The Tourism Authority of Thailand has assured visitors that they will still be able to find street food in Bangkok, after the city's deputy governor said plans were underway to remove all street food vendors by the end of 2017. The plan has been seen as a sign that Thailand's military government seems intent on bringing some of the more colorful aspects of Thai life under control.

Street food is one of the main attractions that made Bangkok the world's hottest tourist destination in 2016. Visitors have access to various sights, smells, and tastes on almost every street corner.

That explains why so many people were shocked when the deputy governor of Bangkok announced that street carts and food stalls would be shut down within one year.

“We asked somebody from the Bangkok government to come and clarify exactly what the situation is now regarding street food, but unfortunately they weren’t available. There remains considerable confusion though about the government's policy for this fundamental part of Thai life. Initially, the deputy governor said there would be an outright ban across the city. That was then revised to say that there would be several places of tourist interest which would be allowed to keep their street food stalls. Now, nobody really knows what's going on," said CGTN’s Tony Cheng.

Thailand’s Minister of Tourism, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, has been keen to play down the impending demise of street food. “The identity will still be there. You’ll see the same food stalls. But just cleaner,” said Kobkarn. She also denies this is part of a wider project to clean up Thailand’s image by saying, "The character of Thailand is always like that. We cannot be Singapore, we can never be Singapore, because this is what we are."

However, since coming to power, Thailand's military government has tried to clamp down on some of the more disorderly aspects of Thai life. In some places, cleanup processes are already underway. 

Regardless of the changes, Thai people seem more keen to keep street food alive, as many have expressed their opposition to the possible ban.