made in thailand

I just got home from the most enjoyable shopping trip I think I'll ever have in my entire life. I couldn't stop smiling.

On Thursday at school, one of the teachers told us about a market with handmade Thai goods from across the country at wholesale prices. She talked up this market all through lunch and said she'd take us there the next day.

On Friday, the Prathom (elementary school) teachers piled into a school van and headed to the market.

But market was really the wrong sort of word, because markets are hot,sweaty, tented places with crowds pushing you and vendors harassing you.

The Made in Thailand market was more like an expo. It was in a huge, lovely, air-conditioned building. There were wide aisles between each row of booths. You could stop in and look, and they wouldn't pester you to buy something if you weren't interested.

But I was interested. In all of it. I wanted to buy everything. It was all beautiful, unique, and handcrafted. I could have spent hundreds of dollars there easily.

We went back on our own today, because we didn't have enough time to see it all yesterday. We spent four and a half hours there. I could have stayed longer, but my shoulders were nearly dislocated from the weight of all my purchases.

The best part is, I was able to do almost all of my souvenir shopping in one trip. I have a few people left on my list, and about nine months to find gifts for them. No sweat.

The expo ends tomorrow, but it's coming back in December. I might have to make a second trip.

Now the question is: How in the world do I get all my nice (and bulky) gifts home?