62 Best Places to Shop in Thailand

Among the crafts you can find at this large sales outlet in the village of Bo Sang, 10 miles east of Chiang Mai, are hand-painted umbrellas made from lacquered paper and tree bark. Hundreds of these are displayed at the center. You can watch the whole process here, as artists paint traditional designs on anything from a T-shirt to a suitcase—travelers have discovered that this is a handy way of helping identify their luggage on an airport carousel.

Chiang Mai has two so-called walking streets, closed off to traffic to make way for weekly markets. One is held on Wualai Road (the "silver street") on Saturday evening. The other, much larger one, takes up the whole of Ratchadamnoen Road and surrounding streets on Sunday evenings. Although the Night Bazaar sells good food and plenty of souvenirs, you will usually find more local handicrafts at the walking street markets.