Bangkok in Transition

After the shock of the desolate conditions around our hotel, we have composed ourselves enough to search for the friendly corners of Bangkok in the following days. In China Town, we find a piece of what we miss: the bustling activity, a friendly smile as we pass by, small restaurants, fantastic food. The retailers and wholesalers in the Sampheng Market and the Pak Khlong Talat fresh flower market burst with liveliness and color.

However, we are still accompanied by countless abandoned shops, vacant buildings, and construction sites. And the absence of street kitchens that, in our eyes, gave the city its uniquely distinctive character. Perhaps we are being unfair. Bangkok is a mega-city in transition, with booming shopping malls and their food courts in the basements, where many of the street kitchens have moved. Not only has the pandemic undeniably left its mark, but perhaps the city needs to reinvent itself between tradition and modernity.

This time, Bangkok has caught us off guard.