Tale of Two Cities

Did my usual 7km odd walk at 5:00 am and already the locals are greeting me before I greet them. It's really nice to stay where there are'nt other foreigners. The vibe is just different and I also realize that as more foreigners find out about these places, the charm will be lost as well. Westerners do that I'm afraid. Previously I reflected on the economic performance of Thailand included the unemployment figure which is negligible by SA standards. They have three vibrant economies in the form of early morning market , day market, and night market. These are run in different areas and by different people and these three are independent of the permanent daily retailers and government depts. They can be deemed as informal and sure there is little financial records being held as its totally cash. So although the pie is the same size its split in such a way that everybody gets a slice and this reduces the unemployment. so cooking at home becomes a non-starter as prepared food is as cheap as making it yourself without the inconvenience. I believe the above is also a reason why crime is negligible. That over and above a cultural disposition that crime is not incalcated into the daily lives of the Thai people. For sure there are bad actors however nothing like South Africa. Experimented a bit with panning with photography this evening and will rather try in low natural light fo a better effect. Was a bridge too far for my Sony NEX5 which is really an entry level into the Sony range of cameras. Other than my own lack of skills of course.

Other than that a long catchup with my UK friend who is like a spook as he has zero social media presence and I don't even attempt to take a photo for record purposes. He is legit though . And then an evening of wandering around the market for something light to eat. Caters somewhat for the tourists as you can see. Settled for veggie noodles for R20 and a ginger juice for R30. I know right, I'm living it up lol.