Beyond a few wats, there are hardly enough attractions in Phrae to bring in foreign tourists. However, a nearby museum and the town's sleepy cottage industry draw textile enthusiasts from elsewhere in Thailand and abroad. My favorite memory of our visit was the climb driving up a mountain in Long. Looking out the back of our truck, we passed dewey jungle foliage and fluorescent green rice paddies spotted with bamboo shelters. Our destination was a weaving pavilion filled with about five looms and women in their late 40s to 60s each working on something different. Ever smiling, they patiently answered my questions and made conversation in Thai. They invited me to try a hand at a few passes of the weft. Considering it takes them about 2 days to weave a skirt, they laughed at my joking remark that it would take me two months at the rate I was going.
The best chance encounter of our Phrae road trip was with a special young woman at her whitewashed shop on a main street where most of the stores display indigo-dyed shirts, skirts, and pants in every shade of blue waving in the breeze outside their entrances. In the window, a loom demonstrates the creative process by which the store's inventory is produced. Several stylish pieces caught our eye. After inviting us to dye a few handkerchiefs with indigo in the dye vats out back, we spoke more with the young store owner/designer and her older sister who helps run the shop and make things to order. They hope to inspire appreciation for hand weaving among young people and kids. Having studied in Bangkok, she felt that Phrae would always be home, and the right place to eventually raise a family and continue her business. It will be exciting to interview her again in the near future. Also, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that another of her sisters is a Thai Fulbrighter currently spending a year in the Midwest United States. Small world.
Beyond a few wats, there are hardly enough attractions in Phrae to bring in foreign tourists. However, a nearby museum and the town's sleepy cottage industry draw textile enthusiasts from elsewhere in Thailand and abroad. My favorite memory of our visit was the climb driving up a mountain in Long. Looking out the back of our truck, we passed dewey jungle foliage and fluorescent green rice paddies spotted with bamboo shelters. Our destination was a weaving pavilion filled with about five looms and women in their late 40s to 60s each working on something different. Ever smiling, they patiently answered my questions and made conversation in Thai. They invited me to try a hand at a few passes of the weft. Considering it takes them about 2 days to weave a skirt, they laughed at my joking remark that it would take me two months at the rate I was going. 
The best chance encounter of our Phrae road trip was with a special young woman at her whitewashed shop on a main street where most of the stores display indigo-dyed shirts, skirts, and pants in every shade of blue waving in the breeze outside their entrances. In the window, a loom demonstrates the creative process by which the store's inventory is produced. Several stylish pieces caught our eye. After inviting us to dye a few handkerchiefs with indigo in the dye vats out back, we spoke more with the young store owner/designer and her older sister who helps run the shop and make things to order. They hope to inspire appreciation for hand weaving among young people and kids. Having studied in Bangkok, she felt that Phrae would always be home, and the right place to eventually raise a family and continue her business. It will be exciting to interview her again in the near future. Also, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that another of her sisters is a Thai Fulbrighter currently spending a year in the Midwest United States. Small world.
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