Thai equivalent to the keris

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

Hi Stuart,

The keris I seen in Thailand were not native, they were from Indonesia.
The Thai also import lots of goods from Cambodia so you will see many Cambodian items, also many items from Tibet.
As you would expect many fake items made last week being sold today as antiques.
I found that as a tourist you will have to get used to being overcharged for everything
It would be better if you know some stores that you are interested in going to.
If you just ask the cab driver he will probably take you to a shop which has no relevance at all to what your interested in. The reason for this is that they get five litres of free gas if they take you to particular shops and keep you in there for 10 mins or longer ie they are given a credit stamp. Some cab drivers will try and bring you to a few of these shops and get as many stamps as possible.
I seen a few mead morh like youre one, there are also old ones but much harder to find.
The keris I seen was in bad shape. The blade was a bit rusty and the sheath had woodworm, the owner wanted over £300 for it, it was so not worth it

Hi Pusaka,
Thanks for the extra info on the Keris....and yes I agree with you re the Taxi (and Tuk Tuk) drivers. You need to be real firm with them, or take the bus. I have been there before so know the pitfalls! Also bargaining is a way of life in Thailand so NEVER accept the first price quoted. Most swords/knives I have found were in the many markets around the country, and I don't usually bother with the proper antique shops for the reason you mention.
Regards Stuart