A few years before I starting coming here, the idea was launched to shut down the main street outside the gates of the moat every Sunday and to promote the crafts of local artisans. My second year the weekly festival moved inside the old city and has grown every year to be this massive event that takes over the main streets inside the moat. The Thais call it Sunday Walking Street as it and all side strees are closed to traffic after setting up in the afternoon. Vendors carefully arrange their mostly handmade wares - colorful embroidery of hand-woven hill tribe fabrics, homemade paper lanterns, the intricate work of Chiang Mai’s silversmiths, woodcarvers and more - along with some junky imported trinkets. There are also street musicians - traditional and pop - Thai dancers, living statues, and puppet shows.
The 70-degree evening air is filled with the smell of food cooking along with scented oils and candles as you walk along as many of the several kilometers as you can manage, through a showcase of quality handicrafts and delicacies from all corners of the Northern provinces. Click here if you want to see my photo album of shots I took at last Sunday's market. [Remember, you do not have to sign in. And there is an option for selecting smaller photos if your connection is slow.]
This is just a small sample of the handwoven cotton shawls that are available in every imaginable color combination.
These silk scarves also in available in a variety of shades and hues.
You can eat just about anything imaginable from Phat Thai, roasted chicken, fried grasshoppers, Khao Soi, som-tam (spicy papaya salad), sticky rice, hot spicy sausage, curry, fresh and fried spring rolls, crispy pork rind and hundreds of local tasty treats still to me, even after five winters here.
