Rationing in BKK

I have to say that I never thought I would ever see rationing, but here it is in Bangkok.  I took this photo this morning in Big C on Rama IV.  Eggs, rice, toilet tissue and some soft drinks had these tags.  There is no water to be had apart from a few bottles of expensive Perrier - and then just over a box full.

I had joked this morning that if Diet Coke was off the shelves, I would panic.  Well, I am panicking now. It took three supermarkets to find Diet Coke, and then they only had about 8 6-packs.  Ordinary Coke was almost non-existent too.  Some bottles of Pepsi, lined one deep along the shelves, oh and some local soft drinks, which were also rationed, were really all to be found.  The factory producing Coke is under water.

A lovely lady at Big C (finally a useful member of staff in that hell hole) told me to get there at 9am, for the daily delivery of water - one pallet.  Of course that will be rationed too no doubt.  She advised me to buy a water filter and to stock up on dairy and veggies.

When you first enter the supermarkets, they look full as usual.  Once you start looking however, you realise that lots of the same product is dotted around the supermarket, or they have spread the display thinly to disguise the empty shelves.  Big C's crisp aisle had shelves stacked three bags deep, all the same flavour, all the way along.  The only toilet paper left, was that cheap stuff that almost dissolves as soon as you look at it, let alone use it.  I was actually asked to return a pack - I couldn't believe it!  Luckily the girl on the cash desk was in a good mood and let me have two packs.

This isn't just Big C.  I went to Tesco Lotus on Rama IV, and whilst I didn't notice any rationing signs in English, it was clear there was a shortage of certain items.  Villa on Sukhumvit, which has been my saviour over the last few days, came through with the Diet Coke, but again gaps in the shelves.

It isn't that easy to stock up on tin stuff, as that is also going short.  I did end up buying a few tins of  mixed vegetables, who knows how long this is going to be?

Meanwhile, BKK continues to shore itself up.  This is on the road that leads from my soi onto soi 26.  The plastic is up in the bushes.  I noticed today that more and more people are encasing their shops in a breeze block wall, some very high, as reported in an earlier post.

But still no sign of the water.

The wait is getting to me a bit today.  I have no idea what to buy.  Should I stock up the fridge/freezer, only to loose everything if the power goes out?  How much is it fair for me to hoard?  I am also getting worried about the tales of the sewers backing up into your home.  Apparently in these situations, the flood arrives first up the sewers.  I had noticed in a couple of restaurants, sandbags standing next to the toilet bowls.  Now I know why!  As we are on the 5th floor, I keep telling myself we are safe from that.  Good grief, bad enough to clear up your own sewage, but everyone else's...

Anyway, I do want to end on a nicer note than that.  Alan took me to a lovely French restaurant on Monday, just off soi Convent, called Indigo.  

Good food and bread, friendly service and lovely location.  I don't rate their chances if it floods though.