No Booze In The Pub

[likite]

With regard to the OP. I don't think as far as The Pub is concerned the ban would make any difference to them. The place was always dead when I went between 2 and 5. The owner guy would either be asleep or doing the newspaper crossword and buying booze seemed to be an intrusion. Maybe he asked for the letter.

[PlanetX]

Sitting down and having a beer after work is quite common - after 5 pm makes it inconvenient because of dinner, getting ready for the next day, etc

The idea of 2-5 being only constant drunks is very inaccurate

Edited October 29, 2010 by PlanetX

[talk2tony]

With regard to the OP. I don't think as far as The Pub is concerned the ban would make any difference to them. The place was always dead when I went between 2 and 5. The owner guy would either be asleep or doing the newspaper crossword and buying booze seemed to be an intrusion. Maybe he asked for the letter.

The issue is about Thailand's attitude to tourists, which in the current situation I would have thought would be a no brainer. Bring everyone back to the "Land of Smiles". Alas this is not the case. The remaining tourists who stayed after the May 19th riots were kicked in the teeth a few days later from an alcohol ban based on buddhist lent. The same type of Theravada teaching occurs in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) and no ban is in effect in any of these countries. In fact I wrote to a number of Theravadan elders and the opinion is that although they support abstinence from alcohol during lent periods this should not be in the form of an outright ban. As usual, politicians and vested interests have hijacked religion to suit their own ends. The election ban for two days is also a case in point.

The other crazy 2-5pm ban and 12am and after ban, are based on "protecting the youth". but why not simply enforce an ID card rule that would mean young people being excluded. Basically the rule suits vested interests as usual in this stagnant nation.

Thailand has every right to make life difficult for tourists and expats alike here and that is their sovereign right but the country has no right to complain when Indians and Middle Eastern tourists are keeping the industry from sinking. Cambodia is eating into Thailand and if Myanmar ever opens up; Thailand be afraid, be very afraid!

[november222]

The issue is about Thailand's attitude to tourists, which in the current situation I would have thought would be a no brainer.

i dont know of any country that takes tourists into account when making laws. uk has more tourists than thailand and they had a no alcohol 3-5pm law for years. they didnt change it to please the tourists and it didn't stop them coming. i don't think it's much of an issue to the average tourist. i doubt id it would affect numbers.

[Buang]

I think most of us can go without grog for 3 hours of the day, but the ones this affects are tourists who may have been out during the day & then look at having a later lunch & would enjoy a nice cool alcoholic beverage with their meal.

[talk2tony]

The issue is about Thailand's attitude to tourists, which in the current situation I would have thought would be a no brainer.

i dont know of any country that takes tourists into account when making laws. uk has more tourists than thailand and they had a no alcohol 3-5pm law for years. they didnt change it to please the tourists and it didn't stop them coming. i don't think it's much of an issue to the average tourist. i doubt id it would affect numbers.

The tourism market in Thailand has a far greater affect on GDP than it ever did in the UK. Also alcohol, as far as I know, was never banned for a whole day or two on a trot in the UK although I accept the point of the 3-5 ban did occur in pubs/shops a long time ago (20 years or more). That was then and the world has changed a lot since that time. Also in Thailand you can drink in bars at 2-5 so not so big effect.

My point is that the ban is not based on some real need to reduce consumption but that a lot of people make a lot of money on the black market because of this and the tourist industry and the country will suffer as a result. Any pick up in tourism has come on the back of Middle Eastern/Indian tourists but western tourists numbers are still quite low but could pick up in Q4. Many of these are returnees who are great for the industry but more mass market tourist sentiment in Thailand will negatively affect the industry here in the coming years with the rise of Cambodia and perhaps Myanmar in the future. Thailand is blessed with many positives that support a vibrant tourism industry but the government has eroded these advantages through poor legislation.