Grilled Rats Are a Tasty Snack

Grilled Rats Are a Tasty Snack In Phitsanulok

In the winter, Phitsanulok locals like to eat “grilled field rats.” The prices of cooked rats then increase to 250 THB per kg. Popular rat dishes include fried field rats, curry field rat, and fried field rats with garlic. Residents believe that eating rats warms the body

PHITSANULOK – January 24, 2013 [PDN]; on a winter’s day, a reporter driving in Phitsanulok province noticed a big poster on the side of the road, which said “Grilled Rats.” The sign was on the roadside along the route going from Sukhothai to Pitsanulok in Tambon Phaikhordorn, about 10 km from Phitsanulok.

The reporter stopped and talked to the rat-selling owner, Mrs. Somboon Yuyen, age 50, who lives on Tharmmul road, Amphur Meuang, Chainart province.

She said that selling grilled rats is a business that provides revenues to many families in the area. In winter, many local people like to eat grilled rats and come to buy her rats. Sometimes there are so many customers, she runs out of grilled rats to sell.

Mrs. Somboon has been selling grilled field rats for about 7 years. In the decade before that, she used to mainly catch the field rats to sell to the grilled rat shops. Back then the price would be 30 THB per kg. Her revenue would total only 200 THB per day.

Then the wholesale rat prices increased to 80-100 THB per kg. However, the grilled rats had a higher price of 150 THB per kg. So Ms. Somboon and her husband began to catch the field rats to grill and sell themselves.

The rat-grilling business was going well, with a steadily increasing number of consumers. So Mrs. Somboon began to go to other provinces to buy more field rats in the lower northern and central Thailand areas.

She bought field rats from rice field owners that fetched high prices according to the demands of the sellers. Prices would average 100 THB per kg of rats, but sometimes reached 150 THB per kg. Mrs. Somboon would freeze the rats and store them, to be grilled later for hungry customers.

Mrs. Somboon said there seems to be more demand for grilled rats than in the past. So she has been traveling around and selling her rats in many lower north provinces, including Chainart province, Pijit province and Pitsanulok province. Business has been good in Phitsanulok, where she has been selling rats for five months, so she has no immediate plans to move.

The prices for her rats vary according to size. For the small size rats, the price is 200 THB per kg; the medium size rats sell for 220 THB per kg; and big rats sell for 250 THB per kg.

Although she considers the prices of rats to be expensive, the people who like to eat rats consider it a cheap price to pay. For people who want to grill their rats at home, her frozen field rats are priced at 180 THB per kg.

Some customers buy 3-5 kg of frozen rats each time to store in their refrigerators, and also buy rats for their relatives and friends. Most of her customers are local people, and some are drivers passing by who notice her shop.

Selling grilled field rats is an occupation that Mrs. Somboon is proud of, and can generate revenues up to 1 million THB a year. Mrs. Somboon averages more than 2,000-3,000 THB daily in sales. During the festivals, she can earn more than 10,000 THB daily.

Mrs. Somboon now enjoys a better financial status because of her business. She bought a pickup truck to buy more rats in many places, and can now build her own house from the money she made selling rats.

 Article and picture taken from Pattayadailynews.

How to save money in London

The aim of this post is to provide some suggestions in how to save money in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I hope you’ll find it useful.

Supermarkets

Central London dwellers miss out many supermarket offers as only big chain supermarkets such as Sainsbury and Tesco have branches here and they mainly have a smaller range of the most popular and more expensive items. Outside the central area there are larger branches together with those of Morrisons and Asda. All of these run special offers and one of the cheapest ways of getting perishable goods is to shop just before closing time especially on a Sunday afternoon, usually before 4.oo pm or 5.00 pm. Other good options are supermarkets such as Netto, Aldi and Lidl (best known as ‘no frills’ supermarkets) to be found in the inner and outer suburbs and are generally cheaper than the well known stores though the range of products is more limited.

Markets

They have struggled in recent years in the face of rising cost and competition from supermarkets selling cheap clothes and fruit. The most central is Berwick Street in Soho, where there may be a chance of picking up unsold food very cheaply at the end of the day. Other more famous markets such as Petticoat lane and Portobello Road now cater more for visitors than for local bargain hunter.

’99p’ and ‘Pound’ Shops

These chain in the last few years have become a familiar sight, except in central London. They offer branded grocery and other goods at much less than other outlets and are also a good source of many household goods. The thing to be aware of is that a few items, because of the standard price, might be dearer than some special offers elsewhere, but they are still well worth a visit for the bargain hunter.

Clothes & Charity Shops

Charity shops are to found on every high street. However, those in the central areas have higher prices and really are more for visitors interested in ‘retro’ clothes. The shops run by national charities often have a corporate and inflexible pricing policy which doesn’t seem to take into account the location. Best bargains are to be found in shops linked to a specific local charity; prices are lower as the managers generally have more discretion. The stock is more mixed as all donations come to that shop rather than being rotated amongst several branches.

Other good places to buy cheap clothes such as t-shirts, underwear and sock, mainstream shops such as Primark and Asda offer the best value, and you can be certain that what you want will almost certainly be in stock.

Information

Londoners have two free morning newspapers on weekdays. The metro carries brief news stories along with TV listings and sports stories, while City AM is very much business orientated. The Standard has been free for a few years and is circulated from about 3 pm. It contains more in depth news and is more politically balanced than in the ‘paid’ days. Local areas have free weekly issues ranging from virtual advert sheets to those such as Camden New Journal which takes a campaigning line with wide coverage of local issues.

If you want internet access, most libraries offers up to an hour free each day to members.

Travel

Travelling is very expensive in London. If you do need to travel often it may be well worth getting an Oyster Card. An Oyster Card will reduce the cost of each bus fare (the cheapest way of travelling in London is by bus) from the extortionate £ 2.20 single to £ 1.30 and you will pay a maximum of £ 4.00 a day for an unlimited number of bus journeys. Day travelcards are cheaper after 9.30 am on Monday to Friday and all day at Weekends and Bank Holidays if you need to use the tube, but can avoid the morning peak.

I hope in the next few weeks to add more suggestions and I’m happy to add yours. Please write to five.countries@yahoo.com and let me know your tips in how to save money in London.