spirit house
Mar 30th, 2005, 07:22 AM
#2
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Spirit houses come in all sizes from very small to very large. There is a street near Wat Po that has a lot of stores that sell them and there are several stores along the road that leads to Ayuthya. I also saw several in various stores in River City.
Mar 30th, 2005, 07:35 AM
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The friend I was with last December was determined to buy a spirit house so I became an expert. 
She ultimately bought one in Chiang Mai but we looked everywhere.
Oh, there was also a store in the night market that sold some.
You need to decide if you want northern style or Bangkok style -- roofs are different -- and then if you want them to be decorated or plain. A lot of the ones we saw were damaged in one way or another so you need to check them. My friend had her's shipped home. ngpmndpohter
She ultimately bought one in Chiang Mai but we looked everywhere.Oh, there was also a store in the night market that sold some.
You need to decide if you want northern style or Bangkok style -- roofs are different -- and then if you want them to be decorated or plain. A lot of the ones we saw were damaged in one way or another so you need to check them. My friend had her's shipped home. ngpmndpohter
Mar 30th, 2005, 08:24 AM
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Glad to see someone else loves the spirit houses. I have two now. They seem to have become more popular in Bangkok...you can find them in some stores in the Siam Center and there is a handicraft store across the street that has them on the first and third floors. The first time I looked for them about five years ago, I almost gave up. Good luck.
Mar 30th, 2005, 12:16 PM
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i too was on a quest to purchase a spirit house...the coolest one i found was behind the weekend market in the back alleys in the furniture resoration shops...but ratt (our guide) said not to buy a used spirit house...you never know why it does not have an owner or what happened to the previous owner.
also,,.when you place your spirit house on your land...place it infront of your house so the spirits can find it and feed it good things , again so the spirits can find it and not your house.
we ultimately purchased a very decorative spirit house by wat po but it is to delicate and beautiful to be outside in the rain....(i just found a spirit house in a teak furniture on Maui, where we live, not nearly as pretty as mine for $250)
we are going back to thailand in october and will buy the one we saw in chiang mai and ship it home.
in bangkok...i saw spirit houses in a corner store on our khlong river tour,
at the nite market and the weekend market. the price should not be too much of a factor...look for quality.
most thai spirit houses are concrete (at least the ones they place outside)
also,,.when you place your spirit house on your land...place it infront of your house so the spirits can find it and feed it good things , again so the spirits can find it and not your house.
we ultimately purchased a very decorative spirit house by wat po but it is to delicate and beautiful to be outside in the rain....(i just found a spirit house in a teak furniture on Maui, where we live, not nearly as pretty as mine for $250)
we are going back to thailand in october and will buy the one we saw in chiang mai and ship it home.
in bangkok...i saw spirit houses in a corner store on our khlong river tour,
at the nite market and the weekend market. the price should not be too much of a factor...look for quality.
most thai spirit houses are concrete (at least the ones they place outside)
Mar 30th, 2005, 04:05 PM
#8
I bought a spirit house several years ago on the road between Bangkok and Hua Hin. I got it at what seemed like a hardware store. It's all teak and quite large and I had hotel staff pack it up for me when I got back to BKK and brought it on the plane, actually shipped it through as cargo, no charge as it was part of our luggage allotment. I would stay away from tourist places to buy one, you will pay far more than you would if you go where the Thais go to buy theirs. From what I've been told by several Thais, the best place to go is on the outskirts of a city, to a hardware store. I paid US $50 for mine but that was when the baht was in a free fall. I haven't priced them in the several times I've been back to Thailand though, but I have seen some at River City and they were very expensive, and no nicer than mine. Since I live in an apartment in NYC, I keep mine in the living room. The spirits don't seem to mind ;-)
Mar 30th, 2005, 05:17 PM
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Poon took us to a wonderful woodcarving shop in Hang Dong near Chiang Mai where we bought a beautiful teak spirit house - very decorative & about a foot tall. I think we paid about $17. It is one of the favorite things we bought & carries with it wonderful memories of the fun day we had.
Oct 5th, 2005, 08:15 PM
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i bought a teak spirit house in chiang mai that is about 18" by 28 " by 20 inches high
...it cost $70 and another $70 to ship it...it arrive only slightly damaged 4 months later...and now beautifully welcomes us as we enter our land
...it cost $70 and another $70 to ship it...it arrive only slightly damaged 4 months later...and now beautifully welcomes us as we enter our land
Oct 8th, 2005, 12:26 PM
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Jane-
Poon can take you to a place for spirit houses -- my friend bought one last year. She had it shipped. Poon handled that as well. I'm correct in thinking that you are using Poon aren't I?
There is also a street in Bangkok that has several but the quality in Chiang Mai seemed better and there was more variety at a better price.
Poon can take you to a place for spirit houses -- my friend bought one last year. She had it shipped. Poon handled that as well. I'm correct in thinking that you are using Poon aren't I?
There is also a street in Bangkok that has several but the quality in Chiang Mai seemed better and there was more variety at a better price.
Oct 8th, 2005, 12:42 PM
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Gloria
Yes we have Poon booked for "Elephants and shopping" will mention to her that i want to get one and hopefully she will take to me the perfect place.
I did mention to Ratt the sort of places i wanted to go and she said she would tell Poon, i guess we will discuss when she picks us up????
I have some of your recommendations from a previous thread so i will show those to Poon too... and hopefully i will snag a bargain or too... (my shipping bill and hold luggage could be very big at this rate).
Thanks again
Jane
X
Yes we have Poon booked for "Elephants and shopping" will mention to her that i want to get one and hopefully she will take to me the perfect place.
I did mention to Ratt the sort of places i wanted to go and she said she would tell Poon, i guess we will discuss when she picks us up????
I have some of your recommendations from a previous thread so i will show those to Poon too... and hopefully i will snag a bargain or too... (my shipping bill and hold luggage could be very big at this rate).
Thanks again
Jane
X
Oct 8th, 2005, 06:14 PM
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Smeagol, Yes, it was Poon who took us to Hang Dong, where we bought the spirit house on the way back from the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. Tell her you want a teak spirit house & she will take you to a great place where they have a nice variety. A friend of hers owns the workshop and she had beautiful wood items at great prices. We shipped it back with other lacquer boxes and a carved wooden elephant that we bought the same day and Poon took us to a shipping company -- may have been DHL. The shipping cost as much if not more than the items we shipped -- but everything arrived in good condition and it was well worth it as all of the items bring back wonderful memories. If you have time ask Poon to take you to the elephant carver's studio, which was amazing. You will have a great time in Thailand and please say hello to Poon from Rob & carole from Connecticut. We hope to be back there next November.
