Ann’s “Top Secret” Gift Shop

After the night bazaar, it was Ann’s “Top Secret” Gift Shop where I found myself. I would enlighten all of you as to what she sold, but that may ruin some Christmas presents for some pretty special people! But that’s ok, because this post is not about the gifts, but the people behind the gifts.

As you probably guessed, Ann is the name of the lady selling the stuff at this booth, and she is probably the best memory I have from Chiang Mai. It was fun to see tigers and monkeys, but it lacked that personal interaction with the Thai culture.

I met her on the first day, when Jeff and I went out exploring, and right away you could tell she was authentic, and had that caring Thai attitude. I knew when I saw the things she was selling that it was the perfect gift I was looking for, but I didn’t have any money on me at the time, and told her I would stop by later. Which I did the second day, but didn’t have time to fully look into the products and find the perfect one, so I told her I would swing by before I left.

And that time was after the night bazaar. She was so excited that I returned to her place, as they sold her items at many other places, but none showed the respect that Ann did. She spoke English very well, and it was fun to get a background on how the products were made and her involvement in the family business. I was happy to help out Ann by buying from her and just as glad to have gotten to know her on my short stay there. It is the people like Ann that make me want to return to Thailand over and over again!

~Randall