Warorot Market

Although this market is mainly for locals, which includes local shops as well as hundreds of outdoor stalls and even two multi-storey buildings, it is still well worth a couple of hours looking around. Soak up the atmosphere and enjoy an ancient part of Chiang Mai culture that may not be around for too much longer. Watch the locals haggle for their daily necessities, and maybe pick up a few odd bargains for yourself. Located east of the old city, Talad Warowot covers almost an entire downtown district, and is Chiang Mai's Oldest indoor/outdoor market. Close to the Ping River, the market spreads out both sides of Chang Moi Road - right down to Thae Pae Road with Ratchawong/Wichayonon Road bordering on the west. You will be bewildered and fascinated by the magnificent variety of wares on sale, which includes local products, as well as produce from the neighbouring countries of Burma and Laos. In this huge rambling market you will find: fabrics, spices, tea, dried fruit, fresh fruit, household items, cookware, handmade toys, fishermen's nets, pickled tea leaves, wigs, sticky rice steamers, Thai-style sausages, live catfish, statues for spirit houses, Hill Tribe handicrafts and so much more. The northern part of the market is mainly occupied by stalls selling fruit such as lychees, longans, mangosteens and rambutans. North of Chang Moi Road is a maze of lanes containing wholesale vendors and near to Kuang Mane Road you will find the local products and handicrafts sold by Hill-Tribe villages. If you head south, you will come across more bazaars containing foodstuffs, fabrics, and clothes stalls, along with Chinese gold shops. Right next to Worowong market, on the west side, is the 'sister market', Talat Ton Lam Yai, which is the city's main flower market. . The two markets of Worarwat and Ton Lam Yai and the surrounding area also "double up" as Chiang Mai's China Town. Look for the colourful Chinese "Welcome Gate" on Chang Doi Road, and scattered around the market you can spot Confucian Temples, Chinese apothecaries and many Chinese jewellery shops. On either side of Wichayanon Road, which separates the Worarwat and Ton Lam Yai markets, there are two similar three-storey buildings which sell fresh and dried food products along with clothes and household goods. These products probably won't set your spending instincts ablaze, but it is a good place to grab a bite to eat, and there are some excellent photo opportunities from the open elevated walkway, which connects the two buildings. Look out for the cycle rickshaws (samlors) who ferry local customers from one part of the market to another, or take them home with their shopping piled high. The two buildings are open from 8:00am to 6:00pm, but much of the uncovered market is open 24/7.