Shop until you drop

Chinatown on a Saturday morning

On a hot, steamy morning, crowds team into the narrow alleyways of Chinatown in the search of a bargain.  I had joined them when I went along for the ride with Om on his now weekly excursion there as part of his new business.  What he does is buy drinking containers which he then sells through family, friends, work and Facebook for a small profit.  He does it because he enjoys it, giving him an extra interest and the people contact on which he thrives.   It is amazing how people can make money.  These drinking containers are all the fashion at the moment and I live in a society where fashion rules.

So I went for the experience to see the business and found myself being overcome by both the heat and the crowds.  It was all a bit much.  I watched all these people shopping for bargains and thought I would rather pay the extra at a local stall and save all the discomfort.  Still I wanted to see what Om does on a Saturday at Chinatown and it was something different for me, an adventure. I got to see what all these other people do as well for a bargain or to do some business themselves. 

One of the pillars of Bangkok is shopping.  I would name the other two as being food and tourism.  Of course, there is much more here with Bangkok being a huge city and the political and business capital of Thailand.  Shopping is fun for some but I think it hard work.  It is business, and serious business.  You fight for every baht.  Drop the price by 10 baht to 140 baht and you draw the crowd.  I just stood back and watched and wondered.  Shop until you drop?  It is more likely that you will collapse from the heat or get pushed over by the crowd.