This year I have been lagging behind my usual schedule. I still hadn’t the time to revamp the Feng Shui cures in my place. Luckily I still have a week to get this done properly. I already did my research and knew about the negative directions. This year the north and northeast would be quite vulnerable to negative vibes. I still had to catch up with my sleep and other errands. One of the errands was to visit the old shop near Chinatown to sell my silver pellets which I bought several years ago.
After many excuses and procrastination, I just had to seize the bright sunny day to catch a bus to Chinatown. I heard that the whole place was jammed packed with Chinese tourists and local people. My friend told me that the Chinese tourists have returned after the news about two Chinese actors had been scammed and trafficked to nasty call center group on the border town in Burma. Lots of Chinese were posting about the danger of being abducted and sold to the mafia gangs crossed the border from Thailand. The victims would be taken by special mini bus to the north and led across the border through the thick jungle to avoid Thai border patrols.
This subject really needed a while post by itself as this well managed processes were stepped in corruptions. Human trafficking by the Chinese mafia with collaborations from Burmese and Thai gangs has become very big businesses. They could build a whole new modern city with high rises to open lots of call-center scammming companies. Luckily, many Chinese people who have been visiting Thailand regularly had explained to their own people that the culprits were the Chinese mafia who trapped Chinese people looking for lucrative jobs in Thailand. I was glad that these Chinese tourists came back after their cancellations. My friend came through the airport last night told me that the immigration staff were checking all Chinese tourists to make sure that they weren’t here to make some money or traveling with some gangs’ members.
This was the first time I met a lady bus driver, she seemed very skillful at driving the bus at high speed. She was complaining about the bad traffic jam in Chinatown the other days. I tried to avoid Chinatown during the peak Chinese New Year’s celebration. So, the traffic wasn’t too bad three days afterwards, though the traffic bottleneck at some junctions. But it was nice to see lots of people in red outfits and foreign tourists along Yaowarad road. The red colours of the banners and lanterns made the atmosphere very lively and festive. I got off the bus at the bus stop at the end of Yaowarad road as I had to head towards an old shop where I bought my silver several years ago.
I was afraid that the shop might have closed during the Chinese New Year’s week. But I had to find out of o could remember where the shop was located. A jeweler told me about this small shop long time ago. I bought some silver pellets as an investment and I would like to take my 50% profit. It was supposed to be a test whether the shop would buy back its own silver pellets at market prices. Alas, I found the shop but it was closed for the holidays. I would have to make a second trip which could be more beneficial to me as the price of silver was about to go higher soon. It would be nice to get Bitcoin and gold bar when the prices came down.
I became very hungry so I made my way back to Chinatown looking for some nice fast food joint. Most restaurants were too expensive for my budget as the prices were more suitable for tourist. Ordinary or regular fast food be sufficed for my late lunch. I looked around for some street food which would be suitable for my requirements. I wouldn’t be comfortable with meat like pork, chicken or beef. So, it was a bit tricky for me to find a suitable fast food joint. I had decided to have some noodles with home made fish balls and fish cakes. Most noodle stalls bought their fish balls in bulk from factories so they wouldn’t taste so good.
I had to walk around several noodle stalls using my sixth sense to assess the quality of their ingredients. I also read the faces of the vendors and assessed their vibes. I would refuse to sit down if the vibes were rather disturbing which would make the whole experience very uncomfortable. Fortunately, my radar worked perfectly and I found a very nice noodle vendor. After I tasted the dried style noodle with only fish balls, I was quite impressed by the wholesome taste and texture of the fish balls. So, I asked the lady vendor whether she made these fish balls herself. She told me she has been making her own fish balls and fish cakes for the last thirty-six years.
I was very glad to finally find my favourite noodle stall in Chinatown. The size and shape of these fish ball were very small and rounded as if molded by hands. The small size told me that it’s all real fish without added extra fillers and chemical additives. I enjoyed the noodle so much that group of visitors from the country decided to sit down at the next table. I wished I had order some to take home but I was too lazy to carry a food bag. Next time I would order quick-boiled fish steak as a protein supplement for my long walk.
The vendor offered me a fried condiment; it was very crispy without the taste of oil. She told me she made this herself too. This noodle lady had a very kind face and soft voice; she was very polite and apologetic. Most vendors were rather short-tempered and easily agitated as they were worried about attracting more customers. I told her that I was very impressed by the quality of her ingredients which she prepared fresh everyday. She was very pleased by my appreciation. I gave her strict order not to put MSG and sugar in my noodle for which she gladly followed with good intention. Her positive vibes made the noodle tasted very clean and wholesome to me. I would fast before visiting this noodle stall next time so could have two bowls of noodles!
There were at least three famous restaurants along Yaowarad road, some with Michilin Stars and some with local prizes. So, long waiting lines could be seen in front of these eateries. But I couldn’t participate in these places as I was half-vegetarian and disliked MSG in my food. More people have become ‘food tourists’ these days so restaurants and cooks tried their best to compete for the annual prizes. Then they could increase the prices and make more money; lucky for them! But I felt sorry for other vendors who didn’t get any prices and there were few customers waiting to be served. I wished people would use their common sense and intuition more often. The consistency of the quality of food would change depending on many external factors.
Most vendors talked to me in English! My Korean or Japanese face with my camera phone and jerky body language made me looked like a tourist. This gave me the excuse to keep quiet and take photos like those tourists. There were several famous and old eateries along the side streets. These were more well known among local people and they had regular local customers.
On my way to the bus stop, I noticed a new Chinese tea shop full of western tourists. I couldn’t help trying to find out why they were crowded in the small tea shop. I got closer and realised these were French tourists on a Chinese tea appreciation afternoon. The elderly tour leader looked at me as I took their photos. This reminded me of my wine tasting tour in South Africa long time ago. What good fun to taste different traditional drinks in various countries! That’s the time of joyous life and good memories.
Had I not become a vegetarian, I would have put on a lot of weights and become very unhealthy. There are always lots of delicious food, snacks and sweets on offer in Chinatown. I could travel there once a day to visit a restaurant on my list of what-to-taste in Chinatown. Lots of food reviewers and blockers had probably visited all the well known eateries. But it’s difficult to build a list of eateries with clean and wholesome ingredients. So far, I only located a really good stall for my favourite bean curd in ginger syrup. I was looking for this stall but I couldn’t find it.
The local vendor told me the vendor would arrive later in the evening. So, I went back without having any Chinese sweet. Life could be unfair sometimes. I only had one bowl of noodle so that I could have my favourite Chinese sweet. Next time I would have two of everything I liked! I am grateful to all the tourists who came to brighten up the faces of vendors in Chinatown.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
#marketfriday created by @dswigle.