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.

 

Toys for sale at the Sunday Walking Street Market - Chiang Mai, Thailand
Toys for sale at the Sunday Walking Street Market

 

A look down the Sunday Walking Street Market in Chiang Mai, Thailandat 7pm
A look down the Sunday Walking Street Market in Chiang Mai, Thailandat 7pm

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.

 

Wooden bowls for sale in Chiang Mai
These beautiful wooden bowls cost roughly $11, which is on the more expensive side for the Walking Street Market

 

Pashmina Shawls cost $3 at the Sunday Walking Street Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Pashmina Shawls cost $3 at the Sunday Walking Street Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand

 

Match Boxes For Sale - 1 for 23 cents, 3 for 66 cents
Match Boxes For Sale – 1 for 23 cents, 3 for 66 cents

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.

 

Rings For Sale - photographed at f/1.8, 1/125s exposure, ISO 400
Rings For Sale – photographed at f/1.8, 1/125s exposure, ISO 400

 

Keychains For Sale - photographed at f/2.2, 1/60s exposure, ISO 1000
Keychains For Sale – photographed at f/2.2, 1/60s exposure, ISO 1000

 

Keychains For Sale - photographed at f/2.8, 1/160s exposure, ISO 250
Keychains For Sale – photographed at f/2.8, 1/160s exposure, ISO 250

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.

 

You can buy Pad Thai from dozens of street vendors in the Sunday Walking Market, Chiang Mai, Thailand
You can buy Pad Thai from dozens of street vendors in the Sunday Walking Market

 

Ice-cold Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke cans for sale
Ice-cold Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke cans for sale

 

These traditional Thai sausages are filled with noodles and surrounded by pork casing
These traditional Thai sausages are filled with noodles and surrounded by pork casing

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.

 

Touristy teeshirts are a dime a dozen (or a Bhat a dozen) at the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Street Market
Touristy teeshirts are a dime a dozen (or a Bhat a dozen) at the Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Street Market

 

Cola Can Tuk Tuk Toys for Sale - Sunday Walking Street Market - Chiang Mai, Thailand
Cola Can Tuk Tuk Toys

 

Darth Vader and Pop Culture Tee Shirts for sale
Darth Vader and Pop Culture Tee Shirts for sale

 

I don't fully understand what all these dolls are...
I don’t fully understand what all these dolls are…

 

You can buy notepads in all shapes and sizes
You can buy notepads in all shapes and sizes

 

Thailand Tee Shirts for Sale
Thailand Tee Shirts for Sale

 

Soap candles for sale at the Chiang Mai walking street market
Soap candles for sale at the Chiang Mai walking street market

 

You can find all sorts of fine art paintings for sale at the market
You can find all sorts of fine art paintings for sale at the market

Parting Advice to Make Your Visit More Enjoyable

  1. Avoid the crowds; get there early.
  2. Don’t eat before you go; half the fun is sampling all the local food.
  3. Walking on the left side of the street will make your life much easier.
  4. Haggling is customary, but remember that you’re often arguing over less than $1.
  5. Many vendors begin closing their booths at around 10:00pm.
  6. Have fun!
A sunset view down Ratchadamnoen Road during the Sunday Walking Street Market
A sunset view down Ratchadamnoen Road during the Sunday Walking Street Market

Have you ever been to the Sunday Walking Street Market?

What did you buy? Do you have any other tips for travelers?