Ban Tawai

[Waterloo]

Hi Guys

Going to be making a trip to Chang Mai latter in the year with the family, is Ban Tawai all they say it is or are there lesser known alternatives.

I am particularly interested in some quality wood carvings, but enjoy window shopping for handicrafts in generale.

Would appreciate info from anyone living in the area.

Thanks for any insights.

[rene123]

If Ban Tawai is the little village south of Chiang Mai on the Hang Dong road, then it certainly is worth a visit. I was suitably impressed with all the carvings but don't know how I could transport a life size elephant carving back to Canada. I didn't even know Thailand had trees that big to get one solid chunk of wood the size of an elephant or rhinoncerous. I did pick up some carved mango wood platters though.

[Tywais]

An example of what is available there - http://www.ban-tawai.com/

[kaptainrob]

Ban Tawai village is great for browsing many handicrafts and decorator items NOT to be found elsewhere.

We particularly like the larger factory outlets nearby, outside the tourist village, for superb furniture - faux antique or contemporary/modern. Antique rocking horses or solid wood banquet tables ... you'll find them there!

Edited March 21, 2013 by kaptainrob

[TommoPhysicist]

Lunch at the restaurant over the ATMs is nice and at a very reasonable price.

You might also like to try Bo Sang.

Edited March 21, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[KRS1]

Farther back you go into Ban Tawai the cheaper it gets.

[hellodolly]

Ban Tawai village is great for browsing and many handicrafts and decorator items will NOT be seen elsewhere.

We particularly like the larger factory outlets nearby, not within the tourist village, for superb furniture - faux antique or contemporary/modern. Antique rocking horses or solid wood banquet tables ... yo'll find them here!

+1

[JohnGreen]

Yes Ban Tawai is well worth a visit and has a huge selection of homewares and furniture but if you are looking for an intricate Teak wood carving try heading further south towards San Patong - just before the town turn right at the lights and you will find afew small bunches of shops the two most noticeable being Gad Sala and Giu Lair Luang. These places specialise in intricate Teak carvings - elephants, jungle scenes - and you will see the carvers at work.

Can easily do both in one day. PM me if you need any more info.

[BB1955]

Further down Hang Dong road in Sanpatong is another place that has alot of carvings for sale dont remeber the name but is on the left going down .... Worth the visit even if your not going to buy anythng

[market trader]

I concur with the other comments about Ban Tawai being a good place to visit. Don't just look on the main road of the village. Go off onto the sois you will be amazed at how many shops and small enterprises are there. Yes all the shops I have bought at will bargain. We have purchased several teak furniture items there. The merchants we have bought from all readily told us that the furniture we bought was made in Burma not Thailand.

[Waterloo]

Lunch at the restaurant over the ATMs is nice and at a very reasonable price.

You might also like to try Bo Sang.

Yes just looked it up looks well worth a stop, cheers

Edited March 21, 2013 by Waterloo

[Waterloo]

Yes Ban Tawai is well worth a visit and has a huge selection of homewares and furniture but if you are looking for an intricate Teak wood carving try heading further south towards San Patong - just before the town turn right at the lights and you will find afew small bunches of shops the two most noticeable being Gad Sala and Giu Lair Luang. These places specialise in intricate Teak carvings - elephants, jungle scenes - and you will see the carvers at work.

Can easily do both in one day. PM me if you need any more info.

Cheers John

just done a quick google search looks very promising, I'm sure we will hire a car for a few days so very do able, not sure how big an elephant I could take home to the UK though.

I suppose we could always store it at the mother in-laws for shipping later

[Waterloo]

Cheers Everyone, I appreciate you taking the time to post, looks like useful information

[davehowden]

Saw one shop there with a sign "ANTIQUES MADE TO ORDER", love it!

[T_Dog]

Farther back you go into Ban Tawai the cheaper it gets.

Good call there KRS1. They actually have a section down there called Area 51 which has more interesting items than the main area and you can get custom built lights done there. Wish I could give directions to it as it is always difficult for us to find.

[Puwa]

Volume and variety are Ban Tawai's strong suit, quality not so much. To some extent this is a matter of opinion, and mine comes from a number of purchases over the years. Certainly worth a look around, but look closely.

[Waterloo]

Can haggling be conducted in english or am I dependant on my in-house service?

Any rule of thumb on what percentage you can knock of the price, probably a silly question I known?

I will of course have a good walk round getting an idea of asking prices before negotiating.

[ataloss]

Volume and variety are Ban Tawai's strong suit, quality not so much. To some extent this is a matter of opinion, and mine comes from a number of purchases over the years. Certainly worth a look around, but look closely.

Too true. There are some fine merchandise, but beware of anything stained or varnished. The stain is often shoe polish, and often the varnish is sticky when wet.

[Waterloo]

Volume and variety are Ban Tawai's strong suit, quality not so much. To some extent this is a matter of opinion, and mine comes from a number of purchases over the years. Certainly worth a look around, but look closely.

Too true. There are some fine merchandise, but beware of anything stained or varnished. The stain is often shoe polish, and often the varnish is sticky when wet.

Cheers I will watch out for that

[kaptainrob]

Can haggling be conducted in english or am I dependant on my in-house service?

Any rule of thumb on what percentage you can knock of the price, probably a silly question I known?

I will of course have a good walk round getting an idea of asking prices before negotiating.

555 yes, haggle as hard as you like, its expected.

My (Thai) wife and I usually start at 50% OFF. She hates doing it but is often surprised at the end result ... being fair, often ~ 30% off.

[hellodolly]

We went out there one day to show it off to my boy he was impressed.
Especially with some of the Tables as he had worked in a custom made
shop back in Canada. As has been stated earlier you have to carefully
inspect them.

I made one mistake how ever I thought I had seen it all,

A year later I went out there with a friend who is in the import export
business and I saw a whole lot of shops I had missed the previous visit.

A word of warning if you purchase a wood product it is likely to cracking in a dryer climate and should be kept oiled.

On the humorous side We saw a sign in Bali Antiques made the old fashioned
way. We entered into the store and could hear an electric sander in the back.

[Waterloo]

Can haggling be conducted in english or am I dependant on my in-house service?

Any rule of thumb on what percentage you can knock of the price, probably a silly question I known?

I will of course have a good walk round getting an idea of asking prices before negotiating.

555 yes, haggle as hard as you like, its expected.

My (Thai) wife and I usually start at 50% OFF. She hates doing it but is often surprised at the end result ... being fair, often ~ 30% off.

Cheers I will bear that in mind, I'm sure the wife (Thai) will notice if we are haggling to hard

[Waterloo]

We went out there one day to show it off to my boy he was impressed.

Especially with some of the Tables as he had worked in a custom made

shop back in Canada. As has been stated earlier you have to carefully

inspect them.

I made one mistake how ever I thought I had seen it all,

A year later I went out there with a friend who is in the import export

business and I saw a whole lot of shops I had missed the previous visit.

A word of warning if you purchase a wood product it is likely to cracking in a dryer climate and should be kept oiled.

On the humorous side We saw a sign in Bali Antiques made the old fashioned

way. We entered into the store and could hear an electric sander in the back.

Cheers, I don't suppose the UK is considered a dryer climate

[KRS1]

Farther back you go into Ban Tawai the cheaper it gets.

Good call there KRS1. They actually have a section down there called Area 51 which has more interesting items than the main area and you can get custom built lights done there. Wish I could give directions to it as it is always difficult for us to find.

yep, if you go down the main ban tawaii cut where all the tour buses go, just keep on going and it will lead to another little section.

[jackr]

Lunch at the restaurant over the ATMs is nice and at a very reasonable price.

Yes, that's good. There's also another good place, slightly more expensive but with great khao pat and really tasty cakes. Sort of opposite and up a short lane. Ao Ai, or summat similar.

Op, keep an eye out for the carving place with the fish tank, and you'll notice that many of these operations will sort out export for you. Around 30% off is about right.

If you've got your own wheels, continue driving around after (as above) and you can loop around back to the main road.

[Waterloo]

Lunch at the restaurant over the ATMs is nice and at a very reasonable price.

Yes, that's good. There's also another good place, slightly more expensive but with great khao pat and really tasty cakes. Sort of opposite and up a short lane. Ao Ai, or summat similar.

Op, keep an eye out for the carving place with the fish tank, and you'll notice that many of these operations will sort out export for you. Around 30% off is about right.

If you've got your own wheels, continue driving around after (as above) and you can loop around back to the main road.

Cheers duely noted, plan to be in the area for about 10 days so will hire a car for 2-3 days, wife has her Thai driving liscence