One of Thailand’s biggest tourism drawcards is in the process of getting a serious makeover.
Bangkok is known for its busy, bustling streets where the smell of street food is overwhelming. But what happens when the streets are cleaned up, and the food stalls shut down?
In his most recent Dateline film, reporter Amos Roberts spoke with local street food vendors in Bangkok to find out how the military government’s attempt to “clean up” the streets has impacted their businesses, which they rely on to support their families and livelihood in Thailand’s capital city.
“You walk outside and within few hundred metres you’ll have the most fabulous smorgasbord of dishes at incredibly reasonable prices” he told Dateline intern, Kate Lambe, in the latest Intern Diaries podcast.
So is the clean-up and mission to restore order for better or worse? Well, that depends on which side of Thai society you’re on.
“What works in an army barracks, doesn’t necessarily work in down town Bangkok.”
Listen to Amos' chat with Dateline intern Kate Lambe here:
