I’ve been to so many street fairs and food courts over the years, I’ve lost count. But I always like to browse new ones. And they seem to pop up here in Hua Hin frequently. The latest was the OTOP Fair, which focuses on village-made products but also has a number of the usual food stalls.

Two stalls were selling spices, ground down and likely with some sort of fish sauce added and sold by the ounce, or whatever amount they were using. At center stage were these huge piles or reddish-brown or tan spices. All the name tags were in Thai so no way could I know what each spice was.

In front of one of the stalls, however, was an interesting twist – and a good marketing idea. The vendor had put a tray of fresh finger vegetables on a platter with a selection of the various spices he was selling. Free samples. There were even plastic eating utensils.

I watched as his idea turned passersby into customers.