The Shinawatra Thai Silk Company has been in business since 1911, making it the oldest silk factory in Thailand, and it all started in Sankampaeng, an area of Chiang Mai known for its arts and crafts. This location was where it all started and the business has expanded to include showrooms in a couple of other locations in Chiang Mai, but at this location you can see the whole process including silk worms, boiling the cocoons to release the fibres and hand looming (weaving). It is extremely interesting to watch and learn about this fascinating process. Since traditional Thai silk is hand woven, each silk fabric is unique and cannot be duplicated through commercial means. In contrast, artificial silk is machine woven, which means that every part of the fabric is identical and has the same color. In addition, Thai silk has a unique lustre, with a sheen that has two unique blends: one color for the warp and another for the weft. Colour changes as you hold the Thai silk fabric at varying angles against light.
This factory tour was important enough to be included in HRH Princess Diana's tour of Thailand in 1988, and a picture of her visit can be seen at the showroom. The showroom elegantly displays many fine silk products and souvenirs, and there are many attentive and helpful ladies to assist people with their purchases. They were able to converse easily in many languages too which I thought was remarkable (English, Japanese, German, French) but then they do receive many foreign tourists daily, some arriving in large tour coaches. I was particularly helped in my purchases by two knowledgeable and friendly ladies, Pee Jae and Pee Tah. They were very helpful and had a great attitude, and of course, that famous Thai smile! They were extremely polite, attentive, and not at all pushy.
The company also provides some free beverages, such as lemongrass tea, in an outdoor patio area, which was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. Inside the buildings it is, of course, air-conditioned. Overall, this was a tour that I would highly recommend as it is informative, educational, fun, and of course I ended up with some great souvenirs of Thailand!
58 reviews
30 attraction reviews
Reviews in 15 cities
382 helpful votes
No comments:
Post a Comment