00:01Sun down in Bangkok and Chinatown again fills with the scent of chili, garlic and fish oil,
00:07pouring from the open-air kitchens that line the avenues of the street food capital of Asia.
00:14Everyone knows Chinatown's street food. Once they land at the airport, they say,
00:19let's go to Chinatown. Even Thai's from other provinces wants to visit Chinatown at least once.
00:24There's no place like Chinatown. It's the charm.
00:27For decades, street food vendors like these have sated the appetites of locals and tourists alike.
00:33But perhaps not for much longer, as the government works to clear walkways in the name of order.
00:42I'm worried. You'd be worried too if you didn't have a place to sell your goods.
00:46It would be difficult to live here. Bangkok expenses are high. You need money for everything.
00:51Wang Jai-Di has sold durian in Chinatown for over two decades.
00:55But in recent years, he's had to dodge fines.
00:58Watching unlicensed vendors like him shut down as the famously chaotic sprawl becomes more like Singapore in its urban planning.
01:07In the future, what Bangkok will do isn't just to designate areas for street vendors.
01:11We're also categorizing areas as unique areas, which are places or streets that will attract tourists,
01:16such as Khao San Road and Chinatown.
01:18And in the future, we'll propose other locations as well.
01:21The plan is to gradually move vendors from the street to designated market areas, so-called hawker centers,
01:28set up around the city, offering picnic tables and air conditioning and giving vendors better working conditions.
01:36Working in a hawker center is convenient and not hot.
01:39It's not a struggle when it rains. Shop umbrellas don't fly away. Customers have a place to sit.
01:44But views like these may be an exception, not the rule.
01:48Street food is a staple for many Bangkokians, and many are reluctant to lose something viewed as essentially Thai.
01:54Others fear becoming disenfranchised in a city with severe wealth inequality.
02:02Clearing the streets is impossible.
02:04The street vendors wouldn't agree to it because they are trying to make a living.
02:07It may work if the Bangkok government arranged the area.
02:10But it's impossible to completely ban them from selling.
02:14How would they make a living?
02:16Municipal figures show around 10,000 vendors in the Thai capital have been forced to close since 2022,
02:22over 60 percent, and with the crackdown set to continue,
02:26tourists visiting Bangkok's Chinatown may soon find a far more sanitized experience.
02:31Andy Shui and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.
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