Why are many markets closing down?

[drronnie]

One of the blood lines or Bangkok are the street vendors and market but they being more and more closed down for the sake of a clean and modern look. Why are they doing this? Do they want to drive people into icy cold shopping centers?

[lopburi3]

Most people no longer have free time to visit a fresh market at the break of down as they have employment and no longer have unemployed family or servants that do. So buying is making the same change that most of us experienced decades ago in many western countries. As for street vendors how many people walk and are potential customers? For those that do walk there absence will likely be appreciated. And yes make for a cleaner city.

[SoiBiker]

Markets close in one place, new ones pop up elsewhere. They often tend to be ephemeral in nature due to their locations on otherwise unused land. I think it's a bit of an over-reaction to interpret this as a drastic change in the city's culture - there are still plenty of markets and street vendors everywhere.

[smutcakes]

Most central markets close down because the owners of the land finally decide they want to build/sell the plot.

[saakura]

Most central markets close down because the owners of the land finally decide they want to build/sell the plot.

True. A very large and over 50 year old fresh market near our house was demolished (at the end of 30yr lease) after the owning family (all living in the USA) decided not to renew the lease. There are 3 high rise condos on that plot now.

[billphillips]

The Bkk people with money don't like markets. They are much more content with shopping malls and the like, it keeps the land prices up and directs shoppers towards the higher mall prices, and the money people's businesses.

[smutcakes]

The Bkk people with money don't like markets. They are much more content with shopping malls and the like, it keeps the land prices up and directs shoppers towards the higher mall prices, and the money people's businesses.

Or they are old Thai families who happen to have land in what is now very valuable areas, but are not business people, and they want to sell their land to educate children/grandchildren.

[ttthailand]

Some of these markets are way over priced due the the cost of rent and as land prices keep going up so does the rent and you reach a point where you have to make a change. The Onnut market is a good example, a glass of wine was 200 baht, a small Heineken beer 90 baht, a hamburger 200 baht.... Rent for a small stand 30k a month, place to sell beer 200,000 a month... Landlords making money and that's about it. They are also breeding grounds for rats and low life's.

[smokie36]

The Bkk people with money don't like markets. They are much more content with shopping malls and the like, it keeps the land prices up and directs shoppers towards the higher mall prices, and the money people's businesses.

Or they are old Thai families who happen to have land in what is now very valuable areas, but are not business people, and they want to sell their land to educate children/grandchildren.

I think its more the kids have inherited and are cashing in.

[Nomyai]

Some of these markets are way over priced due the the cost of rent and as land prices keep going up so does the rent and you reach a point where you have to make a change. The Onnut market is a good example, a glass of wine was 200 baht, a small Heineken beer 90 baht, a hamburger 200 baht.... Rent for a small stand 30k a month, place to sell beer 200,000 a month... Landlords making money and that's about it. They are also breeding grounds for rats and low life's.

Whats going up there? A condo?

[Nomyai]

Some of these markets are way over priced due the the cost of rent and as land prices keep going up so does the rent and you reach a point where you have to make a change. The Onnut market is a good example, a glass of wine was 200 baht, a small Heineken beer 90 baht, a hamburger 200 baht.... Rent for a small stand 30k a month, place to sell beer 200,000 a month... Landlords making money and that's about it. They are also breeding grounds for rats and low life's.

Whats going up there? A condo?

[dluek]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

[CLW]

In my close neighbourhood there are two empty buildings that ideally could house a fresh market.

But instead a lot of stalls and vendors on the street with the usual effects like traffic blocked, no space for walking, etc...

I don't understand why the local administration doesn't take some action...

[asdecas]

Capitalism, in a word; it's all about the efficient use of capital, or to put it another way, the land owner expects that the land on which a wet markets sits will give a far greater RoI if it's turned into, say, a condo building.

[CLW]

Capitalism, in a word; it's all about the efficient use of capital, or to put it another way, the land owner expects that the land on which a wet markets sits will give a far greater RoI if it's turned into, say, a condo building.

Which might become a failure. In my opinion better a good rented wet market than an empty condo building. But up to the people...

[1FinickyOne]

If you are talking about street vendors - someone paid a lot of money to build those malls - they charge a lot of rent to the stores inside - and they get hurt by people not paying rent or minimal rent to sell on the street in front of them. They cannot compete.

And the storeowners and mall owners have far more power and investment at stake.

[Jimmpy]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

[Jimmpy]

I would like to expand a bit on your post.

It seems to be it will be very soon, not 10 years, for this big change to happen.

Have been coming to Bangkok for many years and, since retirement, i stay a year or 2.

I just moved into the Aspire condo and Suk 48 and a bit concerned about all this.

It appears that they threw out half a neighborhood here in Phra Khanong to build this place and seem to be using people who are on some kind of release time from jail, as they continue to expand deeper into this community.

Aspire is the only condo deep inside from Sukhumvit on the even number side here in Phra Khanong. The odd number street side of Sukhimvit seems to be where everything is gentrifying and moving along without any local problems.

I can definitely feel the animosity towards this condo and must say that I am a little concerned about going out after dark.

It appears that Bangkok, as we knew it, is already gone.

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

[ttthailand]

Some of these markets are way over priced due the the cost of rent and as land prices keep going up so does the rent and you reach a point where you have to make a change. The Onnut market is a good example, a glass of wine was 200 baht, a small Heineken beer 90 baht, a hamburger 200 baht.... Rent for a small stand 30k a month, place to sell beer 200,000 a month... Landlords making money and that's about it. They are also breeding grounds for rats and low life's.

Whats going up there? A condo?

I understand it to be cinemas and mall but have also heard hotel.... I will know for sure when they start posting signs

[fekman]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

No worries, KT will have an inch of water in 15 years, and completely submerged in 50 years. The govt is already making a plan to move the capital to the North.

[flyingdoc]

So will BKK become one enormous floating market then?!!

[Jimmpy]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

I'd like to expand on your post as you have hit the nail on it's head.

I have been coming to Bangkok for years and since I am now retired, I spend a year or 2.

Just returned a couple of months ago and feel very strongly as you do.

You say you think Bangkok will change within the next 30 years but I think it has already reached the stage where it has completed a 180 degree change and becoming to expensive to retire here.

You have to admit though, it sure is beautiful but only available to those who can afford those upscale malls and hotels and stay for only a short period of time.

The days of the long term expat are gone.

[CLW]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

I'd like to expand on your post as you have hit the nail on it's head.

I have been coming to Bangkok for years and since I am now retired, I spend a year or 2.

Just returned a couple of months ago and feel very strongly as you do.

You say you think Bangkok will change within the next 30 years but I think it has already reached the stage where it has completed a 180 degree change and becoming to expensive to retire here.

You have to admit though, it sure is beautiful but only available to those who can afford those upscale malls and hotels and stay for only a short period of time.

The days of the long term expat are gone.

You're right if you're talking about Bangkok Downtown (let me say that is the places you can access with BTS and MRT)

but you just need to go a little outside to places like Rangsit etc. Still affordable living there.

[SoiBiker]

Yeah, Sukhumvit is changing. But Bangkok is not just Sukhumvit. A handful of markets that have made a mark on the expat map have closed - some of which have already been replaced. I think people are rather over-estimating the impact on the city as a whole.

[TheKnave]

If you ask me it's eroding the soul of Bangkok. Most of the markets that are closing are not fresh markets. The fascinating Phra Chan amulet market is now closing. Previously the eclectic Saphan Lek market and Khlong Thom electronics markets closed. And then there's the Sukhumvit Soi 38 and On Nut street food markets. If the authorities go the whole hog and try to end the most iconic street markets, like Pak Khlong Talad and Yaowarat, Bangkok will become as boring as Singapore but not nearly as clean. It's a crying shame.

When Singapore "cleaned up" its streets, it pushed the street vendors into "hawker centers" but at least those are relatively centrally located within the city. Bangkok is trying to tell these vendors who have been selling in the heart of Bangkok for generations to go and re-start their businesses way out on Rama II Rd or in Bang Bua Thong -- an hour's drive from the city center in the outskirts, practically in other provinces.

Meanwhile major temples like Wat Yannawa, Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Bavorniwet have and are evicting some very old communities so that they can tear down the old houses to build parking lots and the like. I fear that Bangkok will really lose its soul within the next 10-30 years -- it happens a little more every day.

No worries, KT will have an inch of water in 15 years, and completely submerged in 50 years. The govt is already making a plan to move the capital to the North.

This, a pearl from the guy who has never seen a Thai riding in a tuk-tuk.

Yep, finger on the pulse...

Much of what was charming about Bangkok is falling by the wayside, being replaced by the Asiatiques and KFCs. The country, as a whole, has been lowest-common-demominatorized by the internet, and the Thais, who should know better, will succeed, indeed, in turning it into a second-class Singapore, another place that had soul, and lost it.

Well-crafted run-on sentences can be good, eh?

[BKKdreaming]

As we know there are many types of travelers and expats ,

Just look at Tripadviser and Bangkok to see what 5 star reviews and 1 star reviews from the same place ,

These local markets are not there for tourists , and that is the neat thing when you stumble across one ,

it is not JJ market ,

I miss Klong Thom . the Saphan Lek market over the canal , and a couple other areas that were "cleaned up" ,

But the PM and his cronies probably have never been to these areas except for a photo op , and would never shop in an open air place ,

When the giant JJ weekend market closes some day that will be a few 1000 more people without jobs.

And yes I go to Flea markets when I am home , not just in Thailand,

if anyone knows of local markets with used junk around BKK ( like Klong Thom ) please PM me , I hate to tell the "Man" or he may tear them down !

[Aforek]

Near my house, at the beginning of this year, they built a beautiful new market, cement and covered, very nice to sell things; first, many people where coming, to sell things, but now it's half empty ( there was even a talat nat on fridays, but not anymore already ); why it doesn't work ? for years and years there is already a fresh market in the center , with stall vendors around in the morning, many customers here, not interrested to buy food in the new market

in this city, no place for two big markets, and there are also two big talat nat somewhere else; the owners of the new market have spend money to build a half empty market and the sellers don't sell much, only a few food stalls have customers

[mike324]

Like others have said.

Main reason for markets to close down are:
Lease is up

Old owners are dead and newer generation selling land for cash

Law Enforcement for places like Saphan Lek where sellers were suppose to move out ages ago