Showing posts with label Chatuchak Weekend Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chatuchak Weekend Market. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 May 2020

Over 10,000 vendors put wares on sale as Thailand's Chatuchak market opens its doors


A senior official of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) inspected Chatuchak Weekend Market on Saturday on the first day of its reopening after being closed since March 22 under a government order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Wullaya Wattanarat, deputy permanent secretary of the city administration, said: “The BMA will allow the market to open on weekends from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. in all zones except the watch tower and night market zones due to curfew restrictions,” she said. “There are 10,334 vendors who have expressed their interest to continue opening their shops in the market.”

To prevent the possible spread of COVID-19, BMA has limited access to the market from six locations, which will have screening checkpoints equipped with thermo-scanners at all locations. Vehicles will be allowed to enter/exit via Kamphaengphet Road and Phaholyothin Road only.

“All vendors and customers must wear sanitary or cloth face masks, while restaurants must comply with social distancing measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health,” she added. “Furthermore, all eight public restrooms in the market will be cleaned every two hours and will provide alcohol-based hand gels to visitors.”

Vendors selling items like clothes have been instructed to limit the number of customers to five at a time for small shops and 10 for larger shops. Activities that involve crowds are banned at the market.

“BMA will also help the vendors in Chatuchak Weekend Market by exempting them from paying rent for three months,” added Wullaya.


This article appeared on The Nation newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post

Saturday, 8 September 2018

Order threatens #Bangkok’s charm


Singapore has asked Unesco to formally recognise its street-hawker culture, which would help the island-state promote it as yet another tourist attraction. In Thailand, it’s a completely different story.

Prodded by the orderliness-obsessed military-led government, Bangkok authorities are determined to transform the city’s reputation for unsurpassable street food – or extinguish that reputation, as critics charge. The mobile noodle vendors and everyone else informally touting goods on the sidewalks have to clear out.


 The Bangkok Metropolitan Administra-tion (BMA) wants street vendors licensed, registered and contained neatly in designated areas well away from busy footpaths. It’s imposing military-style order in such tourist hotspots as Siam Square, Sukhumvit, Yaowarat, Nana, Khaosan and Chatuchak. 

 The push hasn’t gone down well with many Thais, including academics and urban planners, who regard the sheer chaos of crowded street-hawking scenes and especially the clots of food vendors’ smoky, aromatic carts as being among Bangkok’s premier attractions.

The city is being sanitised, the critics complain, while pointing out that foodies from around the world rave about the tasty yet cheap dishes they can slurp up on any Bangkok sidewalk.

“Bangkok is famous as the city of markets, but now many markets are dead,” said British expatriate Philip Cornwel-Smith, author of “Very Thai”, a well-received book exploring what is unique about the Kingdom. 

 
“Just to treat the markets with eviction after eviction actually does big damage to parts of Bangkok’s identity and its reputation internationally.”

French tourist David Lago, making his third visit to Khaosan Road recently, found it utterly changed. It was cleaner now, he noticed, but “boring”.

“Khaosan has lost that charm of being chaotically filled with street vendors. It’s empty during the daytime,” he said, adding that he’d be back after dark, the only hours the hawkers are allowed to set up.

A network of street vendors founded to push back against the clean-up effort marched on Government House early this week with a handful of demands. Many more attended a pair of public discussions about the ruckus coincidentally organised for the same week.

 One, called “Street Vendor and City: Leaving No One Behind”, took place at Chulalongkorn University.
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 “The management of street vending is a complex issue,” Assistant Professor Narumol Nirathron of Thammasat University pointed out. “The BMA alone can’t handle it – it’s a matter for the national agenda. 

“To achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the government needs to handle this issue properly, by integrating the work of the Economic Affairs, Security, Commerce, Tourism and Sports and Culture ministries.”

Narumol and fellow academics from Thammasat, Chulalongkorn, the Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation and Urban and Design Development Centre plan to present an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asking him to reconsider street-vending regulations designed to “return the pavements to the public”.

The government’s ultimate intention is to ban street hawkers in 683 areas of the capital where they’ve long been “temporarily” permitted to do business. As of last month, they’d been shut down in 478 areas, affecting 11,573 vendors in all. 


The BMA is gradually moving in on the remaining 210 areas and most recently has had Khaosan Road in its gun sights.

In their letter to Prayut, the academics note that one reason given for the cleanup was “to liberate Bangkok from a ‘disorderly’, ‘antiquated’, ‘undeveloped’ look. 

“In reality, however, a state of disorder – or order, for that matter – also depends on the management by government agencies, while an antiquated or undeveloped look has nothing to do with street vending. 

“In the US and Europe, known for their advanced development, the governments are allowing more street vendors to operate because the authorities are not able to create enough jobs [for everyone]. Thus, in pursuing the goal to make Thailand modernised and more developed, the government must not leave a number of people behind, as seems to be the case at present.

“Singapore is more advanced,” Narumol said. “It has a long-term policy to make the country clean and green and recently bid for Unesco to recognise its hawker culture as an intangible cultural asset.”

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 Assistant Professor Niramon Kulsri-somba, director of the Urban and Design Development Centre, said Bangkok street vending could be sustainably managed and become “a win-win situation”. Niramon, an urban architect, is with her team redeveloping the Phaholyothin Soi 9 (Soi Aree) area with zones for street vendors. “Rather than top-down management, community engagement is the key. We need to get all the stakeholders talking so they can compare their needs and come up with a solution that will satisfy everyone,” she said, while admitting it will take time.


At the second discussion, “Negotiating Bangkok Streets”, held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Trude Renwick, a PhD candidate in architectural history and theory at the University of California Berkeley, said street-vendor culture was important for a “creative city like Bangkok”.

“Street culture is something that can’t be taken away. It’s an essential part of the urban and rural ecosystems in Thailand,” said Renwick, who in 2011 began making “Observations from the Siam Square night market” on her way to earning her master’s degree.

“Good urban change benefits all citizens and requires complex thought. Bans haven’t produced any positive changes in the past, so I have a hard time believing that it will be any different now.” 

Rangsit University architecture lecturer Parisa Musigakama has been focusing on the Khaosan situation for her PhD.

“Top-down governance by the state is infective and exploitative,” she said. 

“The Khaosan Road Street Vendor Association is very strong, with a powerful leader in Yada Pornpetrumpa, and their negotiations have reached the national level.”
In response to the petition given him by the marching street vendors, Prayut ordered the BMA and Metropolitan Police to establish committees to address issues with the vendors.

Unesco Bangkok director Hanh Bich Duong believes it would be best to consider the matter in terms of sustainable tourism and preserving old communities.

 “Properly planned community-based tourism might be a measure to address this dilemma,” he said. “It’s important to work closely with communities when planning for tourism, to hear their voices and see whether and to what extent they want to open up their neighbourhoods to tourists. 

“Fair-benefit sharing is another important aspect to ensure that local communities do benefit from tourism development, rather than being left out or being at the lower end of the supply chain,” Duong said. 

“In addition, awareness about the importance of safeguarding the heritage, both intangible and tangible, needs to be raised among local communities and the authorities alike to ensure that age-old heritage doesn’t have to give way to modern tourism facilities.”

Source - TheNation

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

Hotelier Awards honour best in hospitality


International Day of Friendship was celebrated around the world yesterday (July 30). But it’s clear that friendship isn’t only celebrated one day a year as recent research from Booking.com reveals that a third of travelers are planning to travel with a group of friends in 2018

 Booking.com thus recommends six beautiful destinations that are even better when traveling in a group. 

Krakow, Poland

As one of the oldest cities in Poland, Krakow is a city that has boldly withstood the tides of history and has come out on top. Medieval and modern architecture co-exist in organic harmony with the natural world; from its mountainous backdrop to the cosmopolitan bustle of Market Square, the city’s central square where friends gather and meander. And if you and your friends are craving some traditional street food, then visit one of the little stalls in the Plac Nowy neighbourhood which sells zapiekanka, an open-faced sandwich topped with sauteed mushrooms and cheese. An abundance of apartment style accommodations and one of the most affordable destinations in Europe are additional benefits for group travel in Krakow.

Where to stay: Feldmana 6 Apartments offers spacious accommodation ideal for a group of friends who want to spend their stay in Krakow together. The apartment’s modern living room or fully equipped kitchen are the perfect place to reconnect while relaxing after a busy day of sightseeing.
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 Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is a city of contrasts. Smells assault the senses, traffic buzzes all around and vendors jostle for attention at every turn. On the other hand, it’s a city with a serene soul – full of imperial temples and beaming smiles from some of the world’s friendliest people. Wander with your friends and mingle with tourists and locals at the Chatuchak weekend market, which gathers more than 200,000 visitors a day, or spend some time at the Saphan Phut night market, a perfect spot for after-dark shopping, snacking or just catching up.

Where to stay: Renovated from a traditional shop house, Vera Nidhra is a boutique bed and breakfast located in Bangkok’s Old Town. Before discovering the city’s hidden gems, you can spend time with your friends in one of the property’s stylish common areas

 Barcelona, Spain

Home to a glorious climate, lively beach culture and countless Gaudi masterpieces, this beautiful destination is a kaleidoscope of taste and colour. The Gothic Quarter is a great place to spend the day with your friends, wandering in the ancient alleyways lined with shops and bars, while the colourful La Rambla area, with the charismatic street performers and pavement cafes, is perfect for watching the friendly locals pass by.

Where to stay: Centrally located in Barcelona, between the vibrant Rambla de Catalunya and Aribau streets, each of the modern BCN Rambla Catalunya Apartments features a cosy living room where you and your friends can relax after a day of sightseeing, bar hoping and tapas tasting.
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 New York City, USA
  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – no other city quite captures the United States of America’s founding principles. Ripe with anticipation, every turn reveals something new and unexpected. Discover the city where some of the most popular television shows and movies of all times took place, and hang out with your friends inside one of the city’s world-class museums, at one of the many breathtaking theatre performances or just find your own cosy neighbourhood cafe to talk about your dreams and next adventures.

Where to stay: Located within walking distance from the iconic SoHo, Greenwich Village and Union Square neighbourhoods, the historic brownstone East Village Apartments feature a fully equipped kitchen and free Wi-Fi to post stunning Instagram pictures with your friends from the City that Never Sleeps.

 Saint Petersburg, Russia

Saint Petersburg is full of splendid cathedrals, parks and bridges and leaves a living, breathing and awe-inspiring legacy of Peter the Great, who built the city after feeling inspired by the charming streets and canals of Amsterdam. If you and your friends are interested in culture and appreciate the local flare, than this is the perfect place for you as the city is listed as Unesco World Heritage site with multiple historical architectural complex as well as thousands of stunning individual monuments. 

Where to stay: Staying in a hostel while travelling with friends can be a great opportunity to meet new people from around the world. The Hostel Chickadee is set on a historical building and is walking distance the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. The fully equipped kitchen is a great place to come together and cook a delicious meal with your friends.

Rome, Italy

Rome is one of the best places in the world for deep cultural immersion. From ancient ruins to modern art and architecture, no matter your interest, there is something to see and enjoy in Rome. In between sightseeing among the show-stopping Pantheon, Colosseum and Roman Forum, don’t forget to enjoy gelato from one of the cities many gelaterias. The popular Piazza di Spagna is a great place to people watch or take notes from the fashionistas exiting Via dei Condotti. Before you leave, be sure to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure you and your friends will come back to this stunning city.

Where to stay: Just a short walk from the Colosseum, Amazing Colosseo offers modern self-catering accommodation for up to a group of eight. Featuring a cinema room and a pool table, this spacious apartment is perfect for a fun trip with friends in the heart of the Eternal City. Wake up to the spectacular views of one of Italy’s most visited monuments and enjoy a nice cup of coffee before walking in the shadows of hundreds of ancient monuments.

Source - TheNation