On Saturday nights in Chiang Mai, there is a night market along Wua Lai Walking Street. On Sundays, from late afternoon till night, there is a Sunday Night Market within the "walls" of the historical city. This is the largest and busiest event of Chiang Mai and is also called Chiang Mai Walking Street or the Chiang Mai Night Market.
The night market stretches across the full length of Rachadamnoen Road from Tha Phae Gate to Wat Phra Singh and on the two trunk roads of Prapokkloa Road and Ratchapakhinai Road. Unlike the Saturday Night Market from 6pm to 11pm, Sunday Night Market officially starts at 5pm till 10pm, but some stalls may start as early as mid-day on roadsides of the mentioned roads.
Stalls with handicrafts, confectionery, clothings, head gears, arts, local produces such as dried fruits, coffee beans, flavoured tea, etc, lined both sides of the roads. Some of the stalls that lined the Saturday Night Market may be operating in this market too, so do not be surprised to see familiar faces.
Similarly, other than stalls selling light snacks, confectionery, tidbits, etc, that can be seen along the main road, most smokey or heavy food stalls are concentrated in "food centres" or "food corners" off the road.
Free-seating tables and chairs are also provided for diners. Some of the food centres are setup in open spaces, carparks and on premises of temples located along the roads.
There are tons of foodstuffs to try in the night market. Although most are light dishes and simple snacks, they can be tasty and flavoured with Thai spices.
The night market is also a good opportunity to hunt for local Thai desserts, such as tim tub grob (red rubies dessert), khanom krok (coconut-rice pancakes), bua loi kai wan, etc. The Thai dessert, bua loi kai wan, is a bowl of colourful rice balls in warm mild-savoury coconut milk with a sweet poached egg, although some stalls do offer salted egg as alternative.
Other than shopping and eating in the night market, most of the temples along the roads are brightly lit up too and are beautiful sights not to be missed.
The same rules for night markets in Chiang Mai are applicable here too: No smoking, no vaping, no consumption of liquor, no pets and no vehicles in night market.
Address:
Rachadamnoen Road, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Opening Hours:
5pm to 10pm | Opens on Sunday only
Comments