An old man was walking down a dimly lit alley in Chinatown

As I walked from alley to alley, it seemed that I had smoothly entered Chinatown. I didn't see any Paifang at the entrance to Chinatown, but I did notice an increase in the number of Chinese characters on the street signs. However, in Bangkok, it is not that unusual to see signs with Chinese characters outside of Chinatown. There are quite a few overseas Chinese living in this city outside of Chinatown. According to one theory, overseas Chinese in Thailand are often assimilated into Thailand, and although they don't show conspicuous friendship to China, they often use Chinese characters on their store signs, perhaps to show their roots.

In any case, in Thailand, as in other Southeast Asian countries, the overseas Chinese seem to hold a great deal of power both economically and politically. The 31st Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, is also an overseas Chinese. Thaksin, who made a fortune from a business he started as a police officer, is now said to be the richest man in Thailand. Politically and economically successful, he is the ideal image of an overseas Chinese.

As I walked through the narrow alleyway, an old man came walking from the other side with a cane. I couldn't tell from his appearance whether he was also an overseas Chinese or not.