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Hi all,

I am a Chef in my late 20's from Ireland. I have travelled around SE Asia quite extensively for the past 8 years or so and I have always felt like one day I would relocate to the region on a long term basis. Like anyone that has spent time in countries like Thailand, I have a deep love for street food. I have been thinking for a while about the possibilities of opening a street truck in Bangkok which is a city I spent a lot of time in and loved. Being on the other side of the world, gaining information on this topic is difficult so I have a few questions that I hope can be answered by someone with a bit more knowledge than myself.

1. How would a foreign owned business be accepted by locals. Of course I won't be competing with them in the sense of selling Thai food (I lose that battle hands down), instead I would be looking to sell cheap and quick street food from another country, most likely tacos.

2. Start up costs. Aside from the van itself, what other start up costs would I be looking at? I presume I will need a licence to sell my food. How much does this cost, how easy is it to obtain as a foreigner.

3. Legal Issues. I understand that no foreigner can own 100% of a business in Thailand. If I had a resident that could legally own 51%, how much work would they have to do or could I do it all and just use their signature when needed.

4. Visa issues. I have only travelled to Thailand on a tourist visa before, which is a quick and easy process. Obviously this visa would not suffice so what visa would I need and how easy is it to obtain.

5. Harassment. Would I be hassled by local enforcements often purely for my presence there.

6. Would it work? Would a business selling cheap food to locals be a big seller. The food scene is huge in Bangkok, they love to eat but would a foreigner selling non-Thai food from a truck be something that the locals would flock to.

Any other advice would be hugely welcomed. I understand this idea might not be something entirely realistic but if you don't try then you will never know.

Thank you in advance for any replies,
Adam