Old Handicrafts of Chiang Mai

The samlor, Chiang Mai’s living heritage

Your guide will meet you at your hotel for your Chiang Mai Handicrafts tour. Transfer to Wat Loi Kroh, where your bicycle taxi (samlor) is waiting for you. Our tour today will focus mainly on a neighborhood outside the old city. About 200 years ago, people from Chiang Saen and the Chiang Tung area (now Kengtung of Kyaingtong in Shan State in Myanmar) settled. It is an exciting story.

Start a relaxing ride through the backstreets of Chiang Mai. The first stop will be Wat Loi Kroh, a beautiful temple not very often visited by tourists. Chiang Mai used to have an outer wall called Kamphaeng Din (earthen wall) by locals. We follow the outer city wall for a while and then head for Wat Nantaram. This temple is in the center of the old lacquerware area and houses a small lacquerware museum.

Authentic lacquerware shops

We will also visit a shop where people still traditionally produce lacquerware. From here, we continue to Wat Muen San, the lesser-known “silver temple” of Chiang Mai. We are now in the silver neighborhood. Two centuries ago, these craft artisans came from Shan State. We will visit a silver crafts shop and the small museum in Wat Muen San, which will have some surprises for you.

From there, we continue to the magnificent Wat Srisuphan with its silver when. If you are lucky, you can see silver artisans at work. Continue to the attractive Chiang Mai Gate Market. Here the samlor tour ends. We say goodbye to our drivers. It is time for refreshment and exploring this bustling market before we continue our Chiang Mai handicrafts tour.

Wooden elephants at Baan Jang Nak

We will continue our tour on four wheels instead of three. Drive to the Sankamphaeng district, where we will have lunch in a typical Northern Thai restaurant, Huen Jai Yong. After lunch, we will visit Baan Jang Nak, the most famous carver of wooden elephants. In the Northern Thai language, Baan Jang Nak means “House of many elephants.” It is a fantastic place; you will see elephant statues of all sizes, wood and concrete.

Phet Wiriya’s family originally hails from Muang Yong, now in Shan State in Myanmar. After this, we will visit a factory where they produce bronze statues. These are statues of historical persons, monks as well as Buddha. Bor Sang is famous for parasols and umbrellas. We will visit a smaller establishment producing colorful parasols and umbrellas. The last stop will be a sa paper factory where they make paper from the bark of the mulberry tree. It is the last stop of our Chiang Mai Handicrafts tour. We will drive back to Chiang Mai.