Temples and marketplaces
I had an amazing experience visiting Chiang Mai’s Sunday Walking Street Market last week, which included buying many things I didn’t expect to, and finding myself truly immersed in the creativity of the local people and their products. You can tell this from all the photos I’ve crammed into this post! This Chiang Mai institution starts about 4pm, and continues until about midnight every Sunday. One of the main streets of Chiang Mai city is shut, with several tributary streets also closed, so the entire event is pedestrian only, where both locals and tourists come to shop and enjoy the fun.
I decided to start early, after a visit to one of the largest temples in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra Singh, which is at the end of the road where the Walking Street Market is situated (I do have to keep stopping myself calling it the ‘Street Walking Market’, which I suspect would be something quite different!). New Year is a time when many Buddhists visit the temples, and give gifts (alms) to the Monks and listen to Dharma. The shops are full of baskets of useful things (food, cleaning supplies?!) which can be helpfully given to the monks, but money is also accepted – you can buy a streamer which you essentially fill with notes, and then hang up. Decorative and charitable…
It was quite an amazing sight to go into the temple and see it so active and lively, with locals being blessed by the monks, listening to them in groups, or just offering alms and praying in front of the Buddha statue. All shoes are taken off at the door, and Westerners are charged 40p to enter, which given it is a holy time for Buddhists, seems fair enough to me. It was an interesting combination of spiritual and festival, which I really liked. There was also a very lively atmosphere in the temple grounds, with many stalls set up – it felt a bit like a village fete. Once the Sunday market was up and running, many of the temples en route also had stalls within them, with commerce and spirituality comfortable bedfellows. You can buy food, crafts or even have a massage in temple grounds.
Early start
My guidebook had said earlier in the day was easier if you actually wanted to buy things at the market, as there would be more time and space to negotiate with the stall owners. Having visited the temple and enjoyed a fruit juice in a café to prep my blood sugar levels, I set out. It seemed pretty busy to me already…
The number of items that can be bought at the market is huge, and all were of a surprisingly (to me, having grown up near Harlow market in Essex, anyway) high quality. There were a lot of arts and crafts type items (such as handmade paper, knitted caps – because everyone gets cold in 30 degrees – coloured lights, lanterns, and a strange amount of Angry Birds related merchandise – bun that looked like an Angry Bird anyone?!) plus all kinds of clothes and food items.
For example, I wanted to buy a coin purse. There were coin purses of all colours and types, starting at 20p. After browsing many styles, I eventually bought one for 20p with little flowers on. And felt quite pleased as that was on my list – tick! Also early on in my shopping I was looking for (another – stationery is a weakness) handmade books and paper, having been quite jealous of a handmade paper book which my friend was using. This was a little more expensive at (after a small amount of bartering) about £3.80, but I was really pleased with it.
Warming up
By now it was just before 6pm, and I had spent more time shopping than I can remember in a long time, and I was really enjoying the colour and craft of the market. It was simply a joy to look at all the different stalls, not knowing what type of product was coming next – there seemed no rhyme or reason to the stall placement. I felt it was definitely another right-brain enhancing experience. Continuing with that came a surreal (for a Brit) moment at 6pm, when the national anthem started to play, and every single person moving stopped dead, and all the people sitting stood up, and waited for the anthem to finish. They didn’t sing mind, just listened. It was a bit spooky – you don’t often see so many people silenced. Apparently the anthem is played twice a day, and everyone in a public place stops, every time…
All this standing around patriotically had given me an appetite, but I decided first to take advantage of the on-street massage (as I feel a bit like I am collecting massage experiences here!). This was very strange from a Western perspective – many massage chairs lined up in a row on the street, sometimes 20 or 30 in a group, with masseurs working on people, head, feet, or sometimes body. I chose a slightly more discrete group, off the main road in one of the temples – however, when you see the view I had from my massage space you’ll see I was on full view! I went for the full body massage (well, why not) and was inches away on either side from two Thais, a man in his twenties who was texting through most of his massage, and an older woman to my right who had her eyes closed and looked like she was having a religious experience. Mind you, I’m sure I looked equally odd trying to keep my eyes both open and closed at the same time, balancing looking all around me and pretending that I was somewhere else.
By the time I came out of the massage about 7pm, things had really hotted up, both in terms of atmosphere, numbers, and therefore humidity. It was still early evening, so the cool (such as it is) hadn’t really started, and there were a large number of people crowded together. It’s hard to get across the compressed nature of the humanity there, but also the good-naturedness of the people – the stall holders were polite and deferential, enjoying some haggling when it came, but not at all pushy about their products – no one was shouting about their wares, they all waited for people to approach.
It was time for some food after the massage, and after I dismissed the many meat-on-a-stick stalls (this is so popular here, and so unappealing if you’re a vegetarian!), and had considered a freshly blended fruit juice – they look like jewels in a cup – I finally went for…a waffle! These have the advantage (for the seller) of smelling lovely, and I was completely drawn in. I went for an original, with some chocolate sauce, but banana, coconut or sweetcorn as well as many others were available. Mmmmmm….
On the way I’d managed to buy some more trousers. Those who know me in a suit or formal dress would definitely be amazed at my look here in Thailand, which mostly consists of flip-flops, vests or t-shirts, and loose cotton ‘traveller trousers’ – the most recent ones looking particularly MC Hammer-ish. But they are very cool (as in hot) and as one of the signs at the market said ‘baggy is sexy and in’! They also have the advantage of fitting anyone, male or female, short or tall, fat or thin (within reason!). So they’re easy to buy as you don’t have to try them on. No, they probably wont make it home with me, and no, I’m not putting up a picture of me in them.
Shopped-out
I also bought a couple of loose thai style tops which are good for keeping mosquitos at bay, which I was able to haggle down the price of because I was buying two. In a similar vein, I bought two bags, one for day to day activities (which I love and have used every day since) and a bigger one for laundry. And then right at the end, as my feet were turning in the direction of home, and I gave in to buying a bottle of water (30p) to rehydrate, I saw some silk scarves on sale for £2, and bought a beautiful light blue one. Scarves are actually surprisingly useful here, and I always carry one in my bag – you can sit on them, put them on the seat of a scooter to keep it cool while you have coffee, or cover your shoulders with them in the Buddhist temples so as not to offend (I look forward to a ‘Whose line is it anyway’ style ‘100 things to do with a scarf’ in the comments!).
Loot
When I finally left the market, exhausted, at about 10pm, it was still in full swing, the streets were still packed, and it showed no signs of abating. The many buskers were still all there, including the reasonable (traditional thai music) the dreadful (a 6 year old boy who had a hula hoop/talk on his – pretend – mobile phone ‘act’) and the random (a blind quartet playing rock, all sat on the floor one in front of each other as if they were ‘dancing’ to Oops Upside Your Head in a club in Leeds…). OK, maybe just me that one.
At home, I spread my loot on my bed, and counted up my spend. Two pairs of trousers, two tops, a coin purse, a notebook, two bags, a silk scarf, some incense and a hideous-but-brilliant little elephant incense holder, and some tags which I thought would look good in a frame – all for about £32. Not a bad evening’s work.
Carol Dickinson says
El, you can’t tell us about the traveller trousers and then not show us you in them ! Get a photo up there, girl ! Also, for my next birthday, I will be happy with a streamer full of money from you – preferably stuffed with £50 notes. That market sounds like just the sort of place Emma could spend the day at, while I’d be in the cappuccino café nearby ! Also, Ben said can he have an Angry Bird bun when you’re coming back ? I’m sure a few hours on a plane from Thailand will do wonders for it ! It all sounds fabulous. x
ellenmbard says
There have been a lot of requests for photos of me in the traveller trousers, so you may get lucky with one in one of my next posts on Cambodia, as I had some photos of me taken there. We’ll see… You’d love it here, it’s warm and there’s coffee everywhere! Love to all x
Helen Blackie says
I definitely agree with Carol, we need some photos of you in your next post, or we’ll forget what you look like. Perhaps demonstrating the variety of uses of your new blue silk scarf! I can’t believe how long you were out shopping for, but I can believe you had a shopping list of sorts, I thought you weren’t making lists? 🙂 Sounds like you really are having a great trip with so many different experiences. HB x
ellenmbard says
I’m not planning (much) but lists are OK…in fact lists are definitely back in at the moment! As per my comment to Carol above, after the feedback on this I got others to take some photos of me in Cambodia, so I might put one or two in the next post. We’ll see…! x
El D says
Blimey, El. Sounds like a wonderful day – despite the fact that you were just out shopping. Next time I am in Sainsbury’s I will try to emulate your experience and haggle with the spotty youth on the till. Now that I know how to do it I’m sure it will be successful! Why not show us the clothes you bought but chop off your head, if that makes you feel safer? Not with an actual cleaver, I hasten to add! Off out now to ALDI to haggle down a bottle of cheap wine to 2p then for a waffle smoothie! Love you, El. A Elx
Chris says
You certainly seem to be getting your moneys worth at that street market. Have you introduced them to bar codes yet? And sell by dates.
Enjoy your sojourn in Cambodia.
Love G’dad XXX
Caroline Leon says
Hey Elles I am both at once delighted that you discovered one of my favourite places in Chiang Mai, (the Sunday Market) and a little sad that I wasn’t there to experience it with you. Can’t wait to go again hopefully in a few weeks 🙂 xx
Justin says
Yes but they didn’t sell napkins, did they?!
ellenmbard says
I bet they did, but my napkin radar was off…I will definitely have it on next time I go – what was I thinking! x
tess bullas says
Sounds amazing El – I love street markets, so colourful and full of life! That meatonastick looks pretty hideous – think I’d have to become a vegetarian too. I could live on the fruit juice and waffles!
We’re having a pleasantly dry interlude at the moment, even saw the sun today. Not 30 degrees though………… Love Tess x x
ellenmbard says
If I wasn’t a veggie I probably would have become one seeing all the meat out, especially at the market – or maybe flies are part of the taste experience! But there is plenty to keep me fed, in fact the food is great. Hope the snow not too much of a nightmare at the moment – still lovely here! x
Ben says
Maybe ask the next masseuse to take a pic of your next extreme massage location? Meat on a stick makes me feel hungry…! Glad to hear it is all going so well – maybe you can move to a full-time expat lifestyle?! (here is one of my MSc occpsych friends: https://www.facebook.com/loveplaywork?fref=ts). Ben x
Donny says
Friends