Thailand Street vendors in Bangkok are likened to CIA agents, always present first at the protest scene.

The protest groups often kept the location a last-minute secret in an attempt to bypass the Thai government.

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Rattapol Sukpa, a Bangkok-based butcher, said to catch the trend by following Facebook for hints about the latest protest spots and regularly contacting other street vendors to spread the word.

"I used to sell very well in the past, but it sold out faster at the protest sites," the 19-year-old said as he set up a stand near Victory Monument.

Business has expanded since the protests began in July, when street vendors became a regular sideline of the protests.

The protest movement helps Rattapol better balance work and life, allowing him to sell out before 20 o'clock instead of midnight as usual.

Sour pork and sausage rice balls, a specialty of Thailand's northeastern provinces, dangled like a beaded necklace on a peddler's cart, ready to be fried and served with cabbage in

Some street vendors also carry a motorcycle stovetop, making it easier to get to the gathering spots.

"From days of sales at the protest sites, my income has doubled to 192 dollars a day," the 21-year-old said.

Newly joining the peddlers team after quitting as a rubber worker, Anucha said he agreed to the movement's request, claiming he wouldn't sell his crispy fried chicken at rival events, who belong to

"I have a different political view from the Yellow Vests," Anucha said, referring to the term for monarchy supporters.

"I used to be scared" when I saw the police appear in the protest, but now "I am here every day so I am used to it," Nattapol said.