Street vendors in Thailand have the most elaborate set ups I've ever seen (in fairness I've only been to Thailand and India so I'm sure there are a few places that put Thailand to shame but I don't know them.) plus they are really efficient and quite clean. If they aren't feeling well they'll cook with a mask on and they clean pans/utensils between each order. I stood and watched this woman work for awhile before I placed my order.
I couldn't understand the commands she shouted at her son in Thai but I could see him work after she gave instructions. The things he was assembling and passing to her were extremely diverse, he covered all aspects of the operation. Sometimes he cut up veg for her, other times he set up containers or sauces, he delivered finished food to waiting patrons, he took phone orders, and other times he just slid a plate under the pan as she was spooning out the finished product. All the while she was slaving away throwing a dash of this and that into the wok, taking money from customers, answering the phone if her son was busy, and setting up her prep for the next item on her list. It was a well oiled machine and great fun to watch operate.
When I came back to Bangkok before heading home I looked for her cart but since it was the new year holiday many of the vendors went on vacation, including her.
These shots were taken on my first day in Bangkok. After the chaos of India I felt super shy when photographing Thais so there are none of the vendor herself and they are all close up.
I never did fully warm up to taking photos of the Thai locals. There is just something about pointing my camera in someone's face (after asking of course) that feels intrusive to me, maybe because I'm not such a fan of having my own photo taken. In India people are clamoring all over themselves to have a photo taken, but people didn't react that way in Thailand. Thai culture is more shy, and reserved. People did say yes when I asked if I could photograph them but they often flashed me a look afterward that I interpreted as them only agreeing to be polite.
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| Take out set ups |
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| Making my veg fried rice |
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| Front and center are fish balls, and the other bags are ... meat items |
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Veg Fried Rice
You can drink the ice from the street in Thailand because they use filtered water, major bonus |
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| This isn't the same vendor but at least you can see the set up in its entirety |
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