Gold Textile Museum Museum

The Gold Textile Museum, sometimes called Sathorn’s Museum after its owner, is at Ban Hat Siaw, a small community now subsumed by the town of Si Satchanalai.

This community of weavers belongs to the ethnic Thai Phuan, whose ancestors migrated here from Laos over a century ago. They have been avidly involved in the textile trade ever since and have developed their own distinctive designs, making this a great spot to shop for a striking shirt or jacket at the shop in front of the museum.

The museum stands right beside Highway 101 at the north end of Si Satchanalai, so it’s easy to find. Besides the intricately woven textiles - some glittering with gold thread - there’s an area of traditional buildings out back with an amazing array of household implements, some over 100 years old, plus ingenious fish and frog traps and old carts with huge wooden wheels. If you’re lucky you might see someone weaving painstakingly at the looms under the stilted houses. The whole compound is extremely photogenic, and there’s no entrance fee.

The museum is at the north end of Si Satchanalai on Highway 101, where a large street-side market faces it, just south of the junction with Highway 102. The nearest airport is at Sukhothai.

• What is it? A great place to sample traditional Thai lifestyles and shop for hand-made traditional clothing.
• When to go: Any time.
• Opening hours: 08:00 - 18:00 daily.
• Entrance fee: Free.
• Address: Ban Hat Siaw, Si Satchanalai.

Among the items woven here, traditional brocaded skirts stand out. The most traditional skirts (called pah sin teen jok) are usually striped, while the men’s sarong-like variety usually bears plaids. Both can be purchased directly from Sathorn’s Shop in front of the museum, and they make excellent souvenirs of this rural Thai outpost.