Street food comeback?: Military government too interested in tourism - not the welfare of the people

[sunnyboy2018]

The whole point of juntas in the past was that they lined their pockets but did not mess around with peoples lives. This military junta has broken that rule and the consequences have been dire in every area  it has touched on. Street food is about both Thai people and tourists. The purblined ignorance and arrogance of this lot beggars belief. Since the attack on lower suk it now has all the charm of a used condom. Truly shocking. 

[mickey rat]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Thaivisa notes that banning vendors from city sidewalks has divided the capital. Some are happy that the sidewalks are easier to walk down

Yup, shops extending over the sidewalks ???? forces pedestrians to walk in traffic. TIT. Life is cheap.. ???? 

[Gandtee]

9 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Professor Parisa has things back to front - the tourists want street food so if the government was prioritising tourism, it would have allowed vendors to stay. 

 

The 'previous' military government was simply enforcing existing laws to bring some much-needed law, order and discipline to the country.  

 

 

It is not always necessary to ban things but to apply order to them so that both sides of the equations needs are met. The Professor is correct when she says that street food vendors were not only for the tourists, but for workers who relied on them for cheap food. Infinitely better than the plastic rubbish dished up in the shops open 24 hours.  

[Isaanbiker]

10 hours ago, colinneil said:

Professor Parisa has hit the nail on the head.... Prayuts mob dont give a rats backside about the Thai people.

Their only concern is themselves, and how much money they can scam.

And they give a big rat's ar_e about all of us as well. 

[madmen]

Name one 1st world country where the capital city is littered with corrupt stall holders stealing footpaths to sell overpriced fake everything and setting up resteraunts on the street without running water all food handled without gloves and pedestrians forced onto a main rd?

 

Thailand is developing fast and only way is to cut the 3rd world charm..its over 

[DUNROAMIN]

That was the last statement she makes about the government looking from her 2m x 2m cell.

[Mikeasq60]

6 hours ago, alien365 said:

Because only tourists eat street food? Yeah right. Thais sell the street food and mostly Thais eat the street food, yet tourists are brought into it.

I'm a farang and love Thai street food,  NEVER a problem in 6 years coming to Thailand 

[LukKrueng]

12 hours ago, observer90210 said:

More interested in tourisme ? Well they have killed the golden goose already with all the immigration and bureaucratic hassles....one dare not immagine what would have happened if they were "less" interested in toursm !!

none of the rules & regulations - old or new - have damaged or otherwise had negative effect on real genuine tourists. All those who are questioned and/or denied entry are long term "tourists" - people who actually LIVE in Thailand and not using the correct visa (yes, I know, some people don't fit into any existing category. Guess what - there probably no category for them because Thailand doesn't want them to LIVE here, and Thailand has the right to choose).

[Letseng]

15 hours ago, CharlieH said:

"lifeblood and character of the city has suffered"

 

I believe this hits the spot ! Many tourists come for this aspect, for this unique atmosphere and experience, if it becomes cleared and clinical like so many other major cities, where is the charm and the attraction it had ? it becomes very vanilla and no different so why bother, then everyone loses ! 

Do you really mean what you write here? Attraction in streetfood?

[Stargeezr]

When I am in Thailand I follow the business people who eat at the street vendors, as they

know which ones are trying to keep the food clean, and the Thais do not

have a great medical system and most cannot afford to get sick.  Do not eat where the constructions workers eat in the side alleyways as that is not the best of the

food vendors.

Geezer

[yellowboat]

What about the current military government's concern with the average Thai?  Many on this forum were saying this when the wet blankets were hassling the street food vendors a few years ago.    

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, d2b2 said:

There has to be some balance stuck. The street food provides jobs and income for those who sell and affordable options for diners, but the vendors have aggressively usurped the public right of way to the point where pedestrians and disabled are forced into the street. Disregard for public safety and property has led to draconian measures

That's the truth, it was an important affordable food option for many of the low income earners in Bangkok who cannot afford the luxury of restaurant prices, tourists found them a novelty and something to walk around and experience during the day/evenings... but as most things Thai the vendors turned it into an almost circus act... they couldn't find the balance & neither could the government who didn't think this one through properly when they decoded to eradicate it altogether.

Thailand only understand extremes... unlike Buddhist teachings which say "find the middle path"

[ChipButty]

Nothing better than walking down the road at 3 in the morning and get a bowl of noodles along Sukhumvit them were the days

[outsider]

On 10/11/2019 at 11:23 AM, webfact said:

... criticized the previous military government...

 

There hasn't been a change in government, has there? I mean, there was some so-called election malarkey earlier this year but, other than that, everything has been pretty much same-same since 2014.

[Huckenfell]

New Tanks and submarines  are the first priority

.

 

 

 

[Huckenfell]

On 10/11/2019 at 3:40 PM, Ketyo said:

This government doesn't give two hoots about the people especially the poor people. It views the people as a threat. A source of unruliness. In the military mind, the people are something to be controlled, not something to be supported and helped.

 

For 70 years, China has had authoritarian governments that has squeezed Chineseness and community out of their country and their people. If you want to see Chinese culture you will find more on the back streets of Hong Kong than in most Chinese cities that have been subject to slash and burn top-down central planning. 

 

Prayut is doing the same with Thainess in an effort to control the people. 

 

Prayut should remember that now he has been elected by the people, as an all democratic countries, he is not the boss of the people. He is a representative of the people.  The people are the boss of him.

 

 

 

 

"Elected by the people"   do you really believe that ?

[Huckenfell]

On 10/11/2019 at 5:11 PM, joecoolfrog said:

I will give you a small example ;

My friend and myself like to visit for 2 months, often hire a car and tour ' secondary ' locations , just what TAT desires.

Previously picked up a 60 day visa from London , good service , no hassle.

This time round we are expected to apply for an evisa , all sorts of personal information required , as self employed guys lots of hoops to jump through.

The upshot will now be just 30 days in Thailand , 30 days in Laos , stamp and visa on arrival , simple.

Net loss to local Thai hotels , restaurants , bars etc , about 230,000 baht.

Just one example , im sure there are many , many , more.

And this is just ONE tourist's example.

[Huckenfell]

On 10/11/2019 at 10:25 PM, Mikeasq60 said:

I'm a farang and love Thai street food,  NEVER a problem in 6 years coming to Thailand 

Street Food stalls are part of the atmosphere

[Orton Rd]

Unhygienic, dirty, rat attracting, rubbish producing, dangerous vats of boiling oil, gas rings and barbbies producing the same food you can get for a similar price in a food court. Never could see the attraction of street food.

[baboon]

On 10/11/2019 at 5:11 PM, joecoolfrog said:

I will give you a small example ;

My friend and myself like to visit for 2 months, often hire a car and tour ' secondary ' locations , just what TAT desires.

Previously picked up a 60 day visa from London , good service , no hassle.

This time round we are expected to apply for an evisa , all sorts of personal information required , as self employed guys lots of hoops to jump through.

The upshot will now be just 30 days in Thailand , 30 days in Laos , stamp and visa on arrival , simple.

Net loss to local Thai hotels , restaurants , bars etc , about 230,000 baht.

Just one example , im sure there are many , many , more.

I suspect there will be a good number of folk who give the Evisa system and the new requirements a quick look before thinking 'ball locks to this' and logging off.

[Salerno]

On 10/12/2019 at 8:01 AM, Letseng said:

Do you really mean what you write here? Attraction in streetfood?

Yes.

[holy cow cm]

43 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Unhygienic, dirty, rat attracting, rubbish producing, dangerous vats of boiling oil, gas rings and barbbies producing the same food you can get for a similar price in a food court. Never could see the attraction of street food.

You can eat where you want to preserve your food moral and dignity. You are not Thai who mainly eat it, and it is not all dirty. Street food was an allure and an ambience of Thailand. I will eat where ever when I am hungry and if it looks good. I have no judgement except take it away and it strips the character of the streets away. 

[Orton Rd]

4 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

You can eat where you want to preserve your food moral and dignity. You are not Thai who mainly eat it, and it is not all dirty. Street food was an allure and an ambience of Thailand. I will eat where ever when I am hungry and if it looks good. I have no judgement except take it away and it strips the character of the streets away. 

Just because Thais eat on the street that does not make the food healthy or the environment of traffic fumes, heat and cockroaches preferable. You can excuse tourists who see it as a novelty, but it needs to be discouraged from blocking up the pavements and for the serious health and safety risks.

[Salerno]

Yes, lets just have one boring homogeneous sterile planet ... at least it will be safe 

[holy cow cm]

29 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Just because Thais eat on the street that does not make the food healthy or the environment of traffic fumes, heat and cockroaches preferable. You can excuse tourists who see it as a novelty, but it needs to be discouraged from blocking up the pavements and for the serious health and safety risks.

sorry but I have to fully disagree with you on this matter. When I first came here a long time ago it was one of the greatest things my eyes could behold. The smell of the street the taste of the food the hustle and bustle everywhere is what made up a true fantasy.

 

Cooking heat temperature is a kill switch for bacteria and they mainly use clean water and market ingredients. You can get inferior food quality that has lost its storage time in a restaurant because they have less of a turn over and tend to not throw it away. At least street food sells and has a decent turn around to be more fresh. If you look at the state of the food first before you order is the way to be safe..

 

As for cockroaches, they will always be here. I used to joke and laugh at the size of the rats I would see in Bangkok. Bigger than cats. Traffic has always been an issue as well. I would think stay in your glass house and be shuttled door to door so you do not ever have to suffer the street food plight if it ever is allowed to come back into focus. We don't need Thailand to be like a sterile Singapore, as it is just not what is all about here.

[Orton Rd]

Nothing reeks of third world more than filthy street food served up in an unpleasant and unsafe environment. Ever looked at the dirty dishes piled up in stinking water? they get a quick rinse before they are used again, the disgustingly unhealthy palm oil most of them cook in is sometimes bought off restaurants who have used it up and are ready to throw it out. Rarely is refrigeration used so the meat has been lying around in the heat and flies for hours, lovely. Street food is a part of the past, the authorities are right to try and keep it there.

[Orton Rd]

4 hours ago, Huckenfell said:

Street Food stalls are part of the atmosphere

Yep, a choking, polluted and dirty one.

[Beggar]

I support street food as long as they don't block pavements. Due to the hygienic situation I never eat there but everyone has the right to do it. But it also should be clear to people eating there that the government can't guarantee the safety of the food. 

 

 

[Janner1]

Whilst those of you Who have opined about the Closing of the sidewalk by uncaring vendors who are blind to the fact that that very action is a blight on there business and pure stupidity, are correct. It has to be said that the submission by the general just after the coup, that he will bring the smile back to the Thai people has in fact created exactly the opposite.

 

I have several friends who derive a living by operating from a motorcycle shop to sell food ( they do not block walkways ) and since the said coup, they have seen there turnover take a drastic downturn simply because the actions of the government have created enormous family debt to the point were families have no money to buy street food although very cheap and very nutritious they are forced to look at other ways to feed themselves, bugs being the very top of the list.

 

Only today my Girlfriend was crying because she cannot sell enough food to help her family, her turn over has dropped by more than 50% although she sells a very good product which is acclaimed by her customers for quality and taste.

5 years ago she could guarantee a profit after all expenses of 1000 baht on a slow day but now she can not guarantee a turnover of 500 baht each day before expenses.

 

I have no doubt that this scenario is being suffered by a great many Thais who are rapidly reaching the end of there tolerance of the present enforced situation and the suffering that is being inflicted upon them.

 

just look at the escalating crime of shooting, stabbing, robbery, and many other crimes because people are desperate and have nowhere to turn.

 

So it it not time for the government mantra of  ‘ I want to bring the smile back to the Thai people “ Was enacted immediately and with the utmost speed to give the people of Thailand something to hold on to, that they may begin to look forward to a secure future both financially and in a loving happy family?

 

So to the government I say forget the tanks, warplanes and useless submarines kick it into the long grass and give the people some hope.

Thailand does not need the toys of warmongers but if you can not do without them don’t worry you can after you sort this mess always with ease go back to the Chinese at a later date, They will be waiting 

 

[brianthainess]

On 10/11/2019 at 7:06 PM, fordguy61mi said:

God, don’t quote CNN on anything. Nothing but fake news.

Or anything this govt utters.