Bangkok's War On Street Food: A Live Report (2.35)

Live from Bangkok's Chinatown, it's Sunday night! Well, at
least it was when we grabbed our mics, left the cozy comforts of
our condos and recorded a live episode of the show from the streets
of Chinatown to get to the bottom of this reported "War" on
Bangkok's street food. We'll tell you what we discovered on episode
2.35 of the Bangkok Podcast.

For the better part of the year, news reports, blogs, and
pundits the world over have been raising the warning flags of an
active war on Bangkok's street food scene. Whether highlighting
the plight of the vendors who rely on the revenue to survive,
lamenting the loss of an inexpensive source of food for the
working class, or pointing out the irony of Bangkok's reputation
as a top street food destination; all of the reports have a
common thread: Street food in Bangkok is doomed. But
is it really? To find out, we visited Yaoworat Road in Chinatown,
visiting one of Greg's favorite noodle shops (incongruously
positioned inside an opera house/second-run cinema/gay pickup
joint) to see just how far reaching these new government mandates
really were. Listen to find out what changes we
noticed, what actions we think are still likely to come, and what
doom-and-gloom predictions likely won't come to bear. Without
giving too much away, we'll just tell you that we're declaring
the war on street food non-existent. But please bear in mind that
we are not investigative journalists. Our observations are based
on this single trip and casual visits to street vendors in this
immediate area. It could be worse elsewhere, but it sure looks
like street food in Bangkok isn't in immediate peril.
Love, Loathe, or Leave

As you've heard us talk about
before, there are plenty of green spaces in the
heart of the Bangkok metroplex, but occasionally, you can find a
large stretch of beautiful, untouched, pristine lawn just begging
for a blanket and a picnic. But invariably, those areas come with
large KEEP OFF THE GRASS signs. Listen in to find out if we
loathe it or if it's something we hate some much we're ready to
leave the Kingdom over.
Want more?

If it's your first time experiencing The Bangkok Podcast,
you really should get our show downloading to your phone
automatically every week. If you use iOS, it's a breeze to
listen via Apple Podcasts. Android users are
be able get the show any number of
ways. And for bonus points, leave us
a review on those platforms or however you listen
to the show. We'd love to hear from you, either
on the contact form on our website or
through a comment or message on our Facebook
page. You can Tweet to the show
@bangkokpodcast or follow Greg's
tweets of snarky Bangkok goodness. Evo
chronicles his Bangkok adventures on
Instagram from time to time, if that's your thing.
And as mentioned, we now have a LINE
account! Yep. Just for the Bangkok Podcast. Join us
over there, too! See you next time on The Bangkok
Podcast!


(Direct download .mp3)