Thai Election Forces 2-weekend Booze Ban

[Hawkup2000]

What next? Stop traffic across the country so everyone can stand for the national anthem?

Actully it have already been suggested.

Edited December 13, 2007 by Hawkup2000

[hyperdimension]

If you do go out drinking, be sure to wear clean underwear. After all, you wouldn't want to offend Yai the Katoey, who will be your cellmate for the next couple of weeks.

We are still allowed to drink alcohol. You just can't buy or be served alcohol. (Though some people say we can buy if it's in bulk (10L)... is this true?)

Are we allowed to have a picnic in a park and drink alcohol that we pre-purchased on these days?

A friend wants to celebrate his birthday.

[vanalli]

It's a complete disaster. Club owners and promoters in Bangkok were kept in the dark and had to change the dates of a number of high-profile events, costing them money and making them look bad. Nobody has had a clue what the deal is and there is still no official news source published. Think about the businesses that are affected. Most of them don't even know there will be a ban. And all this is for postal votes and for people who can't make the main election date? Barmy. I think Club 808 was actually due to officially open this weekend. Forcing a major, 1,000+ capacity venue to move its opening weekend on a few days' notice is insane.

[Martin]

Remembering my days in Brunei, booze always tastes better if you have procured it in spite of a ban on its sale.

So shouldn't many of us be feeling cheered by this bit of news?

[Guderian]

We are still allowed to drink alcohol. You just can't buy or be served alcohol. (Though some people say we can buy if it's in bulk (10L)... is this true?)

I asked about the 10 litre rule at Lotus a few months ago. They told me it only applies to 'whiskey', i.e. spirits, not to beer. I didn't ask about wine.

Are we allowed to have a picnic in a park and drink alcohol that we pre-purchased on these days?

A friend wants to celebrate his birthday.

It gets worse. Someone in Pattaya (or rather his Thai wife) has reported that you will not even be allowed to consume alcohol in your own home - though I don't see how they could ever enforce that . Just keep the noise down if you are having a party at home .

[sweetchariot]

Anyone ever noticed how many more drunks there seem to be around on these "dry" days?

It's just that little more fun to do something if it's not allowed (especially if it's only temporarily not allowed, so not really seen as a major illegal thing to do)

Haha. Reminds me of the Swede in CM on the King's b'day last year. Got leathered, went to 7-11 to buy some more booze and was refused, so spraypainted 4 or 5 pictures of the King. 20 years he got for Lese Majeste, but I think the King pardoned him earlier this year.

The moral - don't get pissed and take out your frustrations on the Thai's - you will come off worse.

[monty]

We are still allowed to drink alcohol. You just can't buy or be served alcohol. (Though some people say we can buy if it's in bulk (10L)... is this true?)

Are we allowed to have a picnic in a park and drink alcohol that we pre-purchased on these days?

A friend wants to celebrate his birthday.

No consumption is allowed either, but I would guess they can enforce this only in public places!

On the King's birthday in walking street Pattaya, the Tourist Police and their volunteers were actually confiscating alcoholic drinks right out of the front of the noses of the tourists who were consuming said drinks!

Not that I have any problems with that, but is does indicate how serious they are taking these things, and supposedly election alcohol bans are taken the most serious of all!

The 10 liter rule applies only to the regulated sales hours of alcohol, nothing to do with alcohol free days such as on elections. You can buy wholesale (10 liter+) outside of the normal hours, which are between 12:00 and 14:00 and between 17:00 and midnight. Applies to both beers and spirits.

[torrenova]

I'm sorry that some posters seem to think its ok to mess with people's businesses and their livlihoods and I thanks those on my side of the fence for their kind words.

We have always been willing to accept closure on HM King's birthday. Go back some years and that was the only day of closure. Last year it was completely open house on 5th December. Some years edicts come out from somewhere saying close this day or close that day. Each year is different to the last. You cannot plan and neither should you have to potentially black out 40 or so days in the year in case you are going to be closed.

The election as I understand it could have been called at any time but in order to do so before year end, the available dates were 9th, 16th or 23rd December. Now you don't have to be mastermind to know how Thailand has been trying to resurrect tourism after the tsunami of 3 years ago and now you have a man made economic tsunami of potentially more catestrophic economic proportions.

Picking the 9th might have been too close to the King's birthday but no reason not to go with the 16th. Imagine if you will a first time or second time visitor to thailand for the week 14th to 23rd December. He will potentially face 4 or more days when all alcoholic beverages will be off limits. Next year he will go somewhere else and forever more.

As for small businesses well let me say that the closures this month will cost me and my family including my baby daughter hundreds of thousands of baht. Those who work for us will be hurt as well and their families who rely upon income from their children will have to go without. They in turn have less to put into the local economies and very simply, the whole economy will suffer by billions of baht. This is not deferred spending, it is lost tourist revenue. it is senseless and totally avoidable.

As we digested the likely closures on 22nd and 23rd, plans for this weekend became more important. To find out that we may be closed and at this date and time, some 24 hours before the ban, we still do not know is unforgiveable. We cannot keep rescheduling things and we cannot continue to lose out at the whim of those whose snouts are already far enough in the trough.

When the dust settles in the New Year we will start to count the cost. The net result is going to be far greater than I think people imagine and I for one do not wan to think just yet about how I explain to my staff that their New Year bonus is reduced or non existent because their government and junta have cost me that amount many times over.

[tokyosheep]

total childish BS, when will this country grow up?. Its pathetic.

Am I alowed to say this...? I,am half western, and it shames me to see this sort of nonsense going on.No wonder so many westeners laugh at thailand- I cannot balme them.

I only hope that oneday all this will change

I,ll drink as much as I like law or no law

[Prakanong]

" now you have a man made economic tsunami of potentially more catestrophic economic proportions."

Oh the hyperbole - incredible how you can equate the loss of 250,000 lives with the pockets of farang bar owners in Thailand many of whom are operating on the fringes of legality and many who are just outright pimps!

Its the business envorinment you are in - you might not know specifically the changes that might happen in Thailand but you do know they are very possible - it comes with the territory

Two weekends are gong to have such a catastrophic effect - maybe your business's are not on such a sound footing then this might be a blessing in disguise that get's rid of the flotsam and jetsam!

Edited December 13, 2007 by Prakanong

[Smithson]

Imagine if you will a first time or second time visitor to thailand for the week 14th to 23rd December. He will potentially face 4 or more days when all alcoholic beverages will be off limits.

Isn't it Fri night, Sat and Sun (until 12pm), which would be 6 nights?

[Paul123456]

WOW - imagine that - a tourist that may not be able to drink alcohol. WOW!!! Would he be alright?? Do you think he'd survive???

This is a disaster.. Quick lets all complain and make plans to break the laws. Lets all be ignorant self interested rich westerners because we can't have some alcoholic drink. Obviously the Thai people can't run their own country - it is best if drunk Westerners do it.

Haha. Wake up.

[cclub75]

If I do remember, in april 2006 for the general elections, we didn't have this system of "pre-election days".

There was no general elections in 2006.

Well Georges... you have a very short memory !

Thaksin ? Dissolution ? Elections boycotted by the opposition ? Allo ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_legislat...n%2C_April_2006

[torrenova]

" now you have a man made economic tsunami of potentially more catestrophic economic proportions."

Oh the hyperbole - incredible how you can equate the loss of 250,000 lives with the pockets of farang bar owners in Thailand many of whom are operating on the fringes of legality and many who are just outright pimps!

Its the business envorinment you are in - you might not know specifically the changes that might happen in Thailand but you do know they are very possible - it comes with the territory

Two weekends are gong to have such a catastrophic effect - maybe your business's are not on such a sound footing then this might be a blessing in disguise that get's rid of the flotsam and jetsam!

Kind hearted fellow aren't you ? The term economic tsunami was used as a metaphor in context of the financial impact of the reduction in tourist income for Thailand following the physical tsunami. Only you have taken that out of context and compared it to the terrible loss of human life. I pity you.

That said, it is a sad fact that hundreds of thousands of Thais will be immediately affected and the consequent reduction in disposable income will impact further as the economic model works through its cycle.

Imagine if you will a first time or second time visitor to thailand for the week 14th to 23rd December. He will potentially face 4 or more days when all alcoholic beverages will be off limits.

Isn't it Fri night, Sat and Sun (until 12pm), which would be 6 nights?

It is my understanding that it would not be ordered until 12am and thus the 3rd night on each occassion would be relatively normal.

Edited December 13, 2007 by torrenova

[distortedlink]

For those who are well stocked up with the demon drink, should be kind enough to invite those without, over to their homes for a booze up.

[parmi]

Thai election forces 2-weekend booze ban

BANGKOK: -- No alcohol will be served to expats, tourists or local residents in bars and restaurants over the next two weekends nationwide due to the oncoming election.

The first dry days will be 14, 15 and 16 December, pre-election days for a few million Thais who registered to vote early.

Thaivisa has been informed that no alcohol is allowed to be served nationwide between Friday 14th at 6pm until Sunday 16th at midnight.

Elections on the 23rd will mean no alcohol will be sold from 6pm on the 22nd till midnight on the 23rd of December.

Practically this means two or three dry days in the two weekends ahead, although some tourist areas tend to be lenient once it's past 7pm on election day.

Please be aware that local rules could apply. Big hotels are not likely to be affected.

--thaivisa.com 2007-12-13

AS i have stated yesterday, SOI COWBOY BARS OPEN 14 15 AND 16, BUT CLOSED 23 24, ,,,YOU WILL be able to get as much booze as you can get down you at< FANNY BAR,,JUNGLE JIM,,,MOONSHINE AND TOY BAY > on soi cowboy, open regular hrs, so all you guys that need a drink, cum on down and bring a friend, tell them STEVE sent you.

enjoy,

[Prakanong]

"That said, it is a sad fact that hundreds of thousands of Thais will be immediately affected and the consequent reduction in disposable income will impact further as the economic model works through its cycle."

You chose the term economic tsunami and so belittled a quarter of a million dead - its not thr Asian financial Crisis all over again either - its a few days of no booze - get a grip on reality

Cutting staff salary are you and assume all else will lose too?

I think most would value a step towards civilian government and hopefully a brighter economic future to have wider benefits than the narrow constituency of farang bar owners and rich western tourists being inconvenienced for a few days.

Is it the bar fines (pimping) money the owners are scared of losing or the 15THB a beer profit?

[Artisi]

Get over it.

This is Thailand and the Thai governemnt make the rules. Simple solution, if you don't like it - leave or don't come here.

[ozzydom]

This topic should be moved to the comedy section (if we had one) To realise there are so many expats getting wound up because the hotels and bars cant serve alchohol during such an important period in Thailand is hilarious.

Give it a break guys , if it worries you to that extent then you have a problem and not the people who made the ruling.

As guests , would you smoke in another persons home if you were asked not to?

Well ,we are guests in this country and are expected to live by Thai regulations and this is one of them,like it or lump it.

[Paul123456]

This topic should be moved to the comedy section (if we had one) To realise there are so many expats getting wound up because the hotels and bars cant serve alchohol during such an important period in Thailand is hilarious.

Give it a break guys , if it worries you to that extent then you have a problem and not the people who made the ruling.

As guests , would you smoke in another persons home if you were asked not to?

Well ,we are guests in this country and are expected to live by Thai regulations and this is one of them,like it or lump it.

YAY!!!!!

And about the lose of money. As far as I can tell, maybe lots of wives and kids and families will have extra money this month as the husbands can't spend their pay on beer. Seems good to me and beneficial to the economy. Perhaps they could spend the money on useful things or paying off loans???

[stag4]

WOW - imagine that - a tourist that may not be able to drink alcohol. WOW!!! Would he be alright?? Do you think he'd survive???

This is a disaster.. Quick lets all complain and make plans to break the laws. Lets all be ignorant self interested rich westerners because we can't have some alcoholic drink. Obviously the Thai people can't run their own country - it is best if drunk Westerners do it.

Haha. Wake up.

You are missing the point!

I f the ban is enforced,it is not just a case of tourists not being able to consume alcohol.

All the entertainment and night life areas, bars with music, live shows, disco's etc. will be CLOSED.

Great for tourism, hey.

[Paul123456]

Oh - yep I get it now. You are totally correct this is a massive disaster.

Ha ha. Whatever.

[jts-khorat]

Get over it.

This is Thailand and the Thai governemnt make the rules. Simple solution, if you don't like it - leave or don't come here.

... and another of those shallow-minded and #lazy# people Thai Visa could do without.

Why am I calling you lazy?

Repeating an argument that was in nearly the exact same form just a few posts above, so you are obviously speaking mindlessly whatever jumps to your tongue instead of reading up first what was already said. Makes for very repetitive and boring threads for those who actually take the time and wade through endless loops of repetition and is at best unpolite.

Why am I calling you shallow-minded?

Following your own argument, discussion about Thailand and its customs and laws makes no sense. So I wonder why are you participating in such a discussion. Next time you try to say something, think it through yourself.

[hyperdimension]

Are we allowed to have a picnic in a park and drink alcohol that we pre-purchased on these days?

A friend wants to celebrate his birthday.

No consumption is allowed either, but I would guess they can enforce this only in public places!

Where does it say that consumption is forbidden?

BANGKOK: -- No alcohol will be served to expats, tourists or local residents in bars and restaurants over the next two weekends nationwide due to the oncoming election.

The first dry days will be 14, 15 and 16 December, pre-election days for a few million Thais who registered to vote early.

Thaivisa has been informed that no alcohol is allowed to be served nationwide between Friday 14th at 6pm until Sunday 16th at midnight.

Elections on the 23rd will mean no alcohol will be sold from 6pm on the 22nd till midnight on the 23rd of December.

Practically this means two or three dry days in the two weekends ahead, although some tourist areas tend to be lenient once it's past 7pm on election day.

Please be aware that local rules could apply. Big hotels are not likely to be affected.

--thaivisa.com 2007-12-13

If consumption was actually forbidden, how difficult would it have been to write "no alcohol is to be consumed" instead of "no alcohol will be served"? The latter is so much more of a roundabout way of saying that consumption is forbidden if that was what they meant to say. Buying or being served alcohol is not the same action as consuming it.

I know that this ThaiVisa news item is not a formal decree, and I can list a few logical flaws in the piece itself. Where can we find a formal decree to print out and show as an item of support in case we are challenged by authorities?

Edited December 13, 2007 by hyperdimension

[zorro1]

WOW! - what a pathetic group of people / alcoholics.

See ya

WOW what a pathetic response No wonder you said see ya. Making a ridicioulus generalisation and then running away makes you look a bit pathetic. Unfortunately you missed the major point of this thread and I would be happy to explain it to you but your probably in the gay forum poofta bashing...

[ozzydom]

WOW - imagine that - a tourist that may not be able to drink alcohol. WOW!!! Would he be alright?? Do you think he'd survive???

This is a disaster.. Quick lets all complain and make plans to break the laws. Lets all be ignorant self interested rich westerners because we can't have some alcoholic drink. Obviously the Thai people can't run their own country - it is best if drunk Westerners do it.

Haha. Wake up.

You are missing the point!

I f the ban is enforced,it is not just a case of tourists not being able to consume alcohol.

All the entertainment and night life areas, bars with music, live shows, disco's etc. will be CLOSED.

Great for tourism, hey.

Nowhere does it say venues will be closed, everything can proceed as normal except for serving alchohol, perhaps some enterprising bar owner will concoct non-alchohol punch for his customers, I,m sure the bar-girls would feel a small sense of relief that they dont have to have a grog smelling guy puffing foul breath all over them.

[samuijack]

It doesn't say that we are forbidden to consume alcohol. It only says no alcohol will be "served" or "sold".

This means it is okay to drink our own alcohol, and to drink it regardless of the location.

It's a bit like the time-of-day restriction on alcohol sales. You can't buy alcohol before 11am or between 2pm and 5pm, but you can consume it any time of the day.

If we had left bottles of whisky with our name on it at a bar or club that were purchased on a date prior to the 14th of December 2007, can we consume them?

Would any bars or clubs allow BYO?

I think you will find, that resorts who provide accomadation and have a TOT license will be allowed to sell alchol to residents, as they are deemed to be part of the tourism industry. Do you think the boys in brown will check every resort in order to verify who is and who is not a resident.

I know from previous experience that a lot of cups of coffee !!!!!! will be drunk over these days

[fft100]

As for small businesses well let me say that the closures this month will cost me and my family including my baby daughter hundreds of thousands of baht. Those who work for us will be hurt as well and their families who rely upon income from their children will have to go without. They in turn have less to put into the local economies and very simply, the whole economy will suffer by billions of baht. This is not deferred spending, it is lost tourist revenue. it is senseless and totally avoidable.

So, closing 6 days will cost you 'hundreds of thousands of baht' - so at least 200,000. wow !

1. you seem to be making enough money the rest of the month to survive quite nicely.

2. you are not in the same league as the average small thai bar owner.

3. with those kind of earnings, you could give your staff a xmas bonus and pay them for those days (do they know how much you make ?).

4. i hate to think what your mark up is.

[Prakanong]

As for small businesses well let me say that the closures this month will cost me and my family including my baby daughter hundreds of thousands of baht. Those who work for us will be hurt as well and their families who rely upon income from their children will have to go without. They in turn have less to put into the local economies and very simply, the whole economy will suffer by billions of baht. This is not deferred spending, it is lost tourist revenue. it is senseless and totally avoidable.

So, closing 6 days will cost you 'hundreds of thousands of baht' - so at least 200,000. wow !

1. you seem to be making enough money the rest of the month to survive quite nicely.

2. you are not in the same league as the average small thai bar owner.

3. with those kind of earnings, you could give your staff a xmas bonus and pay them for those days (do they know how much you make ?).

4. i hate to think what your mark up is.

Pattaya beer bar's must be doing well these days - how has GDP fallen below 6% I wonder?

[stag4]

WOW - imagine that - a tourist that may not be able to drink alcohol. WOW!!! Would he be alright?? Do you think he'd survive???

This is a disaster.. Quick lets all complain and make plans to break the laws. Lets all be ignorant self interested rich westerners because we can't have some alcoholic drink. Obviously the Thai people can't run their own country - it is best if drunk Westerners do it.

Haha. Wake up.

You are missing the point!

I f the ban is enforced,it is not just a case of tourists not being able to consume alcohol.

All the entertainment and night life areas, bars with music, live shows, disco's etc. will be CLOSED.

Great for tourism, hey.

Nowhere does it say venues will be closed, everything can proceed as normal except for serving alchohol, perhaps some enterprising bar owner will concoct non-alchohol punch for his customers, I,m sure the bar-girls would feel a small sense of relief that they dont have to have a grog smelling guy puffing foul breath all over them.

Get REAL

Are you trying to tell me that the Entertainment bars, Irish bar, etc. on walking St in Pattaya for example are going to stay open & sell orange juice!