Birkenstocks

WOW - Birkenstocks for 180 Bhat - that's about 5 dollars - am I lucky or what. Oh wait - there is no real leather anywhere on them, and they'll probably break in a week. It is amazing how much stuff they sell here that is so "real" looking. Of course you can tell they are not really Birkenstocks, but they even had a tag written in German, and the sizing is the same - I can't imagine what kind of sweat shops produce them, given the worries about labor for authentic products. Lewis thinks maybe people put them together in their homes...who knows - Many things at the night market are made by the people, they work on them right there on the spot - but we've also seen many wholesale stores that sell this stuff, and the locals are just trying to make money. It's a weird situation - but the Thai people buy the stuff too, so it's not only for the tourists.