Tha Phae Sunday Walking Street ‘Feeling your colorful night and buying local souvenirs in affordable price’
Getting tired from your work? Then how about going out for a little shopping? Wanna taste some delicious Thai food or buy local souvenirs for your family in fair prices? If that’s so, don’t miss your trip to ‘Tha Phae Sunday Walking Street’!
Tha Phae Sunday Walking Street is the biggest walking street in Chiang Mai. It is available on Sunday only, from 18:00-22:00. The whole area starts from Tha-Phae Gate to Rachdamnoen Road and then ends at Wat Phra Singh, total 1 kilometre.
Why is it called ‘walking street’? Yes! The name is the answer itself. After sunset, time for opening, the authorities will close the street. That means all cars are not allowed to run through the area. The whole area will then become a night marketplace full of vendor booths, selling foods, cloths, accessories, local goods, and lots more. Tourists walk around to choose what to buy.
However, if you want to maintain your impressive moment in Chiang Mai with you forever, then it will be best if you grab some local souvenirs, in order to miss your trip whenever you look at them. The local souvenirs are something like traditional costumes, northern-Thai-style bag, paintings, handicrafts, snacks, food and silverwares. Don’t worry. The prices are absolutely affordable. They won’t be as expensive as those from Night Bazar, because Night Bazar usually emphasises foreign tourists.
Beside of vendor booths, there will be entertaining performances sometimes, for instances, music bands, Thai traditional dance, singing. You can watch these at any spot of the area. If you admire the performers, you may support them by putting your money into their boxes.
The most perfect seasons for going shopping at Tha Phae Sunday Walking Street are winter and summer, because there is no rain. So you don’t have to worry about getting wet during your happy time.
There are many foreign tourists around Tha Phae, especially the Chineses.
It you want to change your atmosphere or relaxing your stress, switching from touring in malls to the walking street instead, be sure to pack your luggage quickly!
The whole area is colorful and mirthful. You will be happy with learning and seeing the local lifestyles. Be assured, once you reach there, you won’t want to stop spending your money or leaving fast.
How to get there
Tha Phae Sunday Walking Street is located on Rachadamnoen Road.
Driving a personal car to Tha Phae is not your suggested choice. The traffic there is tough. The parking lots are barely free too. Therefore the best way of going there is to grab a red two-rail bus. Ask the driver is he/she can take you to Tha Phae. The best time period for traveling is around 18:00, not 19:00-20:00 or you will have to feel stuffy because of too many people.
Also, if you travel with any public vehicle, don’t forget to take good care of your belongings. Be ware of pickpockets. You meet a lot of people and you don’t know if they’re good or bad, but you need to play safe.
Nearby Places
This is located right in front of the former town hall. The monument consists of three statues of three historic kings, King Mangrai, Ram Khamhaeng and Ngam Mueng. These kings are believed to be the establishers of Lanna Kingdom. Therefore many tourists travel there to pay respect to their statues.
If you only see one temple during your time in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra Singh (also known as Wat Phra Sing Waramahawihan) should be it. Set in the heart of the old city, the temple was founded in 1345 and is home to Chiang Mai’s most sacred relic – the Phra Singh (Lion Buddha image). The temple consists of many buildings, but the most spectacular is the golden wihan that houses the Phra Singh. Look for classic Lanna architectural features like the three-tiered roof, white chedi with an octagonal base, and lion statues guarding the entrance.
Wat Chedi Luang is a Buddhist temple in the historic centre of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The chedi was damaged in an earthquake, there are no longer any steps for climbing access. There are zodiac Buddha around the chedi. There is also a men only shrine building. Apparently this is a movie on location site, for “Lost in Thailand”. Some Chinese tourists tried to re-create some of the scenes.
Wat Phan Tao has a beautiful wooden viharn that once served as a royal residence and is adorned with a striking mosaic of a peacock and dog above the main door. After leaving the temple, walk around to the monks’ quarters on the side, taking in the traditional teak northern architecture and delightful landscaping.
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