Young Thais like to drink and eat in large, busy places with atmosphere.
One new eatery, built on a large plot of land next to the Chao Phraya River, offers a riverfront view, undercover dining with an evening breeze, parking space for patron's motorbikes, a live band, modern toilets...
I don’t eat in such places, but then I don’t go out with groups the way Thais do.
Mum’s place, a hole-in-the-wall shop, fronts an intersection leading into a soi.
A couple of years ago, a 7-11 also went up opposite Mum’s shop. Given the competition, I am amazed her business survives.
Only solitary souls still visit – a few performing arts students (most have now gone), and middle-aged men who want to get away from their wives.
The middle-aged crowd drink, gamble, watch football. I have little in common with them, so we rarely talk. We have seen each other’s faces too often to be interested any more.
Yet the area is packed with young people. They buzz up and down the street on their motorbikes. They come out to look at stalls when festivals are held on the street once or twice a year.
The moo-grata eatery by the river – a serve-yourself grill which also sells alcohol – can keep patrons entertained most of the night.
Some of those customers might drop into Mum’s shop on the way home for an after-hours drink, but few do.
In a flagging economy such as ours, no one has the money. They come for tiny B5 bags of cigarettes instead.
In a flagging economy such as ours, no one has the money. They come for tiny B5 bags of cigarettes instead.
now, see part 4
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome, in English or Thai (I can't read anything else). Anonymous posting is discouraged, unless you'd like to give yourself a name at the bottom of your post, so we can tell who you are.