When Will The Madness End?

[kankaroo]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days

[chingy_]

no alcohol sales in the daytime

[cdnvic]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days   

It's Thailand, these things happen, get used to it. There's less restriction on booze sales in Cambodia yes, but its littered with landmines, the infrastructure is way worse, and law and order is sketchy at best. However if not having to plan ahead means more to you I bid you Bon Voyage matey!

cv

[pedro01]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

[Tarragona]

The alcohol sales thing is one of those old laws that is still on the books that they suddenly decided to enforce. Revolutionary Council Decree # 111 or soemthing like that. It may have made sense at the time??

[Thetyim]

I can see both sides of this .

Yes it is not important if you are without beer for a few hours but it is annoying that you do not have the freedom to buy when you feel like it.

Why do you buy at Big C ? You can buy a case at the wholesaler.

The wholesalers still sell all day I think and they should be cheaper

[thaistick]

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer.

I hope that usual case of beer isn't daily.A case could last me a month.Now talk Pepsi One and I'll go through half a case a day.

[lampard10]

I am beginning to wonder if people actually read what is written on Thai visa most of the time,before trying to start a topic that is so stale and used so many times before that people are getting fed up with it. I started the original topic last year,pleading for help from anyone that actually knew the rules. Since then,I have read in various magazines,spotted on different websites,read loads of threads on Thai visa and heard first hand from reliable sources,about 30 or 40 different people that have all one thing in common. ie they are the first and only people in the whole of Thailand to have come across this problem.

Running a pub that abides by these crazy rules is also something else,but one must,if it is a high profile establishment like ours. The number of people that come in and when I point to the sign say things like

' That bar down the road sells drink in the afternoon'

I have finished with saying 'Go there then' now I retort with

' The man in that shop over there killed his wife,but I'm not going to'

We have actually been checked up on three times.........................................any way as I said people are fed up with it by now,so I hope in six months time we don't get another topic started called.

' I can't get a drink in the afternoon' although by then I hope this problem to have been resolved.

[Jai Dee]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days   

This has been discussed at length in other threads.

Bottom line... get used to it, adjust your thinking, accept it...

If you can't then maybe Cambodia is more to your liking.

[Kerryd]

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

6 AM ! That's about the time I'm usually staggering home from where ever it was I spent the night !

Certainly in no condition to hit the gym at that time (passing out on the equipment annoys the other users, and scares the gym staff !)

[lampard10]

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

6 AM ! That's about the time I'm usually staggering home from where ever it was I spent the night !

Certainly in no condition to hit the gym at that time (passing out on the equipment annoys the other users, and scares the gym staff !)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Obviously later closing times in Kabul

[Ajarn]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My sentiments, too.

[international]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

man, you are the one who is completly disconnected.

You try getting up at 6 from monday to saturday working 15 hours a day and then wont you like to go out on saturday nights? or even have a beer for lunch.. i am french so wine... it would be nice just to relax, not all people feel the gym love... some people like to relax having lunch and drink, when u are in bangkok and need to drive for so long to get a good bottle of wine for ur engagment proposal trust me mate when they tell u they can't sell alchool, then u realise that.... something is wrong...

[Kerryd]

Obviously later closing times in Kabul

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wish I knew ! I've heard rumours of "foreigner only" drinking places (like the Press Club), but unfortunately, the only time I get to cut loose is after I've left here. (We have a strict policy about alcohol on camp, 2 beer (or glasses of wine) per person, per day, period. Any abuse of the policy results in immediate dismissal)

When in LOS though, I'm often staggering home just when everyone else is going to work it seems. It seems to amuse the landlady when I say "Good Night" at 6 or 7 am

[pedro01]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

man, you are the one who is completly disconnected.

You try getting up at 6 from monday to saturday working 15 hours a day and then wont you like to go out on saturday nights? or even have a beer for lunch.. i am french so wine... it would be nice just to relax, not all people feel the gym love... some people like to relax having lunch and drink, when u are in bangkok and need to drive for so long to get a good bottle of wine for ur engagment proposal trust me mate when they tell u they can't sell alchool, then u realise that.... something is wrong...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Err - actually, I get up at 5:45 to go to the gym & I run a company and work long hours.

The point here is that not being able to get a drink mid-afternoon is such a minor issue - I beleive the people it affects the most are those that need a break from it...

It certainly hasn't affected me in any major way - a few times I've been out & had a coke instead of a wine but SO WHAT ?

[international]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

man, you are the one who is completly disconnected.

You try getting up at 6 from monday to saturday working 15 hours a day and then wont you like to go out on saturday nights? or even have a beer for lunch.. i am french so wine... it would be nice just to relax, not all people feel the gym love... some people like to relax having lunch and drink, when u are in bangkok and need to drive for so long to get a good bottle of wine for ur engagment proposal trust me mate when they tell u they can't sell alchool, then u realise that.... something is wrong...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Err - actually, I get up at 5:45 to go to the gym & I run a company and work long hours.

The point here is that not being able to get a drink mid-afternoon is such a minor issue - I beleive the people it affects the most are those that need a break from it...

It certainly hasn't affected me in any major way - a few times I've been out & had a coke instead of a wine but SO WHAT ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

let me ask u this... If someone jumped off a window will you fallow? people are different mate, they have theri own habits and should not change them for the benefice of a law which is out of context... it is farfeched to my view... congratulation on keeping in good shape...NOT EVERYBODY HAS TIME TO... what has that gotta to do with having a glass of wine for lunch? what has the gym have to do with anything???...

[theviking]

Agree with the last topic here.

Live and let live.

To make a lot of silly laws, just to keep people in chains, is just to confirm that los soon is turning completely into a police regime.

BTW...topicstarter: you are free to relocate to wherever you want. There are no one who force you to stay here, is it?

[pedro01]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

man, you are the one who is completly disconnected.

You try getting up at 6 from monday to saturday working 15 hours a day and then wont you like to go out on saturday nights? or even have a beer for lunch.. i am french so wine... it would be nice just to relax, not all people feel the gym love... some people like to relax having lunch and drink, when u are in bangkok and need to drive for so long to get a good bottle of wine for ur engagment proposal trust me mate when they tell u they can't sell alchool, then u realise that.... something is wrong...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Err - actually, I get up at 5:45 to go to the gym & I run a company and work long hours.

The point here is that not being able to get a drink mid-afternoon is such a minor issue - I beleive the people it affects the most are those that need a break from it...

It certainly hasn't affected me in any major way - a few times I've been out & had a coke instead of a wine but SO WHAT ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

let me ask u this... If someone jumped off a window will you fallow? people are different mate, they have theri own habits and should not change them for the benefice of a law which is out of context... it is farfeched to my view... congratulation on keeping in good shape...NOT EVERYBODY HAS TIME TO... what has that gotta to do with having a glass of wine for lunch? what has the gym have to do with anything???...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dude - your spelling is so fcuked up, I can only presume the alchohol has softened the old grey matter...

As for the old "would you jump out of a window question" - hardly relevant.

For the Gym thing - do it & closing times will seem less relevant, that's all.

As for wine with lunch - I haven't been able to have a drink when I take lunch late but I don't consider it a major setback.

Alchohol is a drug. There's a lot of expats in Thailand that have gotten too wrapped up in. It's literally pickling them.

As you say - it's personal choice.. or is it a disease/addiction ? Do they have a choice any more ? Isn't it more like addiction to nicotene ?

I understand that people that wake up in a haze at lunchtime after drinking the contents of their fridge the night before may forget to get the beer in before the afternoon closing time. These people have my sympathy but not for the fact they can't get a beer.

[Ajarn]

I agree with your main point. It is easy to get 'addicted' here to so many things. We all know that living in Thailand can be like a kid in a candyshop. Very easy to get caught in a downward spiral and ignore/deny the issue untill it's quite late...Notice I didn't say 'too' late, because that's when you're dead. At any point before that, we can all make better choices for ourselves, if we choose

Some have come here to escape or somehow cope with personal issues... It is a good escape here, and it's a great place to stop and get a change of air and some more breathing space. But, it's to help your life, not to ###### it up more.

I appreciate Pedro's words. I don't see him coming with an agenda of hate, or slagging, but of true concern, albeit upfront and in your face. Got your attention- and mine. If the shoe fits, I hope you'll listen to the support. If the shoe doesn't fit, then I'd hope you give support to someone else coming in here 'clean'...

[chuchok]

A friend of mine is French.To deny her a glass of wine at lunch or dinner would be akin to poking an angry Tiger with a sharp stick!

[boris]

A friend of mine is French.To deny her a glass of wine at lunch or dinner would be akin to poking an angry Tiger with a sharp stick!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So what? The issue is not whether a glass or two of wine at lunch makes sense, although I think it does.The issue is whether its worth foaming and raging that one can't buy booze in the middle of the afternoon at supermarkets.It's such a tiny little inconvenience that its hard to see what all the fuss is about.I am sure that a civilised French man or woman wouldn't worry about it.But for the fat white plonkers with nothing else to do.......ah well.

[chuchok]

A friend of mine is French.To deny her a glass of wine at lunch or dinner would be akin to poking an angry Tiger with a sharp stick!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So what? The issue is not whether a glass or two of wine at lunch makes sense, although I think it does.The issue is whether its worth foaming and raging that one can't buy booze in the middle of the afternoon at supermarkets.It's such a tiny little inconvenience that its hard to see what all the fuss is about.I am sure that a civilised French man or woman wouldn't worry about it.But for the fat white plonkers with nothing else to do.......ah well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It makes sense to the person who wants it doesn't it?

Where did the fat white plonkers come from Boris?

I can assure you that the "civilaised' French lady that I know , has been having a glass of wine with her dinner since she was 12 years old, would be rather taken aback at being told when she can and when she cannot have a drink.

next we will have "toilet hours" and told when we are allowed to pee!

personally,I couldn't give a rats fat backside if you can have a drink or not with a meal.A choice would be "adult", don't u think?

I can not see your reasoning here, apart from the fact that you want to put your little oar in about fat white plonkers.

Edited February 10, 2005 by chuchok

[Axel]

I tought the main issue was:

insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months

Actually, I do not care tht much, but it does not make sense.

Not long ago T. ruled to close supermarket and department stores earlier to save energy and gasoline.

Great, now we drive twice, first for the daily shopping and second for any alcohol I might want or NEED. Where is now the saving opn gasoline?

[Axel]

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK, I get up 6a.m., work on the computer to check my mails, about 1 hour.

Go for a swim, about 1 hour. Breakfast and off to the office.

Work til 8 pm (deduct 1 hour lunch), meet with some customers over a beer or so.

Around midnight go home and have a drink to relax, tlk to Khun Wife, watch the news, read some newspaper or a book and sleep around 1:30 a.m.

Now when can I squeeze in the hobby you mentioned?

[tutsiwarrior]

I have been out of country for awhile and am confused... does the no alcohol restriction only apply to supermarkets or do bars now close down during the day as well? Hard to imagine soi Nana deserted during the day...

[Crossy]

I actually got caught by this one for the first time yesterday , I don't often drink during the day so I'd actually forgotten about the rules, until I got to the checkout in Tesco "sorry you can't buy that (case of Chang), but if you get another one as well you can buy both" something to do with two cases being wholesale.

Just shop for beer half as often, or drink twice as much

Someone suggested that the rule is to "prevent binge drinking", how having to buy 2 cases of beer reduces binge drinking I really don't know.

Actually, thinking about it, I suppose that many of the 'drinking class' can't actually afford to splash on 2 cases at once, so I suppose that these could possibly be a reduction in drunkenness, maybe.

[toastwars]

I am sick and tired of these new insane laws that pop up left right and centre every few months : closing times, visa's, no alcohol sales in the daytime????

So now I have to calculate the exact time I visit Big C for my shopping so I am "allowed" to buy my usual case of beer. Nanny state gone mad or what.

also have a few friends in Pnomh Penh who are living it up where there are virtually no restrictions on anything. Hmmmm a change of location might be just round the corner. Thailand is becoming no fun at all these days    

Perhaps if people put less importance on alchohol consumption & got a hobby, then this issue would seem trivial.

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

Is it really such a bind to be disconnected from alchohol for a few hours each day ? If so - a reassesment of what's important in life may be in order...

flame away...

I am usually still drinking at 6am, I can just imagine a load of drunks on a treadmill at 6am, actually would be very amusing I am sure.....See you all in the morning?

[Humphrey Bear]

Try getting up at 6AM & going for a workout at the gym every morning. I guarantee that you'll feel loads better physically & mentally. You'll also be way too tired to worry about closing times.

6 AM ! That's about the time I'm usually staggering home from where ever it was I spent the night !

Certainly in no condition to hit the gym at that time (passing out on the equipment annoys the other users, and scares the gym staff !)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Other way round with me - I've finished my workout, having shave and shower prior to catching the crew bus at 6.30 to get to work by 7.00. So I don't get out much in the evenings, which makes the nights I do go out that much more memorable.

[toastwars]

But seriously folks, once again we see the ideals of democracy bent to the will of elected leaders who are supposed to uphold those beliefs for the electorate. Alcohol may be adictive and bad for you but it is not illiegal. closing times and sales restrictions are undemocratic, why is it that a taxi driver finishing his shift at 4am cannot wind down with a beer if someone is prepared to be awake at that time to sell it to him. What ends does the government here aim to achive by not allowing supermarkets to sell booze in the afternoon, my local shop do not adhear to these rules so who is it aimed at?

With restictive alcohol sales being reduced all over Europe, I fail to see that treating their people like primary school children will achive anything, it brings up the issue of banning all booze for two days over the election, voter or not you couldn't buy a drink, Why???, if the populace are such inveterate alcoholics how on does mr T expect them to get up for work every day never mind vote????, and why I as a non participant in their election could not get a beer makes no sense apart from losing a lot of goodwill from holiday makers and reducing the takings of bar owners to nil it achived nothing

[lampard10]

A friend of mine is French.To deny her a .But for the fat white plonkers with nothing else to do.......ah well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course such people will bring the 'Fat White Plonker' into any conversation,. There are about three who do it all the time.

' Fat White Plonkers ' I call them