Baan Tawai
Address:
Description:
The three handicraft villages Baan Tawai, Baan Wan and Hang Dong are on highway 108 about 15 km out of the city. The villages are famous for antiques, ceramic but the mainstay is handmade Asian furniture made of wood. The streets at Ban Thawai, Hang Dong and Ban Waan are filled with factory outlets where you can buy beautiful carvings and affordable teak furniture. Many foreigners are so enamored with the quality and price of furniture on display, they end up shipping some home. The prices for the handcrafts in ban tawai are often cheaper than the cargo but usually it still works out to be cheaper than buying furniture in western countries. Aside from the shopping, it is a pleasant place, particularly Ban Tawai village, where you can stop for a coffee or some lunch when it all gets too much. The road is lined by many impressive home décor shops with incredible bargains to be found. It is especially handy if you can take someone Thai with you as, in most cases, prices are not marked and you may struggle to haggle effectively in English. Allow at least a day to explore if you can. Start in Ban Tawai Village, where smaller home décor items are found then make your way out to the increasingly impressive designer décor and furniture shops located along the access road.