The humble hawker is a traditional and characteristic figure all over Thailand, offering home-made specialities at prices below those in air-conditioned dining halls and major restaurants.
         Hawkers may be stationary during the course of their serving hours or they may ramble along, pushing their cart or shouldering their baskets of paraphemalia. They may also be hawkering thier wares in a sole basket rested on a shoulder or they may look as if they are moving house, with what looks like a collection of all their household effect with thier children walking alongside protectively.

         The easiest way to spot a hawker is to look for the seller's mobility: wheels fixed to a cart or the couple of baskets sandwiching them. in this context, similar looking stalls placed in front of eating shops are not considered 'hawkers' for our purposes, though quite often the nature of food sold is the same.  

         An exception to this mode of identification is the popular Chatuchak Weeked Market where hawkers are site at fixed rental bays, as are those seen in 'wet' markets. Otherwise, hawkers are easily found at street junctions on the walkways, around places of entertain ment, along sois or lanes and practically even in hospital grounds. Put another way, for the enthusiastic visitor, Thailand is a Hawkers'Paradise.