Say Goodbye to Night Market Vendors on Silom Road

[Lannig]

Its funny to see fireigners come here and complain these and those about their home country then praise a Junta government for changing their paradise into a clone of that they fled.

I couldn't have said it better

This is yet another move towards a Thailand with no cheap and tasty street food, only KFCs and expensive restaurants, no cheap clothing, only shiny malls with brand outlets, no bars, no places for fun and/or sex, no easy people always eager to have a good time together, no more of this gentle wilderness ... a place as boring as Singapore indeed.

Not something I'm dreaming of.

You are of course 100% wrong. There are hundreds if not thousands of markets all over Bangkok. There doesn't need to be a market on every inch of pavement Bangkok has to offer.

I am 100% wrong only in an scenario where you are 100% right, which, unlike you, I very much doubt.

I am seeing a trend here. This particular market going away is not the end of the world, but yet another step towards a "new" Thailand I don't like and I'm 100% entitled to my opinion.

Note: it's not usually construed as constructive discussion to start by saying someone is "100% wrong". As a matter of fact, I never consider that I'm 100% right either. That would be extremely presomptuous. Only shades of grey...

Edited May 15, 2016 by Lannig

[berybert]

Its funny to see fireigners come here and complain these and those about their home country then praise a Junta government for changing their paradise into a clone of that they fled.

I couldn't have said it better

This is yet another move towards a Thailand with no cheap and tasty street food, only KFCs and expensive restaurants, no cheap clothing, only shiny malls with brand outlets, no bars, no places for fun and/or sex, no easy people always eager to have a good time together, no more of this gentle wilderness ... a place as boring as Singapore indeed.

Not something I'm dreaming of.

You are of course 100% wrong. There are hundreds if not thousands of markets all over Bangkok. There doesn't need to be a market on every inch of pavement Bangkok has to offer.

I am 100% wrong only in an scenario where you are 100% right, which, unlike you, I very much doubt.

I am seeing a trend here. This particular market going away is not the end of the world, but yet another step towards a "new" Thailand I don't like and I'm 100% entitled to my opinion.

Note: it's not usually construed as constructive discussion to start by saying someone is "100% wrong". As a matter of fact, I never consider that I'm 100% right either. That would be extremely presomptuous. Only shades of grey...

So when you said there will be no more street food only KFCs and expensive resturants, no more cheap clothing only shiny mall with brand outlets.

I call you out and say you are 100% wrong because there will always be street stalls selling food and clothes, I stand by what I said, you are trying to change what you have said.

The only trend I can see is someone back tracking on what they said. And it isn't me.

[geriatrickid]

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

No need for the melodrama. The Silom vendors for the most part sold the same goods, block after block. How are counterfeit products, or the bogus viagra and cialis products colourful?n How many stalls selling the same chinese sourced crap does Bangkok need? As has been pointed out several times already, there are hundreds of legit markets all over the city. Those vendors are licensed and pay the taxes that in turn generate the revenue to keep the markets clean and serviced. The vendors on Silom are not paying any local taxes. Instead they freeload off of the businesses who do.

I didn't mention anything about the goods, nor do I give a toss about who pays what to whom, more about the undeniable fact that the Silom markets have become very much a part of the local colour in that area and their loss will be felt in that area, but I suppose, being an upstanding pillar of society you only buy your bogus viagra from a 'fully licensed, tax paying non-criminal' market.

You make some strong claims without a shred of evidence to back them up....sounds more like 'expat' gossip to me.

Selling counterfeit goods is a crime. Selling bogus drugs that cun poison people is a crime. Not paying taxes and not having an appropriate business license is a crime. Acting as a facility to launder drug money is a crime. Providing cover for street criminals is a crime.(In case you didn't know, some of the stall vendors are an integral part of the sophisticated pickpocket and mugging activity that is endemic to that area.)

Again, I'd love some evidence to back up your claims here, without it, it all just reads like more worthless bar stool prattle....

I do not purchase drugs from unauthorized and unregulated vendors but there are many foolish people who do.

What is the local colour when the vendors sell the same low quality rip off products block after block? How many stalls are needed to sell counterfeit Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein underwear? How about those unsafe electrical appliances with the suspect wiring, You know, the lights that overheat and catch fire or the stun guns that are not calibrated and that are illegal to sell on the street. What about the bogus perfume merchants who put various volatile organic chemical substances in a bottle such as formaldehydes and ketones, and sell it to unsuspecting people? What is colourful about these stalls? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but you go ahead and throw out that view. How about you providing a basis upon which to describe them as colourful? What exactly do they add to the street aside from congestion and garbage? You are aware that the stalls have increased in number, right? And you are aware that the congestion is so bad that it presents a public safety hazard, but apparently this doesn't seem to worry you because you want some "colour" if and when you infrequently visit. Nice/ It's all about you, right?

People who live and work in the area have been complaining about these pests for years. When I was staying on Saladaeng for a while, it was a nightmare to commute. The vendors have engaged in land grab creep breaking every agreement ever reached to try and restrict their number and presence. Their own greed is responsible for the all or nothing approach by the BMA.

In respect to the crime associated with some of the vendors, you are living in denial if you believe it isn't there. You will disagree with me, but I suggest you talk to some of the people who have been around for awhile. Do you honestly believe the slime who sell the illegal porn near the Saladaeng BTS accesss stairs are just selling porn? How do you think the criminal pickpocket and petty thief gangs operate? If you don;'t believe me fine, but you are like the people who say crime doesn't exist because they haven't been mugged yet.

Because you need some help coming to grips with your denial, I recommend that you consult a Bangkok newspaper that I am not allowed to reference in the forum. On April 14, 2014, it ran a profile of the multiple gangs who operate in Thailand.You can use that as a starting point. Then go and see for yourself. The vendors are part of the disgusting web of corruption, paying bribes to corrupt officials, none of who are paying taxes.

[Merylhighground]

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

No need for the melodrama. The Silom vendors for the most part sold the same goods, block after block. How are counterfeit products, or the bogus viagra and cialis products colourful?n How many stalls selling the same chinese sourced crap does Bangkok need? As has been pointed out several times already, there are hundreds of legit markets all over the city. Those vendors are licensed and pay the taxes that in turn generate the revenue to keep the markets clean and serviced. The vendors on Silom are not paying any local taxes. Instead they freeload off of the businesses who do.

I didn't mention anything about the goods, nor do I give a toss about who pays what to whom, more about the undeniable fact that the Silom markets have become very much a part of the local colour in that area and their loss will be felt in that area, but I suppose, being an upstanding pillar of society you only buy your bogus viagra from a 'fully licensed, tax paying non-criminal' market.

You make some strong claims without a shred of evidence to back them up....sounds more like 'expat' gossip to me.

Selling counterfeit goods is a crime. Selling bogus drugs that cun poison people is a crime. Not paying taxes and not having an appropriate business license is a crime. Acting as a facility to launder drug money is a crime. Providing cover for street criminals is a crime.(In case you didn't know, some of the stall vendors are an integral part of the sophisticated pickpocket and mugging activity that is endemic to that area.)

Again, I'd love some evidence to back up your claims here, without it, it all just reads like more worthless bar stool prattle....

I do not purchase drugs from unauthorized and unregulated vendors but there are many foolish people who do.

What is the local colour when the vendors sell the same low quality rip off products block after block? How many stalls are needed to sell counterfeit Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein underwear? How about those unsafe electrical appliances with the suspect wiring, You know, the lights that overheat and catch fire or the stun guns that are not calibrated and that are illegal to sell on the street. What about the bogus perfume merchants who put various volatile organic chemical substances in a bottle such as formaldehydes and ketones, and sell it to unsuspecting people? What is colourful about these stalls? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but you go ahead and throw out that view. How about you providing a basis upon which to describe them as colourful? What exactly do they add to the street aside from congestion and garbage? You are aware that the stalls have increased in number, right? And you are aware that the congestion is so bad that it presents a public safety hazard, but apparently this doesn't seem to worry you because you want some "colour" if and when you infrequently visit. Nice/ It's all about you, right?

People who live and work in the area have been complaining about these pests for years. When I was staying on Saladaeng for a while, it was a nightmare to commute. The vendors have engaged in land grab creep breaking every agreement ever reached to try and restrict their number and presence. Their own greed is responsible for the all or nothing approach by the BMA.

In respect to the crime associated with some of the vendors, you are living in denial if you believe it isn't there. You will disagree with me, but I suggest you talk to some of the people who have been around for awhile. Do you honestly believe the slime who sell the illegal porn near the Saladaeng BTS accesss stairs are just selling porn? How do you think the criminal pickpocket and petty thief gangs operate? If you don;'t believe me fine, but you are like the people who say crime doesn't exist because they haven't been mugged yet.

Because you need some help coming to grips with your denial, I recommend that you consult a Bangkok newspaper that I am not allowed to reference in the forum. On April 14, 2014, it ran a profile of the multiple gangs who operate in Thailand.You can use that as a starting point. Then go and see for yourself. The vendors are part of the disgusting web of corruption, paying bribes to corrupt officials, none of who are paying taxes.

Odd. I've worked, sluiced and browsed in that area for almost 20 years and never seen any criminal activity sourcing out of the market stalls bar the odd bit of counterfeit tat, let alone heard too much of this alleged 'complaining'.

Indeed, I hear quite the opposite. Most Thais I speak to in that area find it 'quaint/amusing' that so many 'dumb tourists' go shopping there paying (way) over the odds for tat.

Seems like all you have some pompous opinion you're trying to state as 'facts' which you can't back up (even that article doesn't help your case too much).

[aber]

Yes, very good idea to keep cleaning most of the reasons why people visit Thailand...

And then let's see if they keep coming when it will perfectly look like boring USA !

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

At least Thaksin was foreigner friendly and the quality tourist were farangs not chinese. Remember Thai Elite? Visa on arrival?

Foreigner friendly??? His first move was to raise the Retirement deposit to 800k from 200, and then rigidly enforce the stupid as fck 90 report, which report had largely been ignored for being, stupid as fck. Not to mention yet another enthusiastic rout of 'nominees' (funny, when you think about it now), driving many farang out of the country and putting the wind up those locals in places upon which their livelihoods depend 'What will we do now? All the rubber trees are gone *sigh*). Just for starters. What are you on?

Im on a dose of Truth and you have just confirmed my point. Compare Thaksin's sudtle changes to the epic rule changes that the Junta has enforced that not only have caused living and staying in Thailand more difficult for non asian foreigners but have made the quality of life for most ordinary thais worse. Edited May 16, 2016 by Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere

[balo]

Don't worry, they'll be back within a few days. After exchanging a few brown envelopes.

[SheungWan]

At least Thaksin was foreigner friendly and the quality tourist were farangs not chinese. Remember Thai Elite? Visa on arrival?

Foreigner friendly??? His first move was to raise the Retirement deposit to 800k from 200, and then rigidly enforce the stupid as fck 90 report, which report had largely been ignored for being, stupid as fck. Not to mention yet another enthusiastic rout of 'nominees' (funny, when you think about it now), driving many farang out of the country and putting the wind up those locals in places upon which their livelihoods depend 'What will we do now? All the rubber trees are gone *sigh*). Just for starters. What are you on?

Im on a dose of Truth and you have just confirmed my point. Compare Thaksin's sudtle changes to the epic rule changes that the Junta has enforced that not only have caused living and staying in Thailand more difficult for non asian foreigners but have made the quality of life for most ordinary thais worse.

That would presumably include Thaksin's interior minister Purachai who imposed early closing for nightly entertainments and while he was at it wanted to stop girls from wearing spaghetti straps as this was considered by him an incitement to lewd behaviour. Subtle? Clearing up the sidewalks today by the current administration not even on the same page, 'er street.

Edited May 18, 2016 by SheungWan

[MobileContent]

The BMA targets Silom but how about lower Sukhumvit.

The night bars on the pavements are all controlled by Thonglor police and BMA controls and collects money from the vendors.