Packed with more than a kilometer of popup shops, street vendors, and food stalls, the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Street Market is a feast for the eyes… and a famine for the wallet.
What is the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Street Market?
It’s like an interactive museum of Thai culture where everything is for sale.
Imagine if your home town shut down one of its most important roads and set up an open-air market. That’s exactly what Chiang Mai, Thailand, does every Sunday in the Old City: rain or shine.
From 4:00pm until midnight, thousands of vendors line Ratchadamnoen Road with hopes of trading their wares for a handful of Thai Baht. Considering the wide variety of merchandise on display, it’s a safe bet there’s something for everyone: all for a fraction of what it would cost back home.
Photographing Chiang Mai’s Walking Street Market
I love my new Nikon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. It’s incredibly sharp, has a great depth of field, and gets outstanding photographs in low light situations: like the Sunday Walking Street Market.
All the photographs on this page were shot using that 50mm lens at varying f-stops. Big thanks to my Father-in-Law, Bill, for bringing it when he visited us in Chiang Mai.
Let’s Take a Food Break
Pad Thai, smoothies, spring rolls, coffee, meat on a stick, fresh coconut juice, crepes, Coca Cola… if it’s consumable and sold in Thailand, you can probably find it it’s at the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Street Market! It’s a Thai shopping bonanza.
Touristy Souvenirs and Lots More
Looking for something with the words “Chiang Mai” on it? Perhaps a tee-shirt, magnet, hat, keychain, poster, or some other trinket?
If that doesn’t interest you, there’s also artwork, bags, dolls, notebooks, and even toy tuk tuks made of soda cans. At the Sunday Walking Street Market, everything is possible.
Parting Advice to Make Your Visit More Enjoyable
- Avoid the crowds; get there early.
- Don’t eat before you go; half the fun is sampling all the local food.
- Walking on the left side of the street will make your life much easier.
- Haggling is customary, but remember that you’re often arguing over less than $1.
- Many vendors begin closing their booths at around 10:00pm.
- Have fun!
Have you ever been to the Sunday Walking Street Market?
What did you buy? Do you have any other tips for travelers?
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All photos on this site are available as limited edition fine art photographic prints. Please get in touch for sizes and rates.