Sunday Market: Best In Chiang Mai!
Find out why Sunday night market is the best market in Chiang Mai! This is your one-stop shop for purchasing souvenirs as well as some of the most delicious food you’ve ever tasted! Clearly, there is something for everybody here! All this time, Sunday market in Walking street has remained my favourite of them all in Chiang Mai!
About Sunday Night Market in Walking Street
Sunday Night Market is the biggest and most popular market in Chiang Mai! This particular market goes by many names; people will often refer to it as Sunday walking street market, Sunday Market, or Chiang Mai night market. It occurs every Sunday, so make sure you will be here for at least one Sunday when planning your trip!
You can expect to be overwhelmed with the scents of traditional Northern Thailand food whilst being distracted by the diverse range of stalls transforming the streets into a visual feast for the retail relishers! You can purchase just about ANYTHING here! Just check out these outrageously loud glasses! I own several pairs!
Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai: Opening Hours & Location
Sunday Night Walking Street Market begins at around 4pm until about midnight when stalls are closing and crowds are slowly receding. Ratchadamnoen Road (beginning at the Tha Pae Gate) is completely blocked off from traffic as well as the streets running off from it. The location link is attached at the bottom of this post. If you begin your market journey at Tha Pae Gate in the old city, you should easily be able to navigate your way through from beginning to end (and back again!)
What Can I see at the Sunday Night Market?
The streets are filled with both locals and tourist, attending walking street just to browse, to get a bite to eat or to partake in a shopping spree to some degree. This market gets extremely busy, so if you’re not a lover of huge crowds, you may want to arrive after 10:00pm.
I’ve seen young children here and most times I’ll see them in prams or one the shoulders of one of their parents. It can get a little claustrophobic for the little people if they too are not used to enormous crowds. Even when I don’t plan on buying anything, I’m guaranteed to leave with full shopping bags in my hands!
There are many open-air pop-up Massage parlours for those who’d like to take a break from the chaos. These massage parlours are a wonderful self reward after a hard day’s shopping spree. They offer many massage options for feet, back/neck and shoulders, legs; just about anything except for a typical full body Thai massage as it requires a bed.
Where Can I Eat at Sunday Night Market?
Eat inside The Temple Grounds
Where do I even start? Other than the restaurants that are permanently situated along the streets, there are food stalls from start to finish and everywhere in between! Every Temple site is also transformed into a food court and mini market as seen on my YouTube video. I highly recommend eating in the Temples if you prefer to sit down whilst you eat. There are plenty of chairs & tables around, and if they’re occupied, you won’t need to wait too long as customers want to get back to shopping asap.
What Can I Eat Inside the Temple Grounds?
Your food options are endless!!! Most of the food cooked and served is Northern Thai cuisine, but it’s not all Thai. My senses were awoken by the scent of German sausage wafting through the air! The scent lead me to an incredible little ‘kitchen’ with a homemade oven baking fresh bread and potatoes with variations of German sausages sizzling on the bbq. Being half German, I couldn’t resist the scrumptious delight that would bring me back to my childhood! My senses were having a party! Absolutely delicious!
As I mentioned, it’s not all Thai cuisine, there are Kebab stalls selling Indian street food, Middle Eastern food can be found, as well as Chinese food & other Southeastern cuisines! Over the years, I’ve tried and tested so many dishes at the Sunday Market, yet I’m sure I will never be able to try all of them. It really is a Foodie’s heaven!
Savoury donuts (pictured below) are one of my favourite snacks. You have a choice of shrimp, crab or squid and served with shredded seaweed & either tomato sauce or mayonnaise! The grilled fish is also an old time favourite- It’s rubbed with salt and packed with a bunch of herbs wrapped in Pandan leaf.
Eating in the Sunday Market Streets
Although you can find some of the same foods that you can eat inside the Temple grounds, There are even more options for snacks along the streets. You can discover some really weird and wonderful edibles that almost look too good to eat!
You will see a lot of savoury food like Bbq’d intestines, popular festival snacks such as sausage stuffed donuts, Bbq’d Bamboo with Sticky rice & coconut (with beans and seeds inside), quail eggs, and the list goes on! Bbq’d Scorpions and deep-fried bugs (My husband’s favourite snack) are also on offer for the adventurous. There are just way too many to mention.
Sunday night Market for the sweet tooth
Now, I know there are a lot of you out there, and Chiang Mai’s sweets will surely to satisfy you! Sweet Chinese steamed buns in the form of colourful cartoon characters are out of this world! At first I thought they were toys until I stepped closer! Colourful Candy shaslicks are a hit with the kids whilst freshly cut mango served with sugar and chilli are a hit with the spice lovers.
What Can I Drink at The Sunday Night Market?
Freshly made fruit juices, shakes and smoothies are in abundance! Cups of passionfruit are served with a spoon, and juices are made from just about any fruit you can imagine! Fresh coconuts and coconut water are chilled in their skins, ready to drink. I recently saw a sign stating the rules and one of them was no alcohol. I’m pretty sure that was introduced at the beginning of the Covid epidemic. One of the rarest fruits/juices you’ll see on display is the Gac fruit!
I’ve only ever seen the Gac fruit growing wildly in the University of Agriculture. It has a bright orange and spiky skin and is difficult to pick without thick garden gloves or something thickly padded. Inside, the fruit surrounds large sends; a deep red coloured flesh that looks like it’d be sweet, but is in fact quite tasteless like a cucumber. It’s rich in Omega 3 with anti-inflammatory components. It is said to combat diseases & health conditions such as cardiovascular, cancer, high cholesterol and anemia, just to mention some.
What Can I Buy at Sunday Night Market?
Handicrafts and unique gifts
Chiang Mai Night Market is particularly known for its handmade crafts and exotic gifs. Hand-crafted silverware are created right before your very eyes and my mother in law crochets at her doily stall whilst customers browse through her handicrafts.
Bowls made from coconuts, pressed flowers and tuk tuks made from beer cans are amongst the popular souvenirs bought here. Some of the more unusual keepsakes sold are preserved giant bugs and butterflies. If you’re a lover of jewellery, you have ample styles to choose from.
Miscellaneous items
Whether you’re looking for traditional Thai attire or something more modern, the Sunday Night Market has something suitable for everyone and the Bosun handmade Umbrellas are so pretty! Muay Thai is Thailand’s National sport, and you can purchase a pair of Muay Thai shorts here (and then take a crack at Thai boxing!) I remember my first time at this market; buying a few pairs of tiny Thai boxing shorts and traditional pants for babies back home. They were so adorable!
Your little furry friends are even considered here! There’s an entire range of doggy outfits, accessories and traditional Hill Tribe uniforms. Health & beauty items such as hand carved soaps, scrubs, ointments, traditional medicines etc are also available for purchase.
Artwork
I absolutely love the artwork in Chiang Mai and some of the best artists in Thailand reside in this very city. There’s a huge diversity in styles, colours and materials that cater to every taste. Large portraits and canvases are sold throughout the market, and you can even stop to have your face sketched by one of the local talents.
Allow me to introduce you to one such very talent! Nakornpatt Suthasans (Aka Sang Nuea) is a fine-art teacher at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University who has 25 years working experience in the fine arts industry. Sang Nuea produces original work, all created from a variety of methods and materials, and sold privately.
Keep an eye out for him sketching the most realistic portraits every week at the Sunday Night Market! Hopefully you can squeeze one in yourself! If you’re lucky enough to see him in Pai (Mae Hong Son province), you can have your face painted with glow in the dark paint like I did (below).
Entertainment
Entertainers from all walks of life show off their skills in the bustling streets, bringing the music to your ears! Bands playing traditional Thai music using authentic Southeast Asian instruments echo through the crowds. Other bands playing their original songs draw crowds and often dancers!
I once saw an original band called ‘Colors Of Life’ from Chiang Mai who all played the Australian Didgeridoo! I hadn’t heard anything like their songs before and jumped at the chance to purchase their CD to play at home. Sunday Night Market offers a soundtrack to make your shopping experience that more memorable!
Sunday Night Market Location & Opening hours:
- 4:00pm – 12:00pm
- Location (Tha Pae Gate) : https://goo.gl/maps/amE7FUYZeYZUK9jz8
