This is my entry for #marketfriday hosted by the compassionate generous @dswigle. During the lockdown, I went to check out the atmosphere at the small evening market close by my favourite Robinson shopping mall in Bangrak district. This Bangrak bazaar (means ‘district of love’ market) was completely close and abandoned as if people had migrated to another country. That quiet and seemingly lost feeling made me very depressed and discouraged as the whole area was dark and lonely. So, when the lockdown was finally lifted, I hurried back there during the first week of the reopening of Bangrak bazaar.
It was heart warming to see all the street food and flea market stalls all came back and the side street full of light. But being the first few days of trying to get back to normal life, more than half the usual flow of customers were staying away. The atmosphere was very different from before the arrival of the pandemic three months ago. I do hope that the usual crowd would gradually come back to this evening market by the end of the month.
I was so glad to see all the yellow umbrellas being fully lit up while several familiar street food stalls were back at their old locations. Frequent customers were quite glad to be able to buy their favourite stick food again. The crowd looked a bit thin and some vendors were quietly hoping that more customers would turn up soon.
ตอนที่มีการประกาศว่าให้เปิดห้างสรรพสินค้า และร้านอาหารได้นั้น เราดีใจมากเหมือนเป็นการบอกว่าชีวิตกำลังจะกลับไปสู่ปกติในเร็วๆนี้ เราก็รับไปเดินแถวตลาดนัดที่เปิดใกล้กับห้างโรบินสันที่บางรัก เพราะเมื่อช่วงล็อกดาวน์นั้น ตลาดนัดปิดสนิท เวลาเดินผ่านไปที่ท่านํ้าสาทร ตลาดนี้เงียบสนิทและมืดมาก ทำให้เรารู้สึกแย่มากเหมือนจิตตก เราคิดว่าผู้คนอพยพไปอยู่ต่างประเทศกันหมด จึงทอดทิ้งให้ตบาดนัดตอนเย็นเว้งว้างว่างเปล่าอย่างน่าใจหาย เราจึงรีบไปเดินเล่นที่ตลาดนัดทันที ที่มีการเปิดห้างและตลาดนัด
เราดีใจมากที่เห็นร่มสีเหลืองกางออกและมีไฟสว่างไสว บรรดาร้านขายปิ้งย่างและของกินเล่นก็กลับมาเปิดกันเหมือนเดิม แต่เราเห็นเลยว่าลูกค้าขาประจำหายไปกว่าครึ่ง ร้านขายของจิปาถะที่ตลาดนัดเปิดครบเกือบทุกร้าน เราสงสารคนขายมากที่ลูกค้าส่วนใหญ่ยังไม่กลับมาเดินดูของเหมือนเดิม เรายังรู้สึกว่าต้องลุ้นต่อว่าพวกเขาจะสามารถอยู่รอดกันได้ในระยะยาวหรือเปล่า แต่ก็ยังดีที่มีรถออกมาวิ่งกันหนาแน่นมาก จนทำให้รถติดเหมือนเดิม เราก็มีความหวังว่า ทุกอย่างจะค่อยๆดีขึ้นในระยะยาว เราอยากเห็นตลาดนัดแห่งนี้กลับมามีชีวิตชีวาและคึกคักเหมือนเมื่อก่อน
At least the elderly lady’s vegetable stall was back at the corner of the road. Her vegetables are always much cheaper than those in supermarkets. Most customers flocked to her stall for weekly supply of greens. I took my friend to buy vegetables at this stall; she was very surprised that she had two week’s vegetables at only four dollars. This elderly vendor gave random discount by looking at customers’ faces. I did not have to haggle the price and always got a discount; may be she just recognised me going around taking photos with my iPhone. I do hope the atmosphere would become more lively there everyday with more returning customers. This small bazaar is a very friendly place for a stroll or having a reunion dinner with old friends or having delicious street food or Thai sweets.
The traffic has become a problem as before, traffic jam may be a good sign of increasing economic activities. If there is less than fifty percent corruption among politicians and civil servants, the economy will certainly be in a much better shape.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Cheers.
Thank you very much for your encouragement and wonderful support!
Don’t work too hard! LoL
It definitely is quieter out there than usual. And it seems to hold a different energy too.. I feel it. And don't like it ..
Yep! That sort of energy makes me feel very uneasy. It’s a mixture of melancholy and lurking danger of uncertainty!
That's it EXACTLY. It's been filtering into my dreams too.
Hoping you could do something to lessen the negativity!
Cheers.
It's true!! You have done an outstanding job of bringing us everywhere, showing off the abandoned streets and Malls, eating establishments, and the nonexistent show of people. It was abandoned by the virus. It was empty, lonely, and not at all what I was used to seeing. I know how shocking it must have been for you and how out of place you felt.
Even though it was only half of the usual crowd, it warmed my heart to see that many. I even saw Starbucks trying to lure in the crowd with it all lit up. I was excited about the stick food! I need to learn how to make it! I was happy to see masks on many of the vendors. It is for your protection, as they have so much contact with everyone, plus the fact that many people feel safer with their servers wearing masks.
Happy that your vegetable lady was back! I know you like her and she seems like she really takes care of her customers and the ones you bring her. I never thought I would be happy to see a traffic jam, but, honestly, traffic is a good sign at this rate~!! Thank you so much for showing us how Bangkok is dealing with the pandemic at this time. May all these things be a sign that the world is starting to heal.
It is people like yourself that make this challenge successful! Giving us a taste of the Thai culture with a twist of China some days, it is awesome the way you do that so seamlessly! I want to thank you for being one of our experts in the field. :) I enjoy the cultural feast that you dish up every week! I know you are a #MarketFriday expert, however, in case anyone is reading and doesn't know, or is curious about it, this will clear that up!
Fridays are all about the #MarketFriday Challenge!
How to Participate:
Go to the market! Any market will do! Food, clothing, plant, or animal, if you wish. You can go to the zoo, an art auction, and restaurants. Anywhere or anything that you pay money for any kind of service.
Take pictures! Be creative! It’s fun!
Tell us a little bit about the market, what brought you here?
Post the picture.(s)
Don’t forget to use the MarketFriday Community #196308 to post from or hashtag it! #MarketFriday by @dswigle If you hashtag it, drop the link to your post here so I can easily find them.
As always, please remember! #MarketFriday loves you! Be well and know you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Upped and reposted
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Thank you very much for your wonderful support and considerate comment. I think the happy-go-lucky nature of most Thai people will be helpful in adjusting to the new normal lifestyle. People are very serious about wearing protective masks here. Some took it to extreme, wearing masks while driving a car by oneself!
I hope therapeutic medicine against Covid19 could be scientifically proven to be effective soon!
Meanwhile we have to take VitaminC, zinc and D3 for protective measure.
Hope you had a nice and restful weekend.
Cheers.
🎁 Hi @kaminchan! You have received 0.2 HIVE tip from @dswigle!
Check out @dswigle blog here and follow if you like the content :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide.
Thank you very much for the tip.
Cheers.