Hawkers ambushing you at every landmark, traffic light and sun lounger results in needless trips to the toilet, hiding behind books and awkward chats over the menu. Is this a genuine annoyance or are we ignorant in our priviledge.
I remember watching Jerry Hall on the Graham Norton Show years ago, he was laughing at a Texan hairdresser (?) falsely claiming to have Jerry as a customers. In that gorgeous southern drawl, "he's justa tra-yin' to make a buuck, riite?" she cooed.
An unfortuate truth is that's exactly what all these hawkers are doing. Without the consumer laws and trading licencing to stop them, they make money in the best way they know how, by buying an assignment of Betamax films from Paddy the Greek and going down the market to flog it.
To be honest, there's something I quite like about it. These market sellers lend themselves to our culture of immediacy and laziness. I don't need to think about grabbing a pastry before a train journey because loads of people will be pounding the aisles looking to sell their freshly squeezed pineapple juice, crisps and homemade pakoras.
I've often sat on a beach and thought, I should really buy some souveniers. Then as if by magic, a seller turns up with bongos and masks he's wants to off-load.
Part of me would rather give my money to these enterpreneurs and fan the flames of a cottage industry that flies in the face of the capitalist, corporate demons who live for profit, greed and exploitation of people and the planet. On the other hand, I have more trust in the shops that mark up the same toot by about 70% in order to cover the overheads of their prime location shop in tourist hotspot Koh San Road. But these people are trying to make money too.
Hawkers are business people, they want to make money. It's easier for them to rip you off because you hand over your cash and if it falls apart, they're nowhere to be seen. They can get away with selling rubbish. But you don't really have any consumer rights anyway, even if you buy from a shop - you're just relying on goodwill, but if a shopkeeper decided it was tough, they know that you're out of the country in a few days, so sucks to be you.
I do have a problem when it's clearly fanning exploitation. When children are sent out by a Fagin-esque character to prey on innocent tourists. Or women are being forced to dance on bars to entertain lechy old men, so they'll buy more booze or pussy shows.
The general advice is not to give money to beggars, especially children, as underneath every tiny palm pleading for one dollar is a vile criminal ring.
Even with the adults, you don't know what sort of desperate situation they're in. Perhaps they've fallen victim to some mafioso loan shark who's forcing them into these circumstances.
Your generosity, or even necessity, could be fanning the flames to all sort of exploitative and/or criminal activity.
It's difficult for a visitor to identify who's legimately doing what they can to earn a buck in the only job opportunity open to them and who has a dark figure cracking the whip behind them. Unless a local, who's savvy and honest enough, can tell you - just like I know the crazees, homeless and junkies of Reading just from living and working there.
It may be heartwrenching and difficult to shoo them away or ignore them, but just like I avoid plastic or going to zoos out of morality, I can do this too. And instead donate to a credible health, education or development charity or NGO.
