What kind of documentary about Bangkok would you like to see?

the street food vendor registration situation. there's this whole invisible war happening between the old guard vendors in places like charoen krung or around on nut who've been there 20+ years and the new bma regulations trying to formalize everything. i worked on a small piece about it once and found out most vendors don't actually own their carts, they rent them from middlemen who hold the permits. would love to see a doc that just follows one or two for a week, showing what happens when the police actually enforce the sidewalk laws versus when they look the other way. feels like a side of bangkok everyone eats from but nobody thinks about how it stays running

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honestly i'd watch a doc about the khlongs and how they've shaped the city. everyone talks about the bts and taxis but the canals are this whole hidden layer. there's still people living along them in places like bang khun tien who commute by longtail and have floating markets that aren't for tourists. i'd want to know how many are actually still used for daily life versus just drainage now, and what the city's plan is for them long term. seems like something most people fly over without noticing.

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ngl i'd watch something about the old taxi driver community in bangkok. not the grab drivers, i mean the guys who've been driving those green-yellow taxis for 30+ years and still remember when rama 4 was basically a dirt road. there's this whole network of garages around thonburi where they hang out and sleep in their cars between shifts. i used to chat with this one driver near on nut bts who told me he pays 900 baht a day just to rent the taxi, and that's before fuel. would be interesting to see how that whole system works, the middlemen who own the plates, the loan sharks they deal with, and whether they think the ev taxi push will actually work here when most of them can't afford a 2 million baht car. feels like a dying breed that everyone interacts with daily but knows nothing about.

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Krua Dok Mai Kao is solid but I've always found their som tam a bit tame on the pla ra. If you want the real funky version, try the shophouse spots along Soi Udomsuk 26, near the night market end. They pound it fresh with fermented fish that'll clear your sinuses, and it's like 60 baht. Different style from the On Nut places, more Lao-leaning.

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for som tam specifically i'd say the Isaan spots in Chatuchak are underrated, weekdays only though since the weekend crowd ruins the vibe. there's a stall near gate 2 that does tam pa with fermented bamboo shoots, super sour and funky, not something you see much in On Nut. if you're already heading north for Or Tor Kor anyway its worth the detour.

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honestly the som tam at Krua Dok Mai Kao is good but what got me hooked is their nam prik pla raa dip with the raw veggies, that funk hits way harder than the papaya does. think most people sleep on it cuz they just order the som tam and gai yang. also pro tip, go before noon on weekdays, after that teh pla ra gets milder cuz they batch it for the lunch rush

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