Chiang Mai is famous for its handicrafts, and we found the Sa Paper and Umbrella Center to be a rich shopping center for all things made of decorative Sa Paper. "Sa Paper" is produced from the Sa plant, a type of mulberry tree. They have hundreds of different types of patterns and shades in the same distinctive faded and weathered texture. We (mostly Ally) bought everything from 3 feet long Sa paper sheets, photo albums, notebooks, a baby mobile for my brother's new baby, and other things. A Sa paper notebook costs about 3-4 bucks here, but they have such a unique, homemade feel that is perfect for a travel journal. You can find most of these items at the Chiang Mai night market, but you definitely find a bit better pricing and much more variety here. Sort of a "one-stop-shopping" experience for Chiang Mai paper handicrafts. Shopping is not my favorite thing, but even this place was somewhat interesting to me as a study in the local arts and crafts industry.This is a popular stop in the Sankampaeng shopping district, where there are dozens of arts and crafts stores. This area not a walk-about type of shopping district, as each shop is in its own lot along a busy thoroughfare. You'll certainly need automobile or bus transportation to visit. We were lucky enough to have our driver Somporn take us here. It was about 25 minutes drive from the Regent Chiang Mai.
We also found giant, life-size versions of the mini umbrellas found in Polynesian umbrella or tiki drinks like the Mai Tai and Singapore Sling. You can see a small production facility and watch how they construct these amazing umbrellas. At first we thought that these umbrellas were decorative items only, until we actually used one during a rainy afternoon a few days later. Had I known these lovely, hand-crafted umbrellas were actually sturdy and useful for tropical rainstorms, I would have definitely purchased one!