Cheap street food or a modern, international capital?
Though many have voiced displeasure at the ban on food vendors at certain places in Bangkok, it is actually a great idea.
I knew a restaurant owner in South Korea who constantly cursed the presence of vendors in front of his business. Not only were they taking away his business by offering food outside, but they were also blocking the path to his store entrance. Sure enough, within a year he went bankrupt having been laden with debt. It irked him that he had to pay taxes while the vendors got off free. He ended up having to teach English with me at a language institute, in order to stay afloat.
This tale illustrates that even though food vendors might suffer from being banned from certain places in the city, there are many others who suffer because of them.
Ask first-time tourists what annoys them most about Bangkok, and many will single out the clothes and food vendors on the street who block their path. Yes, it is nice to get food at cheap prices. But when I first arrived in the city I was shocked at how dirty much of it was and how many rats there were on most streets.
A sign of a developed country is the presence of clean cities. Sure, Bangkok is more fun that most Western cities, but if it wants to continually progress, then it has to become cleaner and incorporate more open space. There is no other way. If the food vendors are not happy, let them go back to Isaan, since it seems that is where most of them come from. The same goes for the foreigners who are complaining here. If they do not want to pay their fair share for food, then they can eat at home, or go elsewhere. Many Singaporeans seem to be complaining about the banning of food vendors in their home city, but I ask: how many food vendors do you see on their streets?
The only change I would make is to apply the ban to Bangkok’s tourist areas as well. Since many tourists complain about the lack of open space here, it would probably be more prudent to ban vendors in tourist areas, and allow them in poorer areas of the city. After all, food vendors belong in poor areas. People in rich areas have enough money to eat elsewhere.
Paul
Khon Kaen
