Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. There are many small streets and alleys full of shops and vendors selling all types of goods. It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community since they moved from their old site some 200 years ago to make way for the construction of Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace. Yaowarat Road is also well known for its variety of food, and at night turns into a large “food street” that draws tourists and locals from all over the city.
Shark fin restaurants are everywhere in Asia. Yes, it’s an ancient tradition; they say it brings you luck… but the price for nature to pay is too high. Unable to properly maneuver without fins, the sharks bleed out and sink to the ocean floor. Over 72 mlns of sharks are killed every year worldwide. Shark populations cannot grow fast enough to sustain this enormous removal each year, which is why sharks numbers have declined so dramatically in recent years.About 1/3 of all shark spices are close to extinction.
Shark fin is singled as particularly destructive because fishermen often hack off sharks’ fins and wastefully chuck their carcasses into the sea.
If you are not deeply rooted in Chinese or Japanese tradition why not try restrain from killing nature and switch your preferences to other delicacies of Asian cuisine? Even in Asia, tide slowly turning against shark fin soup.