Thailand Weighs Designated Drinking Zones for Tourists

[JonnyF]

Yes they should open up specific tourist areas that are excluded from these silly religious puritanical practices. For example, beach areas in Phuket/Pattaya/Rayong/Hua Hin, Sukhumvit 2-24 in Bangkok, the moat area in Chaing Mai etc. 

 

It makes no sense to invite people to your country, then ban them from having a beer or a glass of wine with their meal because of a religious day of a religion that they do not adhere to and a "prestigious day" that they have not even heard of. 

 

The same applies to elections, and the stupid 2pm - 5pm ban. 

 

Even if you don't drink, it affects you because many places choose to close that day, or if they do open they are pretty much empty and devoid of atmosphere. 

[ChaiyaTH]

6 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Even if you don't drink, it affects you because many places choose to close that day, or if they do open they are pretty much empty and devoid of atmosphere. 

Correct it is almost more about the ongoing atmosphere and business itself than it even is about the alcohol specifically to satisfy people lol. I do not even drink frequent anymore, just once per 1-2 weeks. Yet I do know and care.

[Mark17AA]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Quit the zone fiasco... just open or close make your mind up one way or the other.

Zone.. whats that, surely it will be a HUB of Drinking

[Mark17AA]

Zone.. I'm not sure what that is.. do they actually mean HUB for drinking? 🍻

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Hahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Fair play. 

 

You get to double- or triple-charge foreigners for entry fees, we get to drink 24-hours/day.

Pattaya has always been an alcohol consumption zone, free entry with large Changs in bars at 70 baht.

Should have been called Martini Town.

[Joe Boy Walton]

So, Buddha was a bit of a tourist back in the day, mostly Northern India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. His disciples liked a bit of a drink (and other mind altering substances) so he subscibed them to asceticism to cure them of this which, when fully adopted, cleared his and their minds and brought their focus into the Nagas, or Serpent Beings. The worship of these "snakes" has evolved, in time, to the activities which are currently the drawcards and showcases of places like Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai. You can get a good "snake" massage at any of these places (and more), at any time. So there you have it, good old Buddha, a forward thinker and the saviour of the SE Asian tourist industry. By the way, in Tibet, Buddha is known as Don Grub, I kid you not.

[Surasak]

Bars in tourist areas will ban the entry of Thia's on these days then? Yeah, right!

[paul1804]

It would be very simple to make all hotels & restaurants allowed to serve alcohol as per their licensed operating hours like most developed country's so no 2 - 5pm restrictions & no alcohol free holy days!! But maybe thats too simple for Thailand who loves complications and hanging on to draconian outdated laws that make no sense!!!

 

[Surasak]

6 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

It would be very simple to make all hotels & restaurants allowed to serve alcohol as per their licensed operating hours like most developed country's so no 2 - 5pm restrictions & no alcohol free holy days!! But maybe thats too simple for Thailand who loves complications and hanging on to draconian outdated laws that make no sense!!!

 

Thailand and sense in the same sentence!!!

[Purdey]

Alien alcoholics this way please |→

[Kaopad999]

4 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

It has nothing to do with alcohol neither it is 'just a few days', you have no idea how many proper days business owners lose alone. Not to mention tourists coming over for X days in particular cities to then find them as dead zones due to this.

All while none of us are even 'buddhists' and even locals know their ways to get it, most local places will even sell it as if nothing happens as soon you are out of the bigger city or centers.

Last but not least, the repeatedly focus on 'tourists and alcohol' being the issue rather than Thais killing each other on the roads with 20k deaths a year. Or the fact that most domestic abuse and debts come from lao kao behavior on farms.

 

Man, I would smash these politicians, you not even need to prepare for any debate. They are like kids. They can barely think on a 3D level let alone a 4D or 5D level which they are supposed to do. No wonder they fear any new wind arriving.

Let's be real here.. I doubt most ASEAN NOW members care much about how much local businesses lose on Buddhist holidays. Most of the uproar here is likely from people who can't bear the thought of not being able to sit on their barstool and drink from 9 AM to 10 PM with their 20 pints of beer. That's what I'm really referring to.

[digger70]

Thailand Weighs Designated Drinking Zones for Tourists 

 

Get over it .Change the law for everyone 

If people want to drink there's no law that's going to stop them .

Laws are there to be broken , Just look around.

  People break the law Any second of the day. From Traffic laws to Corruption. 

 

 

 

[geisha]

So why do the government want to change the law now ???Nothing wrong in having a few  religious holidays respected in my opinion. If anyone is desperate, they just stack up their fridge , even in hotels. Normally the government do not give a flying buck about the tourists wills and wants, and usually just moan about the continuing bar fights etc.,Maybe they think they’re loosing taxes on those few days ? Idiotic. 

[richard_smith237]

25 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Let's be real here.. I doubt most ASEAN NOW members care much about how much local businesses lose on Buddhist holidays. Most of the uproar here is likely from people who can't bear the thought of not being able to sit on their barstool and drink from 9 AM to 10 PM with their 20 pints of beer. That's what I'm really referring to.

 

Not really....   I don't think thats 'real' - not in my experience anyway... 

 

Rules that appear unnecessary get up peoples noses... 

 

So... for those of us who might 'pop away for a weekend' and relax... only to find out when we get there that we can't have a bottle of wine with dinner get irritated by what seems 'petty and unnecessary rules'... (yes, I know that shows some religeos insensitivity - but thats the way it is).

 

So... we have to look ahead, then search if 'going away on xxx weekend' involves dry days... 

Otherwise we have to act like children and 'smuggle our own G&T or Wine into a restaurant etc'... 

 

Can't go a day without a beer you say  ????...  I haven't had a beer since Sunday, just because I didn't feel like one thats all...  But when I do 'feel like a beer' I don't want silly rules to generate a minor element of frustration. 

 

In truth the 'non-beer days' don't bother me too much, its easy enough not to have a beer or plan around it... But for those travelling from overseas I can see why this would be more of an annoyance and authorities are quite right to try and deal with this in the interests of tourism.

 

 

Even sillier than that is the 2-5 ban on selling booze.....  It catches me out so often... 

I nip into a supermakert (Tops / BigC, Villa etc) to pick up some items.... I might have friends popping around that evening etc and need a little stock up... etc... But no, I can't by the beer, I can't buy the Gin etc...    so I have to get what I want, then head back out later after 5pm when its peak-traffic.... Its just an irritant... 

... Plan the day before !!!... Sure - but it doesn't always work out like that.

 

 

[khunPer]

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand is considering creating designated zones for alcohol consumption to cater to certain tourists, a move highlighted by the Public Health Minister.

Sounds just like being exhibited in the smoking rooms in airports...😳 – perhaps it's better to just stay home the few religious nights in a year...

[Speedhump]

Ludicrous idea. Plus the worst abusers of alcohol are Thai themselves. How many drunken farang kill their neighbours, wives, friends etc. with guns, axes, and knives while boozed up? Traditional values indeed....

[Oz82]

5 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Do people really struggle to go withoput alcohol just for a few days of the year? 

It's not about that. It's about tourists who may only be in Thailand for a few days and a sudden ban can disrupt their holiday plans.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

18 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

THey need to raise prices of alcohol like Spain has done to keep the trash and Benidorm British crew away. 

Imported alcohol already has 300-400% taxes on it and is significantly more expensive than in countries that don't tax the hell out of it. Raising prices/taxes will not deter your favorite Benidorm crew, and will just harm ALL tourists. The only way to deter low budget tourists is to make everyone get a visa and prove financial viability - but that's unlikely to happen.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

2 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Most of the uproar here is likely from people who can't bear the thought of not being able to sit on their barstool and drink from 9 AM to 10 PM with their 20 pints of beer.

Why does it hurt you that people enjoy themselves? If they want to sit on their barstool all day and drink let them - as long as they're not hurting anybody they're actually providing value to the economy. But regardless- if you really want to drink on those days there are places open, just not public facing. If it's happening anyway then why not make it legal and official instead of those venues handing out brown envelopes? oh wait...

[Kaopad999]

1 hour ago, Oz82 said:

It's not about that. It's about tourists who may only be in Thailand for a few days and a sudden ban can disrupt their holiday plans.

The first time I came to Thailand 15 years ago for a vacation, I encountered a Buddhist holiday that I was unaware of. It didn’t affect my vacation at all. I simply respected the tradition and the local laws, and had a good 24 hours without drinking. As I said, it only affects people who are dependent on alcohol.

[wavodavo]

On 3/6/2025 at 11:16 AM, Robert_Smith said:

Religion - what a load of hogwash! 

 

Regards,

Bob.

Congratulations Boby Boy that's the most sensible statement that you have ever offered on this forum.

[Robert_Smith]

9 minutes ago, wavodavo said:

Congratulations Boby Boy that's the most sensible statement that you have ever offered on this forum.

...I offer nothing BUT sensible statements!

 

regards,

bob.

[watchcat]

On 3/5/2025 at 9:39 AM, snoop1130 said:

Thailand is considering creating designated zones for alcohol consumption

 

Sounds like they're planning a military/army camp.

[StayinThailand2much]

"Drinking zones for certain tourists"... Count me out, Thailand... 🙄

[CK1980]

On 3/5/2025 at 9:09 PM, DonniePeverley said:

THey need to raise prices of alcohol like Spain has done to keep the trash and Benidorm British crew away. 

Yeah brilliant idea. Raise the price of alcohol and indiscriminately target everyone (including Thais) who like to enjoy a drink. Genius.

 

By the way, what happened to you in Benidorm dude? 😂

[richard_smith237]

20 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

The first time I came to Thailand 15 years ago for a vacation, I encountered a Buddhist holiday that I was unaware of. It didn’t affect my vacation at all. I simply respected the tradition and the local laws, and had a good 24 hours without drinking. As I said, it only affects people who are dependent on alcohol.

No it doesn't only affect people who are dependent on alcohol - thats a puritanical myth spread from the virtue signalling soap boxers... 

 

... its the same folk who will argue... "if you can't go without booze for a day you have an alcohol dependency issue".... 

 

The reality for many is somewhat different - we don't want the calendars to ensure we don't get caught out....   we just live a normal life, some days having a beer with dinner or mates, some days not... 

......   then we decided to go out for dinner with mates only to find this 'booze ban' which then becomes an irritant.... as its nice to have wine with a nice meal or wash spicy Thai food down with a beer..... 

 

The 2-5 selling ban rule is just as ridiculous.

 

 

I can't say the rule has ever affected me 'greatly'....   but its irritated me at times because its caused inconvenience or an irritation at having to scupper plans....

 

IF I were a tourist, had spent plenty of money on flights to Greece or Vietnam etc - stepped of the plane, showered up and got ready to go out for dinner only to be told... sorry no wine / beer... I'd be pretty dumbfounded, and I think its a fair point to understand that any tourist arriving in Thailand would feel the same under similar circumstances.

 

 

 

 

[madone]

On 3/5/2025 at 5:41 PM, Tropicalevo said:

 

This translates as - brown envelopes please.

 

what a tired cliche.

[paul1804]

On 3/6/2025 at 1:12 PM, Kaopad999 said:

Let's be real here.. I doubt most ASEAN NOW members care much about how much local businesses lose on Buddhist holidays. Most of the uproar here is likely from people who can't bear the thought of not being able to sit on their barstool and drink from 9 AM to 10 PM with their 20 pints of beer. That's what I'm really referring to.

I think you are referring to a very small group of people, the laws make little or no sense and are outdated like many other laws in Thailand. 90 day reporting to name just 1

[black tabby12345]

Designated Drinking Zone for foreign tourists?

 Aliens Only Bar?

 

Something like this?

 

 

 

[black tabby12345]

On 3/5/2025 at 11:00 PM, still kicking said:

Yes,  Auschwitz is open for tourists

 

Could be the Ideal Location?

Quite isolated from the Population Center.

And, Walled.

This way, no drunk riff raffs can make any messes among the rest of  the population.