Figures in colourful aprons weaving through traffic selling bags of banana fritters have long been a familiar sight in Nang Loeng neighbourhood of Bangkok. But today, the roads felt almost empty without their presence.
One of the most discussed news items last month was when the authorities launched a crackdown to ban kluay khaek vendors from conducting their business in between the traffic.
Hungry commuters would view these vendors as lifesavers. But for those getting stuck behind the banana business even when the light is flashing green, they can be a nuisance. Over the years, these banana fritter sellers have been criticised for obstructing traffic and increasing the risk of road accidents. There have been several attempts by Nang Loeng Police Station to regulate their activities by apprehending the sellers. But since the enforcement was not strict, and the amount of staff wasn't enough to oversee the entire area, the regulation attempt was never a success.
Two weeks ago, the Metropolitan Police Bureau released a statement on its Facebook page to counter a news story in Thairath newspaper that criticised the officers' ignorance towards the problem and claimed that there were vendors giving fried bananas as bribes, so the police would turn a blind eye and lengthen the period of red lights so they could conduct business longer.
The statement replied that the officers apprehended nine vendors in October last year, 10 in November, 11 in December, nine in January, and three in the first half of this month. The length of the red light period was also addressed, clarifying that it follows the flow of the traffic.
With many eyes on the issue, it seems law enforcement is seriously cracking down this time.
Kluay khaek, or banana fritters, is one of the most popular snacks for Bangkok office workers. It is sold at every street corner, and at shacks near office buildings everywhere. But the walking vendors of fried bananas, who zigzag along bumpers hawking their bags of snacks, are most active in the area of Nang Loeng and Lan Luang.
Nang Loeng Police Station and Pom Prap Sattru Phai District Office are working together to keep an eye on the banana activity in the area. Walking around, one can see signs along the streets, even right in front of banana shops, prohibiting the buying and selling of fried bananas on the road. Any buyers and sellers violating the rule will be fined a maximum 500 and 2,000 baht, respectively. There are also tessakit, or municipal officials, patrolling the streets throughout the day to keep the vendors in line.
The banana businesses in the area saw a huge decline following this most recent crackdown, said Bangorn Nilewa, 59, owner of Kluay Khaek Mae Kimlong (Mother Kimlong's Fried Banana) near Chakkraphatdiphong Junction. Her shop is nicknamed the White Apron. The banana shops in this area -- six of them in total -- have their own designated colour of apron for their vendors to wear, making it obvious on the street which shop they're from.
"But we don't need this anymore," said Bangorn as she folded away the apron. From hiring almost 10 salespersons a day to go up and down the street, she now employs only two. And these sellers are not allowed to wander the street anymore, not even on the footpath. By law, they can only stay within their own shop or sit at the front and wait for customers to come to them. But some leeway has been given to allow sellers to make a quick dash into the streets to sell fried bananas, but only to customers who call out expressly to buy during traffic jams.
On the table where she put her banana bags, Bangorn now has a sign that reads "give a holler, we can deliver".
Thongsuk, a municipal official on duty the day we visited the area, has given his confirmation of this leeway. He said the officials are on duty from morning to 5pm to make sure the vendors are not crossing the line.
"The street are cleared up now," he said. "Before, there were 10 vendors from each shop walking all over the place. It was a mess. We made some arrests too, but we weren't really able to control them as there were too many people. But now that the rules are strict and the fine is heavy, we're seeing an improvement."
Fried bananas have been a hit in Nang Loeng for a long time, said Bangorn. She has been in the business for about 24 years after taking over the family trade following her mother-in-law's passing. Her husband's family had been doing it for about two decades prior, resulting in the shop's more than 40 years of experience as advertised on the side of their banana bags.
"The boom period really began in early 2000s when different shops began to set up along these streets," said Bangorn. "Before that, there were just a few of us. But when others saw that fried bananas made really good money, more and more people came here to set up their own places. Some used to sell other things. Others were relatives of existing shops."
She said that her shop is one of the originals in the area along with the Red Apron and Blue Apron. The other three shops -- Purple, Pink and Orange -- came later.
But exactly how much business is in fried bananas? Bangorn said she used to be able to make a few thousand baht a day. A bag of fried bananas sells for 20 baht, with the money split between the shop and seller. The shop would get 14 baht, and the seller would get 6 baht for every bag sold.
Bangorn was selling hundreds of bags of fried bananas every day. But for the first few days after the crackdown, when the sellers were forbidden to go down the road at all, the shop was selling less than 20 bags a day. The leeway gave some room for the shops to breathe, and they were able to up the number a little, though not by much. As there aren't that many people walking past the neighbourhood, the shops rely heavily on customers in passing cars.
Coinciding with her landlord wanting the building back, Bangorn said she will be moving the banana business back home, which is located in the back alley not too far from the main road where she opens her shop. She added that she won't be able to pay the 13,000 baht rent anyway in this situation.
At home, she plans to downsize the business and set up a table outside to continue selling banana fritters.
"I'll keep on frying a pan or two a day. I'm almost 60 years old. If I don't do this, I don't know what else I'm going to do to feed my family," she said.
Supannee Nindonwai, 53, one of Bangorn's remaining sellers, said she'll probably seek a job in cleaning services after the shop relocates. She has been selling fried bananas for different shops for two decades.
"Other shops wouldn't take me in now. They're all in a tough spot too," she said.
Supannee said she used to make about 300 baht from selling bananas. "It was enough to send my kids to school," she added. But now that she's only making 100 baht a day or even less, she feels it's perhaps time to seek a new job.
From her years of experience, Supannee recalled how police were trying to apprehend sellers in the past. Everyone was running around, hiding in the back alleys by Nang Loeng market. Still, the sellers persisted. After the police were gone, business was back in full swing again. But perhaps not this time around.
Regarding the accusation of slowing down the traffic, Supannee admitted some sellers were slow in handing change back to their customers.
"Does that really affect the overall traffic in this area? Well, maybe a little," said Supannee.
For Ake, an operator of the Pink Apron fried banana shop, he feels that having some regulation in place is quite a good thing.
"It was really bad in the past," he admitted. "The shops were competing with one another. I was in on it, too. When others saw how one shop had this many vendors walking around, they felt they needed to match it. In the end, it just turned into a big competition and the streets were filled with people trying to sell fried bananas.
"Some people said we were making a mess around here. But, at the same time, we're also just trying to make ends meet. What we are selling is not illegal, although I'll admit our method may not be right," he said.
Ake said he is ready to make adjustments to comply with the rules. So far, he has reduced the amount of fried banana he makes per day, as well as hiring less sellers. He has also utilises delivery services, selling fried banana via Line Man, Facebook and Instagram.
"Can we meet half way?" he asked. "Please don't shut us down completely. We are ready to comply and work with both the district office and the police in the regulations that they come up with, but please understand us too. It would be hard to start over a new business in this economy."
