Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Thai Smiles, Part 25: Street Food Vendors

While folks are still digesting the two posts about ticketing and packing for vacations (I know because I can see the traffic for them) I thought I'd offer a few shots of people tending to their food carts in Thailand.

The top picture today is a woman selling a snack I can only describe as a type of corn pancake. The corn is held together by a batter, and if you like corn at all the wonderful aroma rising from the griddle where they cook is almost intoxicating. They brown on one side and then are carefully turned with a well-practiced flip.

The man doing BBQ below has a little different set-up than most BBQ you see on the streets, as most of those are bite-sized pieces skewered on a bamboo stick that's cooked and served for eating while walking or as quick take-away, while this man was cooking larger pieces in a metal cooker. I suppose he was maybe also able to smoke meats, too.

The final vendor today is more mobile than the standard cart, too. These vendors are also fairly common and you'll see them everywhere. Resting a pole on their shoulder they walk along with their wares in baskets on either end of the pole, and if you let them know you're interested they'll stop and set the "shop" down to sell or prepare your food or other items - not always edibles.

It saves them "rent", they can come and go as they please and they exemplify the solid working spirit most Thai wear with pride.

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