Year 10 Bankok School Trip

In the sprawling, bustling Thai capital city of Bangkok, many forms of transport choke the busy, congested roads.  There are the normal, average-sized buses, slender tall double-decker buses as well as many luxury cars but it is the bright pink taxis in particular, that catch one’s attention.
In contrast to this, on one side of this busy city road are rows of trees, swaying gently as the world under them shoves, stutters and struggles along. These tall plants seem placid and lifeless compared to the noisy street just below. On the other side of the road lies a wide pedestrian path. Being open to the public, it’s rather run-down and dirty, yet it is so full of life – teeming with many different peoples walking along it.

Amongst them is a policeman dressed in a smart, well-starched and ironed uniform. His head is closely-shaven.  He patrols along, casually surveying the traffic, until he is suddenly swarmed by a cloud of thick smoke. A horrible, yet tantalising smell assails his nose and throat. His lungs fill up with thick fumes. He chokes uncontrollably as if a tyrannical monster was strangling him from the inside. His eyes water up at the irritation from the smoke, and the man turns to glance angrily at the source of his problem.
There, behind him is a humble road-side stand, owned by a sun-burnt Thai man in sweat pants, a T-shirt and a wide straw hat. His shoulder- length black hair is tied in a neat little pony tail at the back of his head, and his gloved-hands are busy at work getting the small chunks of marinated chicken meat onto the sticks as fast as possible. In front of him sits his satay stand, where he spends his day selling satay…it’s his livelihood. On the metal stove filled with burning coal he roasts his satay. He turns the sticks of meat around to get an even, golden brown. The smoke from his food is thick and white, and it floats up into the air, spreading to its surroundings. The smell from this smoke is both appetising and suffocating. Many people, like the uniformed man, walk by complaining of the terrible smoke, but do not hesitate to buy his delicious, cheap food. The satay man is oblivious to this sort of treatment. So he goes on with his job, not bothered by the uniformed man or the complaints that come his way.
The satay man, living on his satay business by the city road with just a street umbrella to shield him from the intense sun, smiles to himself as we come to him to  buy his satay.
Aoife Ong (10T)