You could add these to the list:

Cotton clothing

Puffed rice snacks

Chilli jam

Chiang Mai sausage

Herbal teas

Interesting pens, pencils, stationery

Silver jewellery

Hand crafted leather goods

Reflexology sticks

Patchwork fabrics

Cross stitch kits

I would like to add:

- scarf from hilltribe villages, pretty and inexpensive

- lots of handicrafts from Sat, Sun Walking Street

- wooden home decor items like vases, photo frames, unique, nice and reasonably priced, from Baan Tawai or nearby Lanna Rimkhlong

- personal care, soaps etc from Herbal Basics or Arun Thai

- food stuff from Warorot Market eg pork floss, dried longan (rich in iron), dried mango, dried strawberry (another nice snack), cashew nuts, almonds, tom yum soup paste (to whip up more of the spicy soup at home)

I brought back so many things. Great coffee. Hand creams from manicure places & Watson's Pharmacies - some great bargains there.

Some lovely sequined cushion covers from the Night Markets & exquisite sequined, embroidered elephant cushion covers there also.

6 pairs of imitation B'stock sandals from both the night market & a small market area near Lost Books for around $8/pair - so incredibly comfortable.

Sunday Walking St Markets- lots of lovely earrings (get there early for the best prices), some Hilltribe clothes etc. Yummo street food. My fave purchase there was a large Singing Bowl which we all love (husband went to Nepal from CM & they were more expensive).

At Warorot Markets I loved buying flowers & fruit. Heaps of the blue & white ceramic dishes that are ubiquitous in Thai restaurants here but hard to find.

In the same area are 2 (please correct me - can't find my Nancy C map) Win (?) shops next to each other selling hair & skin care products & make-up really cheaply - good stuff - take lots of money with you. EG I bought Mythic Oil for $17 & it's $50 here, 375ml L'Oreal Smooth-Intense S'poo & Cond for $3.50 each etc etc - 2 trips to the nearby bank..

Also, there is a Hilltribe street (shown on the NC Map) where I bought lots of lovely things - well worth a visit.

I would have bought more food products but Australian Customs are really strict.

Wow... lots of great suggestions! I can hardly wait to get there! I am adding some of your ideas to my shopping list!

Happy New Year Skeezix!

We always come home with several pairs of those voluminous cotton pants (we call them poop-catcher pants). There's a good supplier at the Sunday walking street with lovely colours and patterns. My daughter and I both enjoy wearing them, they make us feel like hippies. Also, I seek out a lady who sells string jewellery at the Night Market - she makes (or supplies) brightly coloured bracelets and necklaces in multi strands of waxed cotton, very lovely. And of course there is the celadon ceramics. We found the quality to be the best at Baan Celadon but lower prices at Siam Celadon. And we always come home with loads of scarves, the stringy woven ones in lots of different colours that seem to be available all over the place. You can usually get them for 3 for 100 baht, and slightly more for the bigger ones. Lastly, it's possible to stock up on really lovely greeting cards when in Chiang Mai. There's a shop called Artist Colour near the Thapae gate where you can buy lots of beautiful designs.

Oh, I must stop now, I'm getting too excited about all the wonderful shopping experiences in Chiang Mai!

Happy New Year to you, spopey... hope this year is a good one for you.

Those greeting cards at Artist Colour sound good. I remember you mentioning them in another post awhile back, and also those hippy pants. I've heard a lot about Baan Celedon as well, and can't wait to see their pieces. I think my shopping list is going to be a lot longer than I anticipated by the end of this thread!

I fear you might have to post some things back or get a sore back carrying all your purchases! The problem in Chiang Mai is how to limit yourself - there are just so many beautiful things everywhere you look.

How nice to be planning this trip - not long to go now. Enjoy it all!

Yes, one month today... I AM GETTING ON THAT PLANE!!! lol... I am also NOT taking a taxi to the airport this time. Bought a day pass the other day, that I will use to take public transit to the airport on February 1st... (Better safe than sorry!)

I am still healing from the car accident November 3rd, but am really hoping I'll be okay to do the re-booked trip. Fingers crossed...

And as for what I'll do with all my purchases from Chiang Mai, I do plan to post a box home before continuing my trip onwards in the Isaan region for a week, and then Bangkok for 5 days... I will be travelling very lightly, with a small backpack. I got it down to 14 lbs (carry-on weight).

Apple iPad - no cheaper here than at home (my wife's iPod came with round pin plug, not sure what they provide with iPad here).

Tylenol Arthritis - not sure if you will find it, but you may find a generic heavy dose paracetamol.