Coke In a Bag In Bangkok
While we were in Bangkok, I posted a few photos each day to my Instagram account (which in turn fed them to Facebook and Twitter) with the intention of posting “better” versions of those photos later on here at Burnsland. And one of the photos that generated the most interest was this photo of Coke in a bag. It raised some questions, so here is the story.
As you may know, it was hot while we were there in Bangkok. I don’t know if it was the hot season or the hottest season. But it was nice and warm. Not that I am complaining, of course, because I would much rather have hot weather than cold weather. But even though I don’t mind the heat, I do like a nice, cold drink to help combat the heat. The main cold drinks that I drink are Coke and water. And since I had already had a bottle or two of water that day, I was hoping to get a Coke from somewhere.
We stepped inside a small convenience store and went over to their drink cooler. But all that they had in there were Pepsi products, which are not really my favorite. But then we found another cooler that had glass bottles of Coke inside. I was wondering if those were for sale, and Michelle (one of our Bangkok hosts) said, “Yes, they will probably put it in a bag for you.” Um, okay.
We went up to the counter, where there was a cashier lady with powder all over her face, which I later learned was to help with the heat. Gary asked her in Thai if the Cokes were for sale, and she said they were. And sure enough, she got a plastic bag, poured ice in it, opened the bottle, and poured the Coke in the bag with the ice. She then handed me the bag and a straw. And it only cost me around 50 cents!
You may think it is strange, but it was still Coke and it was still cold. So I happily drank my Coke from the bag as we made our way on to our destination. After getting the above photo of it, of course. Because if I didn’t have a photo to prove it, who would believe me?
Adam had gotten one, too. And he mentioned that he had seen other people before that carrying bags with straws in them, but apparently I had missed that. In the days after that, I did notice others drinking from bags, too. So it wasn’t just some trick they played on us foreigners. I’m guessing that is a good way to make sure that the glass bottle is recycled, by having the store owners do it. And as Gary and Michelle pointed out, the owner probably got some money back for the bottle, which also explains the low price that I had to pay.
If it is a hot day, I would gladly drink ice cold Coke out of a bag again!
And as a bonus, here is a Coke container of some kind that was just outside of the store. Except of course that “Coke” is written in Thai here.
About the photo:
A single RAW exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about the photo software and gear I use at the camera gear page.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus M.Zukio 25mm f1.8
