A suitable profession: Customers enchanted by dancing ice-cream vendor
An ice-cream vendor wearing a business suit may be a strange sight in most locales, but not in Buri Ram’s Non Din Daeng district.
Noo Phapim, 70, wears his business suit while transporting his mobile ice-cream dispenser around neighbourhoods of the district in the northeastern province. The dispenser is attached to his motorcycle.
To attract even more attention, he also plays “mor lam” (traditional Isaan music) and dances on the street.
Some customers dance with him when the rhythms are irresistible.
Customers say they like his formal attire and outgoing personality.
Shop owner Jay Pon buys ice cream from him every day.
“The grandpa is good-humoured. He often plays ‘mor lam’ songs and dances along. Many people like it. This is his routine before selling ice cream. Sometimes I can’t resist the music and join him in the dance,” she explained.
Noo said that he resigned as a security guard at a shopping mall in Buri Ram’s neighbouring province of Nakhon Ratchasima over 20 years ago because his son wanted him to stay with the family.
After returning home, he learned how to make coconut ice cream from a friend who was selling it.
When asked why he wears a business suit to sell ice cream, Noo said he likes dressing formally and has a wide collection of suits and ties. He also likes traditional music.
The combination of the two is his sales pitch, but customers say his homemade ice cream is delicious too.
The elderly vendor sells 12 kilogrammes of coconut ice cream every day.
His regular business hours are 10am to 4pm, but his daily supply often runs out an hour or two earlier during the hot season, he said.
He collects about 2,000 baht per day from customers, and makes a profit of a little over 1,000 baht a day, Noo said.
