Two-week reprieve for 4 busy street markets

By Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter 

 

Street stalls selling fashion apparel at the end of the escalator leading up to BTS Siam.

 

BANGKOK — The bark of City Hall’s ultimatums have proven worse than their bite, with downtown street vendors in four locations granted extensions.

 

Despite insisting for months it would not reconsider its deadlines, the city’s Vallop Suwandee announced Tuesday that City Hall would extend its Monday demand for street vendors to leave four major areas – Pratunam, Ratchadamri Road, Siam and Silom Night Market – to Aug. 15.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bangkok/2016/08/04/two-week-reprieve-4-busy-street-markets/

 

-- Khaosod English 2016-08-04

Grow some huevos. 

More hypocrisy.

I live and work in central Bangkok - and walk in the area most days - but still like the street markets.  Yes, sure, sometimes I need to choose my BTS exit wisely if I'm in a hurry, and sometimes I need to walk around the stalls in the road - but often I enjoy walking through the stalls looking at the clothes, smelling the food and just enjoying the colour and vibrancy.

 

Does everything have to be sold in a ac mall or in a properly licensed and regulated market that's part of Chinese tour route?

 

And if I have an urgent need for a USB cable, memory card, knuckle duster, Same-Same T-shirt or LED illuminated sex aid at midnight - I know where to go.

a lot of people earn their livelihood from these night markets and disruptions of so many people is socially undesirable. the authorities  would have balanced their reasons for the extension carefully. we hope that viable alternatives would be found to minimise the impact of such moves.

Its a shame they are trying to do away with these markets. Thai's have been there for years and now what do they do? Isn't Bangkok known for the street food and markets???? 

Bangkok would not be the same without the markets

wonderful to walk around to see if there is anything interesting

to buy. Not the same as the malls.

The markets are more of the historical retail soul of Bangkok. Without them Bangkok is just another uninspiring city

The current regime seems hell bent to wring a lot of the Thianess out of Thailand.  I can't for the life of me figure out why.

 

SL

These marginally unregulated markets just don't fly in the soon to be dictated world of total electronic commerce.

As the social engineering continues, be prepared for some unintended consequences.

They extend it because the government does not want to upset these vendors before the referendum voting.  

City Hall Weak as water, Do what you say youre gonna do or you cant be taken serious anymore

On 8/4/2016 at 2:37 PM, Familyonthemove said:

I live and work in central Bangkok - and walk in the area most days - but still like the street markets.  Yes, sure, sometimes I need to choose my BTS exit wisely if I'm in a hurry, and sometimes I need to walk around the stalls in the road - but often I enjoy walking through the stalls looking at the clothes, smelling the food and just enjoying the colour and vibrancy.

 

Does everything have to be sold in a ac mall or in a properly licensed and regulated market that's part of Chinese tour route?

 

And if I have an urgent need for a USB cable, memory card, knuckle duster, Same-Same T-shirt or LED illuminated sex aid at midnight - I know where to go.

 

Sure, who needs retail locations/shops when I can set up my trade on the sidewalk, preferably within 4 feet from the bottom of the BTS escalator, thereby leaving space for 1 person at a time to walk by my must-have ware. And when rush hour comes, ooh-hoo!

And if something you buy doesn't work or is defective, we have a great "1 minute return policy with presentation of ...... receipt."

 

Just taking an opposing view from the majority of viewers here I guess.

Good riddance to these street stalls! They mostly sell the same worthless, mass-produced Chinese crap (and there are so many stalls selling identical things) and always try to rip you off if you're not Thai. They make it impossible to walk down the street without risking your life walking on the road, unless you can accept walking at the pace of the slowest person moving in the line ahead of you. The real shameful thing here is that they're not getting rid of the ones messing up Sukhumvit all the way from Soi 3 up to Soi 13... They sell the most worthless crap I've ever seen including a lot of surely illegal items, e.g. long knives, throwing stars, porn DVDs, sex toys and fake sex drugs. Disgusting that they are openly allowed to sell this stuff where a lot of kids are walking with their parents. Try walking between Soi 3 and Soi 13 any time, but especially in the evening. You are forced to walk on the road next to stinking piles of trash and giant rats and cockroaches. Quite shameful that a so-called "major international city" allows these stalls to operate in this day and age. Send them all packing. Most of what they sell isn't worth buying even if you can get it for 20% of their original asking price. Shoddy tourist tat and low-quality made in China/Cambodia/Vietnam clothes, including many fake branded goods that you can even be arrested for when you get back to your home country. Good riddance to the lot of them.

Edited August 6, 20169 yr by Thainess

5 hours ago, Thainess said:

Good riddance to these street stalls! They mostly sell the same worthless, mass-produced Chinese crap (and there are so many stalls selling identical things) and always try to rip you off if you're not Thai. They make it impossible to walk down the street without risking your life walking on the road, unless you can accept walking at the pace of the slowest person moving in the line ahead of you. The real shameful thing here is that they're not getting rid of the ones messing up Sukhumvit all the way from Soi 3 up to Soi 13... They sell the most worthless crap I've ever seen including a lot of surely illegal items, e.g. long knives, throwing stars, porn DVDs, sex toys and fake sex drugs. Disgusting that they are openly allowed to sell this stuff where a lot of kids are walking with their parents. Try walking between Soi 3 and Soi 13 any time, but especially in the evening. You are forced to walk on the road next to stinking piles of trash and giant rats and cockroaches. Quite shameful that a so-called "major international city" allows these stalls to operate in this day and age. Send them all packing. Most of what they sell isn't worth buying even if you can get it for 20% of their original asking price. Shoddy tourist tat and low-quality made in China/Cambodia/Vietnam clothes, including many fake branded goods that you can even be arrested for when you get back to your home country. Good riddance to the lot of them.

 

You forgot the aircons which drip on the pavement.

 

I agree the streets are really filthy and that's mostly from the vendors.  Better use the skytrain so you won't see it.