing on your visit to Thailand. Celadon ceramics have been around for hundreds of years and have been an attempt to create a type of man made jade. Celadon means green stone and this is one way to identify a celadon piece, by the color, the other distinguishing form is the crackle in the glaze. The crackling occurs when the piece is cooling from being fired in a very high heat kiln. Celadon is safe to cook and serve with because no chemicals are used to make the product. You will find many celadon ceramic items to purchase, some plain, others with patterns such as lotus flowers, bamboo, fish and even elephants. You will find tea sets, kitchenware pieces, dinnerware, vases, candlesticks and many other gift items. I am so happy with my celadon mini tea set that included a small teak wood serving tray, everyone that sees it comments on how cute and different it is. The cost of my celadon tea set was $20 US dollars; it is a plain set without a pattern. Prices vary on the celadon ceramics, pieces that have intricate designs hand painted will cost more than plain pieces.

Hand Carved Wood Items

The Thai people are master craftsmen and their talent shines through in the hand carved wooden items available for purchase throughout Thailand. Different types of wood are used; coconut, sandalwood and teak. The hand carved wood pieces are constructed with hand tools such as mallets and special chisels. You do not need to be a wood carving expert to appreciate the furniture, statues; including elephants, Buddhas, tigers and other animals, as well as the beautiful wall hangings depicting Thai history and life that exhibit such detail and intricacy. My hand carved wood purchase included a set of 4 wall hangings with beautifully carved lotus flowers and elephants, which are both very popular Thai motifs. The price of this set was $37 US dollars. As with all Thai handicrafts there is a hand carved wooden souvenir for every budget. Just don't pass up the opportunity to have a special piece of Thai art in wood!

Shopping Tips:

1. Bargain for the best price. The greatest advantage I had for shopping in Thailand was my good friend who speaks fluent Thai. She was able to bargain for me and get me the best price, plus she knew all the best places to shop. If you aren't going to be as lucky as I was to have a translator on your trip to Thailand, no worries, I noticed most vendors have calculators so you can dicker on the prices just by passing the calculator back and forth until you come to an agreement.

2. If you see an item you want, buy it! Don't wait because you think you might find it cheaper somewhere else. I made this mistake a couple times and this wore me out more than anything. Many times I ended up returning to the first place I saw an item for sale that I wanted and purchasing it there! Save yourself time and energy!

3. Pace yourself, drink plenty of water, and remember to take time to rest and eat something. I am serious because there is literally so much shopping available you could get so wrapped up in the next shop you might find yourself weak and not feeling well. Grab a snack from a food cart, or bring snacks with you.

4. My top 2 favorite Markets in Bangkok are Suan Lum Night Bazaar and Chatuchak Market.
Suan Lum Night Bazaar is just as its name implies. It is a night market and vendors begin opening their stalls around 4:00pm. I loved Suan Lum because you can shop during the cooler times in the evening, the Thai handicraft items available were almost endless, and there is a huge outdoor food court with live music and great food! I shopped at Suan Lum twice during my visit and bought all 3 top souvenirs there at wonderful prices. Suan Lum Night Bazaar is located in Bangkok's Pathum Wan district, at the intersection of Rama IV and Wireless/Sathorn Roads, opposite Lumphini Park at the Bangkok Metro's Lumphini Station.
Chatuchack Market is a weekend Market; it is overly crowed but definitely worth the inconvenience of shopping with the masses. I spent a whole Saturday shopping this market and didn't see it all. Thousands of stalls with every kind of Thai craft imaginable line the streets in this market. I found the best celadon market here with great prices and unique items I didn't find anywhere else. The ceramic shop was in section 8. Here is a helpful link to a map of Chatuchack Market. This map was a valuable tool for finding specific types of items for sale. Chatuchak market is located next to the Kamphaengphet station of the Bangkok Metro Blue Line, or about a 5-minute walk from the Mo Chit station of the Skytrain Sukhumvit Line.

Sources:
http://www.bangkok-thailand.com/about-thai-silk
http://www.chiangmai-online.com
www.wikipedia.com