Souvenirs can be found all along Sukhumvit Road in a delightful jumble of handmade, authentic and charming reminders of Thailand’s cultural diversity. Ideal for those looking for cheap gifts to take home.

No trip to Thailand is complete without taking home a handful of charming souvenirs from the kingdom. And on this count you’re really are quite spoilt for choice with an impressive array of handmade, quality gifts of cultural interest.

For last-minute keepsakes shopping, the pavements of Sukhumvit Road are crowded with souvenir vendors. You might prefer the peace and quiet of some of the specialised tourist shops, but all carry popular items such as silk scarves, carved wooden curios and toys, jewellery, art and interior décor, as well as contemporary t-shirts and the usual knock-offs.

Thailand has a rich heritage of handicrafts, which are mostly made cheaply in Northern Thailand, of mixed quality, but employing traditional techniques and skills to produce some truly unique and delightful souvenirs. They make ideal, cost effective gifts for family and friends. In general they tend to outnumber the predictable tourist tack of plastic fridge magnets and the like.

For quality assurance we recommend the gift shops in the hotel lobby. You will also encounter unique Thai cultural products on sale at many of the tourist sites, including Buddhist art and icons.

Here are some of the best known souvenir products worth bringing back with you from Thailand.

• Art: some excellent value oil, watercolour and other media with fresh Oriental ideas in local Sukhumvit galleries.
• Antique reproductions: Suitable for souvenirs (as opposed to the real thing), looking aged and impressive as a home décor item, available in boutiques on Sukhumvit Road.
• Bamboo: Products are numerous, from furniture to lampshades and everything in-between, ubiquitously found among vendors and markets.
• Beauty products: Naturally made using local products and ranging from soaps to revitalising creams – in specialist shops.
• Buddhas: Sold in boutique shops in various forms, but considered a serious religious icon (proper Buddha statues need an export permit).
• Clothing: Traditional to contemporary, found everywhere with unique Thailand designs, and presenting excellent value.
• Gift sets: are common, packaged up beautifully as an ideal last-minute gift, available from vendors and shops.
• Home décor: a Thailand speciality, with a unique Asian style that transcends fabric, wood and other materials for that ‘Oriental look’.
• Jewellery: made locally in silver and gold with Burmese gems, both contemporary and traditional styles, found in specialist shops nearby.
• Marionettes: wonderful Asian puppets dressed for traditional Thai ancient puppetry and one of the most delightful of gifts; keep your eyes open for these in the markets.
• Nielloware: popular craft in Thailand, produced mainly in the north and available at selected upmarket shops, professionally crafted.
• Parasols: these dainty hand-painted rice paper umbrellas are a signature product from Chiang Mai and prove to be a light, cheap but impressive gift, widely available.
• Porcelain: draws on traditions going back hundreds of years to the notable kilns of Suwankholok. Look out especially for the trademark Thai gold painted Benjarong porcelain.
• Silk: Thailand’s most famous traditional product, available widely in all forms, grades and colours, either as bolts, scarves or even tailored garments. Don’t be fooled by cheap Chinese synthetic silk.
• Saa paper: mulberry pulp turned into pretty papers, sold as keepsakes books and even stretched over lampshades. Good gifts for office colleagues.
• Toys: are produced here in wood for nice organic gifts for kids, and widely sold by local vendors on Sukhumvit Road. There’s also plastic contemporary items such as scale models of the famous ‘tuk tuk’.
• Teak: is another of Thailand’s big exports. Furniture, décor and more is made from this durable tree, sold in shops mostly (the numerous wooden products sold by vendors are other woods).
• Wickerware: not quite something to stuff into your luggage, the rattan here is still a good bet since you can arrange to have it shipped home, be it baskets or hyacinth chairs