The Traveller's Magazine
A trip to Thailand usually involves grabbing a bite to eat from one of the country’s street food stalls: taking up pavements across Bangkok, no trip to the capital is complete without enjoying a freshly prepared Pad Thai and some mango sticky rice. That could soon be a thing of the past, as the city wants to ban street food stalls.
Take a walk down one of Bangkok’s main streets and you’ll be hard pressed to avoid seeing at least 10 street food stalls filling the area with delicious aromas and touting their dishes. Both visitors and locals flock to these stalls for cheap, fresh and delicious food – but now, authorities want to ban them.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Mission (BMA) is on a mission to keep food stalls off the pavements and contained in markets and – according to The Nation newspaper – to get rid of street vendors in Bangkok entirely by 2018. A number of areas have already seen their street food stalls disappear as part of the initiative, and popular backpacker street Khao San road is next.
Chief advisor to Bangkok’s governor, Wanlop Suwandee has cited reasons such as cleanliness and safety for the move, which has proved unpopular with many who see Thailand’s street food stalls as adding charm and a unique edge to the city.
What do you think about the plans?
