Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [262]
‘My co-founder and I started this as an experiment in three things: natural farming, vipassana meditation and artistic collaboration,’ he explained. ‘No one owns The Land. I helped give life to it but now it has its own life.’ As his own career has taken off, Ajahn Kamin has passed much of the management of The Land to a group of his former Chiang Mai University students. ‘They work together to take care of it. There isn’t one person who is the leader,’ he explains yet another fundamental component to The Land, the Buddhist ideal of suppressing the ego.
In many ways, The Land is an artistic version of a Thai temple: it is open to the public and people come to work together – be it through meditation, exchanging ideas or donating creative energy and projects to the physical space. ‘So the point of the project is the process not the product?’ I asked him. ‘You talk like an artist,’ he replied in true Thai complimentary fashion.
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Vila Cini ( Map; 0 5324 6246; www.vilacini.com; 30-34 Th Charoenrat) Villa Cini sells high-end, handmade silks and cotton textiles that are reminiscent of the Jim Thompson brand. Perhaps the real draw is the store’s atmospheric setting: a beautiful teak house with marble floors and a narrow, rickety staircase that leads to a galleried courtyard.
Sop Moei Arts (0 5332 8143; www.sopmoeiarts.com; 150/10 Th Charoenrat) Lots of shops sell hill-tribe crafts, but this one has put a modern makeover on the traditional crafts of the Pwo Karen, a tribal group living in Mae Hong Son Province. The shop’s directors began working with the village through a health program some 30 years ago, but have since harnessed the craft traditions of textile weaving and basketry as an economic-development project (over 60% of the net income returns to the village and any profits go into a scholarship fund).
Thai Tribal Crafts ( Map; 0 5324 1043; 208 Th Bamrungrat) Peruse the ornate needle-work of the various hill tribes at this tribal-owned store near the McCormick Hospital. It operates by the principals of a fairtrade organisation.
South of the Old City
Just south of Pratu Chiang Mai, historic Th Wualai is known for its silver shops ( Map).
Central Airport Plaza ( Map; Th Mahidon) Anchored by a Robinson department store and, compared to Kad Suan Kaew (below), this mall is more upmarket with more international brands and a more affluent clientele. The Northern Village complex on the 2nd floor sells high-quality souvenirs with set prices. Silks and ready-made clothes are good buys.
West of the Old City
Close to Chiang Mai University, Th Nimmanhaemin is often referred to as the trendy part of town. It has several malls filled with closet-sized clothing and gift boutiques. Don’t miss the home-grown art and decor shops lining Soi 1 off Th Nimmanhaemin and its art and design festival every December. The stores on this lane open around 10am or 11am.
Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre ( Map; Th Huay Kaew; 10am-9.30pm) Kad Suan Kaew offers retail therapy with air-con comfort. The anchor tenant is the Bangkok-based Central Department and there’s a Tops Marketplace for buying foreign-friendly foods. Mobile phones and accessories are on the top floor while clothing boutiques occupy the ground floor. Students hang out here in the evenings and lots of small-time vendors set up outside the mall on Thursday and Friday.
Hill-Tribe Products Promotion Centre ( Map; 0 5327 7743; 21/17 Th Suthep) This royally sponsored project sells handmade hill-tribe crafts and touristy souvenirs. The embroidered dolls and small change purses make nice gifts for little girls. All the profits from sales go to hill-tribe welfare programs.
Sipsong Panna ( Map; 0 5321 6096; Nantawan Arcade, 6/19 Th Nimmanhaemin) Opposite the Amari Rincome Hotel, this upmarket shop is the place for jewellery collected in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and southwestern China.
Srisanpanmai ( Map; 0 5389 4717; 6 Soi 1,