Fast Food
The food vendors in Chiang Mai, Thailand cook up some of the best food to be found in the area. On a typical evening you can walk down any street, and you will find a food cart of some kind set up on the edge of the street, in front of a business that is closed for the night. These vendors come with some sort of cart, either one they push around, or one attached to a motor bike, and some even set up seating for their customers with fold up tables, chairs and umbrella. As is the case in this image, two young ladies pull up to this vendor, place their order, pay and receive their food. Normally, there is not a line for these vendors, not because their food is bad, it’s just that you can’t walk around this place without have a place to eat. If one vendor is busy, move on to the next one. They are everywhere.
The vendors will usually have their wares up front of their operation, a cooking station, consisting of a small grill or a wok, just behind the counter. You choose your choice of protein, they then will cook it and server it to you. with rice, noodles, vegetables, or just by itself. Some of the more “fancy” vendors will provide seating for you and bring you your meal after they have cooked it for you. Others, will hand you your food in a cardboard or Styrofoam container and you will be on your way. Toward the back of their operation, you will usually see someone washing dishes in a series of large wash bins, getting them ready to be reused during the rest of the night.
During the time that I have been in Chiang Mai, the Loi Krathong Festival has been going on and there have been a great number of people here. But the festival has just finished and as the tourist begin to leave, I will be able to fully enjoy the usual culture and experience the normal day-to-day atmosphere here.