Word: baht
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...young American backpacker rolls his eyes, leans over and sardonically whispers, "This op's run on a need-to-know basis, soldier." My mission?and I had gleefully chosen to accept it?was to go deep under cover in Bangkok's retail jungle with 4,100 baht (about $100) in pocket to reconnoitre Chatuchak Weekend Market in pursuit of vintage threads...
...Entering from the north, one of the first vintage-togs stalls is All About Denim run by laid-back Gai, whose sound system seems to play only two types of music: country and Western. Stocking seriously battered cowboy boots (from 500 baht, which is $12, upwards) and garish, gabardine shirts with pearled snap buttons (from 500 to 4,000 baht), this is the spot if you fancy kitting yourself out like singing cowboy Gene Autry. Just a few more meters into the m?l?e nestles hole-in-the-wall outlet Golden Man. Its friendly proprietor, Preecha?his chuffed, pixie face framed...
...system, and a kid of about 12, decked out in 1970s Elvis shades, tight, dove-gray slacks and a snow-white Kangol cap, is happily murdering Van Morrison's Have I Told You Lately. Ya Shop stocks the widest range of cheesy, fitted polyester shirts in Chatuchak (from 100 baht, or $2.50, upwards). But rather than rely exclusively on the lure of synthetic fabrics, its business card proudly boasts that the store is "near the toilets," which, it should be noted, are kept amazingly clean considering that Chatuchak draws some 300,000 shoppers spending a total of more than...
...After four hours of trawling, the mission is all but accomplished. The spoils: a black leather blouson jacket from M. Bogen & Sons of Boston (asking price: 2,000 baht, or $49; final purchase price: 1,200 baht); a pair of olive-green U.S. Army cotton fatigues (700 baht, bargained down to 400); a pair of well-worn Levi's 501s (800 baht, down to 650); a "Made in Hawaii" rayon aloha shirt with coconut-shell buttons (1,000 baht, down to 700); a Lee denim jacket (600 baht, down to 400); a black canvas belt?very Helmut Lang (fixed price...
...then, with victory on the horizon, I blow it, throwing away the last 100 baht on a bunch of wax bananas. Well, every campaign has its casualties, and in Chatuchak it's likely to be your sanity as well as your hundred bucks...