Fashion Trade 101 / Work @ Home Café

Two businesses in one, this café / travel agency located just a short stroll from the town center is a popular place filled with ex-pats and Thai entrepreneurs chatting and surfing the net over a rich latte, especially in the late morning and after office hours. The Work @ Home café boasts delicious hamburgers, soups, and sandwiches, great sweets, cakes and desserts, and best of all fresh bread for sale by the loaf. Prices are a bit high, but the quality of the food is hard to match in Chiang Rai.

The shop is set back from a not-too-busy road making it ideal as a well shaded sidewalk café. The inside is done up in a clean modern style with blond wood and glass, giving a fresh and open atmosphere more comfortable than most closed, air-conditioned shops. Wifi is free with any purchase, though there is an extra 10 baht / hour fee for plugging in to power up. Most customers come to relax, sip excellent coffees, read the newspaper and catch up on email. For most of us, it’s quite a bit more comfortable than working @ home!

The second side of the business, strangely named Fashion Trade 101, is a travel agency specializing in air tickets within Thailand. The agency staff speak English well and are professional and experienced at searching for ticket deals. Prices seem comparable to other agencies around town.

Despite repeated inquiry, no one seems to be able to explain how the name Fashion Trade 101 relates to either of the 2 businesses. Regardless, the café offers such fantastic desserts (New York cheesecake, creme caramel, fruit cake – is this actually Thailand!?) that all sins can be forgiven.