Convenience

As the time draws near for our departure from Bangkok, we realize that there are some things we will miss after we move away from Bangkok.  One thing that is very convenient for us here is the plethora of street vendors within a quarter mile of our place selling all kinds of food—both raw and prepared.

Pretty much every day we walk past a three-way intersection where the side street we live on meets the main road and where there is a pedestrian overcrossing to get over the main road.  At that corner are two of our favorite vendors.

Lek

Lek wheels his fruit cart to that intersection about 10 am each day and stays until about 1:30 pm, when he moves his cart elsewhere.  He parks his cart in front of a 7-11 that is adjacent to a massage parlor.  Lek has the most consistently sweet fruit.  We usually get pineapple, papaya and watermelon from him.  He also sells guava, green mangos and a fruit which is given the English name gooseberry, but is not even closely related to those species of Ribes that we know in North America.

It didn’t take long for Lek to realize that he did not need to put packets of sugar mixed with chili powder in the bags with our fruit.

There are other fruit vendors in our neighborhood as well, some have a slightly different selection of fruit.  Some vendors actually soak their fruit in salty sugar-water before putting it on their cart—can’t say I’m too excited about salty pineapple.  Perhaps they do this because they don’t know how to pick out the naturally sweet fruit like Lek does.  Some vendors prepackage their fruit on Styrofoam trays, which to me is just a waste of resources.  Most vendors cut their fruit up on the spot and then place it in plastic bags.

Waev and Aun

The other vendor we like to buy from is the coffee stand run by Aum and Waev.  This couple is very talkative and they help me practice Thai  by asking all kinds of questions.  Their coffee sells for 35 baht for a blended drink (just over a dollar) which is average for street vendors and about  1/3 the price one pays at Starbucks.  I never was much of a iced coffee drinker until I came to Bangkok where it is hot and humid pretty much all the time, so that I seldom drink hot coffee except early in the morning.  So perhaps once a week I will pick up a blended mocha from Aum and Waev on my way back from class.

Another thing that has been convenient for us in Bangkok is the public transportation.  One does not need a car to get around this town.  There are taxis, motorcycle taxis, three wheeled taxis, buses, the Sky Train, Subway, Canal and River Ferries, public vans and the regular train.  The one we have used the most has been the sky train. It is about the fastest way to get to places, so if the place we are going is near a stop we will take the sky train.  For the past year I have been carrying around a 30 day refillable sky train pass.  Since they are switching to a different system, this will soon be obsolete.

Sky Train Pass

The place we are moving to in Chonburi does not have many street vendors around like here in Bangkok.  It will take is a while to figure out things like where the best place is to buy fruit and cooked food. Chonburi also does not have as many public transportation options. So, while there are many things that we won’t miss when we leave the big city, there are some things that we will.

There are two very nice conveniences about the place we are moving to, though.  It is less than a quarter mile to our office and it is about 1/4 mile to a very large shopping mall (=air-conditioned refuge).  The mall has two large grocery stores in it!

As with any other move we have made, there are always adjustments to make.  But soon we will be into the swing of things in our new location.

And the good thing is that wherever we go God is already there.

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT