Editor Pick
Ban Phanom Village and buying some weaving
- January 3, 2001
- Rated 3 of 5 by
ASpencer from Brooklyn, New York
We took a taxi here as part of a larger daytrip. It is a little confusing to reach the town, really just a like jumble of houses on stilts set among the trees, so take a taxi.
This town is known for its weaving of silk and cotton cloth, sold in various patterns, clothing styles, and in whole bolts. In fact, all the crafts stores in Luang Prabang have very similar items at higher prices compared to Ban Phanom.
The town has a collective store where many weavers display their wares. Walking in, it is assumed you are here to buy and there is a bit of high-pressure treatment in store if you come here. In the store there are about 20 or 30 stalls one for each weaver, and saying no when faced with the pleading eyes and eager hand waves is a little hard to handle. Behind the collective store are some looms and we were able to watch as the women of the village worked on their weaving.
My wife and I stayed quite a while and rooted through the piles of hand-made placemats, shawls, tablecloths, and bolts looking for presents. Most of the time we were alone which only increased the high-pressure sales tactics and made us feel guilty for buying from one woman when we had just said no to her neighbor.
We left when, just like in the Louvre in Paris, all the art starts to look the same.
All and all though, the quality is quite good and the very nicest silk 6-foot tablecloth that we bought was only $40.00. Two words of warning are that quality varied widely from weaver to weaver and also, bargain a lot. Don’t be too cheap but bear in mind that the first quoted price is too high. It might be a good idea to check out Luang Prabang stores first for some pricing and quality comparisons and then go to Ban Phanom and try to pay less.
From journal The Royal City of Luang Prabang