I want to get a five-ribbed, three sectioned mattress triangle pillow and have it shipped to Canada. Or so my daughter tells me. Where in Chiang Mai can I find a selection of pillows? How can I arrange for a slow and not too expensive Toronto-bound shipment? Thanks all.

http://www.ban-tawai.com/

Thanks. The Ban Tawai has lovely stuff but I could not find any triangle-type pillows.

Just as a warning.

You should check what the Pillows are stuffed with and what your Country will allow in.

A LOT of these "pillows" are stuffed with untreated Cotton etc., even rice straw, which will be confiscated and destroyed when detected at your home Country Customs / Health authorities to prevent Importation of potentially harmful insects or bacteria.

Patrick

Thanks. The Ban Tawai has lovely stuff but I could not find any triangle-type pillows.

Go there, many places sell the pillows.

On the left just before you turn in to the side road.

They are usually much cheaper in Bosang though.

There used to be a store in the Night Bazaar that had these and some really really nice ones too.

Silk, local cotton etc etc However pretty sure they closed down. As far as I remember it was run by a Dutch guy.

But this is quite a few years back.

Definitely check on the stuffing issue before you send!

If I remember rightly the original "thing/design" originates in Mukdahan or somewhere around there.

Send by post..its the cheapest...also keep the value low but sensible e.g say C$ 15

Yes, I'd say Bo Sang over Ban Tawai for this particular item.

But also take note of customs restrictions on the stuffing.

Thanks all. We're taking a (white?) songtaew from Warorat tomorrow to Bo Sang and hope we get lucky. I (now) realize that visiting Ban tawan must be better than a web site. Do Bo Sang vendors get precleared for Canadian customs?

The man you want to talk to is Mark, he is Belgian and many years ago had a shop in night bazaar. But now he has a shop in Borsang and in Ban Tawai. His company is called Siam Souvenir. He has been doing this for twenty years now and is the expert on this subject. He will tell you exactly what you can and can't send to Canada but I think the regular Kapok filling is fine. If it's not then you will need the cotton filling which is slightly more expensive. I have shipped container loads of these for him to Canada without any problems. PM me and I will pass on his mobile number. He also double stitches the cushions so they last for a long time. Nice guy too.

The man you want to talk to is Mark, he is Belgian and many years ago had a shop in night bazaar. But now he has a shop in Borsang and in Ban Tawai. His company is called Siam Souvenir. He has been doing this for twenty years now and is the expert on this subject. He will tell you exactly what you can and can't send to Canada but I think the regular Kapok filling is fine. If it's not then you will need the cotton filling which is slightly more expensive. I have shipped container loads of these for him to Canada without any problems. PM me and I will pass on his mobile number. He also double stitches the cushions so they last for a long time. Nice guy too.

Whoops - apologies Mark !

Belgian , not Dutch - sorry.

JohnGreen, tried to pm you but my two efforts each left me in limbo. Please pm me with M. Mark's phone number. Thanks, NewGuy

I was told that you can buy them empty and fill them with cotton waste when you get home

I got both and answered one - happy shopping and glad I could help

Mission accomplished! Went out to BoSang and after checking out the selection I phoned Marc (thanks JohnGreen) and he took us back to his shop. I picked a 4-ring, 3-section mattress model then we walked to the post office for shipping sizes and prices. Back to the shop again to complete the deal. Marc will get the right sized box and send it off in a day or two. His price was a lot better than nearby vendors, some who sell his wares. In one big shop I was told that the pillow I was looking at was too big to send to Canada. Ha!

So where's his shop?

I tried to buy one of these in Australia when I was bit light on with presents for my granddaughter. It was a big shop that sold many things Thai and they wanted $115 for it. When I picked myself up off the floor and explained I lived in Chiang Mai the girl just shook her head and smiled as I walked out the door.

For reference:

Found Siam Souvenir. Got some decent stuff in there, though it seems they didn't want to sell. Wife negotiated a bit of a discount for several items and delivery (which would be extra, no probs) with one of the assistants; came back with money and the lady boss basically repealed the discount and fobbed us off on delivery in a snarky manner. All very strange. Anyhow, the shop up the road were more than happy to receive several thousand baht... he's about 100m up from 7-11.