Bangkok Clears Street Food Vendors for a Cleaner Khlong Toei Market

[snoop1130]

File photo for reference only

 

Street food vendors at Bangkok's Khlong Toei Market 1 have been told to vacate by March 16. This move, led by Deputy Governor Jakkapan Phiewngam, aims to improve the look and pedestrian access along Ratchadaphisek Road in the Khlong Toei area.

 

Governor Jakkapan, along with Deputy Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Permanent Secretary Supakrit Boonkhant, recently visited the site to discuss the necessary changes. The focus is on clearing structures from the road section connecting Rama IV Road and Sunthon Kosa Road.

 

About 35 vendors from Khlong Toei Market 1, spanning from Phek Leng Keng Shrine to Rama IV Road, will need to move their stalls. These vendors provide a range of street foods, including pork blood soup, BBQ pork rice, crispy pork, sweets, and fresh produce.

 

 

There have been concerns about hygiene, with reports of improper waste disposal leading to blocked drainage and dirty conditions. Additionally, washing water from food prep has left pavements slippery and greasy, causing unpleasant smells and bacterial growth.

 

Vendors must relocate to within Khlong Toei Markets 1 and 2 or other nearby markets by March 16. After this, the pavements will be reworked to be more pedestrian-friendly.

 

Earlier, the BMA moved vendors off footpaths in Khlong Toei Market 2, known as the Lao Market, along Rama IV Road. This was part of an effort last December and January to improve the area's infrastructure and look. The BMA plans to create new hawker centers, providing vendors better-organized spaces for business, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-04

 

 

[impulse]

I had to question my memory, looking at the photo in the OP.  I lived and worked around Asoke for years and don't remember any part of Khlong Toei that looks that scenic.  Then I noticed it's a stock photo.  I liked shopping the market, but it was extremely grungy and smelled funky. 

 

I hope they don't destroy what a lot of us love about Bangkok in the name of "improvement".  They're actually doing some nice improvements in Chinatown, and I hope they continue the ambiance into other areas.  And that they don't burden the vendors with huge rent increases.