Thai Silk

[highlander76]

Which is the best town for finding high quality thai silk in Isaan?

[gondarman]

A wide selection of silks, exclusive and good quality, you can find in the silk village Tha Sawang which is located along the 4026 coming out off Surin about 10 km. Prices are quite steep there, because the place is focussed on international tourism. If you are interested in silk and the process of silk weaving, dyeing though it is a good place to look around in the factory and the museum.

If the price is important to you then you can go to almost any Isarn village and check with the local people because you will definately find some home factories everywhere.

Arthur

[highlander76]

thank you very much

[Prajak]

Nongkhai, Prajak Road corner Thanon Hai Sok, close to Phantawee Hotel, a big shop called Village Weavers.

You could also try local shops called OTOP (" one tambon one product"). They are in all major cities in Thailand.

[luangtom]

There are numerous locations along Hwy. 2, Udon Thani to Nong Khai, that tout silk and silk-products. Ban Na Kha is about half-way between Udon Thani and Nong Khai and has numerous shops with silk. There are also villages near Ban Chiang on Hwy. 22 between Udon Thani and Sawang Daen Din that have silk and other yard-goods in their shops. Chok dee.

[Cuban]

Khon Kaen has a silk festival in early December each year.

[AjarnNorth]

Which is the best town for finding high quality thai silk in Isaan?

Surin silk (city/province) is widely considered some of the best in the country. As some have already pointed out, Baan Tha Sawang, just outside Surin, is an excellent place to see people weaving and to see a wide selection of silk. It's also a good place to find things made of silk such as handbags and the like. Also as they have pointed out, the prices are often higher than they are elsewhere.

The main market in Surin city - "Talat Sot" - has a huge selection of silk by the piece. This is where Thai folks in Surin buy and sell silk. There are large and small vendors within the market (near the clocktower). People often think that the larger the vendor the cheaper the price, but this is often not the case. Also, a lot of farangs seem to want silk but to be unable to figure out why one piece is 600 baht and another is 1,200 and assume people are trying to rip them off, so off they go. The prices vary from piece to piece based on a number of variables ranging from the weave to whether the dye is natural dye or sythetic dye. The prices also tend to vary a little during certain times of year.

The reason I know any of this (and I don't know much about silk, actually) is because my wife sells silk in Surin. I'll PM you and you/your wife can talk to my wife if you like. She speaks excellent English and would be happy to help. Of course, she'll be hoping you'll like what she has in stock, but if it's a different style you're after she can point you in the right direction and give you an idea of what would be a fair price.