Pattaya Bar Hours Extended; 24-Hour Bars May Be Possible Soon

[george]

Pattaya Bar Hours Extended; 24-Hour Bars May Be Possible Soon

Pattaya bars, Go-Gos, nightclubs and restaurants are now allowed to open until late following recent proclamation by Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome. Talks underway to extend entertainment places selling alcohol to stay open 24 hours in the Entertainment Zone.

Plans for extending alcohol sales to 24-hour a day at bars in Pattaya is under strong consideration and the current closing time of 2 am is being extended immediately to 3 am most places and until 4:30 am in the center of Pattaya.

Currently, bars, Go-Gos, karaoke parlors and night clubs must stop selling alcohol at 2 am, but can remain open. However, the lack of alcohol sales has caused concern from bar workers and owners who say they are losing income needlessly. This can be corrected by extended hours of sales for alcohol, they say.

Pattaya City is Thailand's premiere, seaside, shopping and nightlife resort and is only one and a half hours from Thailand's major international airport and a 2-hour highway drive from the capital, Bangkok.

Most of the income after 11 pm comes from nightlife. "They like to drink and have fun so we like for them to drink and have fun as late as they want, " said "Oiy" a dancer at Tahitian Queen.

Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said the matter for allowing establishments to serve alcohol all night is being discussed with his deputy mayors, Pattaya City Council and his advisers.

Pattaya now allows bars, discos and go-gos to be open later in Pattaya than anywhere else in Thailand. After the Mayor's decision on December 2 the Entertainment Zone established more than three years ago on the Official Map of Pattaya as the "EZ" or Entertainment Zone is being utilized to set the area allowing extended hours of operation.

Following talks with protesters who went to City Hall for help to increase revenues, Popular Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome announced the Entertainment Zone will be the demarcation line for new, extended bar hours in Pattaya, and bars outside of the Entertainment Zone will also be allowed to stay open longer, but not as long as those within the EZ.

The young Pattaya Mayor I listens to the voters and has extended bar opening hours to as late as 4:30 a.m. in the Entertainment Zone. The request for extended hours came from more than 250 workers in Pattaya bars who gathered at Pattaya City Hall asking for help.

The citizens told the concerned Mayor that they were losing a great deal of possible revenue because the foreign and Thai tourists like to party late at night and sleep during the day so if they close at 1 am or 2 am the tourists just make their own private parties. They requested the mayor to extend the hours of operation of bars so the businesses and workers could earn the added income they are now missing.

The Walking Street Association is made up of beer bar, go-go, disco and restaurant owners and with the workers of the Pattaya Beer Bar Association combine to a force comprised of more than 8,000 Thais. Add this total along with the transportation lobbying group of more than 2,000 drivers in the Baht Bus Association and they collectively comprise the largest voting bloc in Pattaya - a city "In the business of entertainment and in the entertainment business," said the Pattaya Mayor's foreign business Adviser Drew Noyes.

All of these three business groups operate primarily within the [more...]

Full story: http://pattaya-times.com/a6564-pattaya-bar-hours-extended-24-hour-bars-may-be-possible-soon

[PoorSucker]

[Pib]

24 hour bars!!!!....But this won't leave anytime to sober up.

[millwall_fan]

Pattaya gets 24 hour drinking whilst in Chiang Mai as things stand, all bars, hotels and restaurants are to be required, from 1st January, to comply with the law which prevents the sale of alcohol between 2 and 5 pm. This is unfair and unjust. Let's hope the mayor of Chiang Mai looks into the adverse effects on tourism of the alcohol restrictions here - although I'm not sure whether the Mayor of Chiang Mai has as much power as the Mayor of Pattaya - more likley to be the unelected Governor who is responsible.

[gotlost]

Pattaya gets 24 hour drinking whilst in Chiang Mai as things stand, all bars, hotels and restaurants are to be required, from 1st January, to comply with the law which prevents the sale of alcohol between 2 and 5 pm. This is unfair and unjust. Let's hope the mayor of Chiang Mai looks into the adverse effects on tourism of the alcohol restrictions here - although I'm not sure whether the Mayor of Chiang Mai has as much power as the Mayor of Pattaya - more likley to be the unelected Governor who is responsible.

Who ever said Thailand is fair and just??

[neverdie]

Another step backwards for that hole.

[Beetlejuice]

Seems like since the downturn of the Thai tourist industry, the farang entertainment establishments are really becoming more and more desperate for those western dollars and thinking of all ways to claw more in. One option being is to give those Pattaya farang reprobate night action seekers longer hours to spend their money.

As for Chiang Mai I am not sure whether the government will relax it`s clampdowns on our Mr Thaksin`s old constituency and lose face.

Personally, I’ve never had it so good. Chiang Mai restaurants, massage parlours and bars are bending over backwards to give me good service and trying their best to insure satisfaction is guaranteed. Most of the Chiang Mai massage parlours have become happy ending parlours and the girls freely available for a take a way. Lots of good deals on for the eaters out and at most times have the pick of the crop for bargirls due to lack of other customers.

But please don’t spread the word round; otherwise everyone will want to visit Chiang Mai taking away that desperately needed income for those Pattaya farang owned businesses and depriviing the mafia and corrupt police of their tea money.

[LennyW]

They did a study into 24 hour opening in Scotland a few years back, i think the upshot was a resounding YES - .....

24 hour opening would stop binge drinking, stop fights when everyone pours out of the establishments at the same time, stop fights between hundreds of people waiting for limited taxi's, stop fights in queues at pizza & kebab shops........so why did they not implement 24 hour drinking.......... who knows??????????? something to do with police overtime rates perhaps???

Pattaya was fine when 24 hours was the norm, now you get the "binge before closing" and people come out to the street to the fresh air and loose their senses/control all too quickly, fights brawls and general <deleted>&king about, things were definitely a lot more mellow/calm when 24 hours was the norm, most drinkers too pished to make a problem. My opinion anyway!!

[Bagwan]

What a load of codswallop. The popular young Mayor listens to the electorate? The 'citizens'  told the Mayor that they were out of pocket?  The bar owners and the transport mafia are the largest voting block? Who wrote such crap? The Amsterdam creature?

Much has been made on this board of the seemingly low IQ of Thai folks. I have to wonder about the IQ of those who want to stay up until dawn consuming large quantities of over priced poison all in the name of 'having a good time". I've kicked over the traces in my time so I'm far from being a Simon Pure but it seems that Pattaya is now about to sink into the depths. The local Mafias and hospitals should do well . 

[harrypatterson]

What is the point of this? Is the farang death rate too low in Pattaya?

[lannarebirth]

This should breathe new life into the Pattaya Crime Blotter.

[GooEng]

Farangs make Thai's do bad things Joe. And the very, very bad things happen in Pattaya. I thought everyone knew that.

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

as such is one of thailand's major national disgraces... if it wasn't tragic it would be comical that it's continually trying to pass itself off as a family resort.

i've been there and seen it - it's a brothel.

however to suggest that this is the fault of the foreign men who visit the place is erroneous.

the thai authorities, business people with vested interests, parents in the provinces living off the spoils and every other thai who quietly tolerates what they know very well goes on in pattaya and the other resorts where major sex trade goes on are the ones to blame - they are the ones encouraging or at least allowing it to happen.

furthermore the resorts foreigners visit are only the highly visible tip of the sex trade iceberg in thailand - every two horse village in the country has a karaoke bar, a thai cafe or a massage shop where the local men partake of the services of prostitutes, and the entertainment districts catering to the local trade in the big cities are more numerous and in some cases bigger than those catering to foreigners - just slightly less obvious.

blaming foreigners for the thai tradition of easily available sex for money??

get real <deleted>

Edited December 6, 2010 by joe ekkamai

[GooEng]

double post

Edited December 6, 2010 by joe ekkamai

[PhilHarries]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

[kmj]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

I love Irony, you are being ironic right?

[GooEng]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

this is a joke, right?

my photo is on my profile and i will gladly supply you with my name by PM if that would make you happy.

sorry if you are genuinely offended by what i say phil, it wasn't meant as an insult to the inhabitants of pattaya.

it was actually a response to a post that has disappeared by another presumably thai member who complained about the decline in thailand and blamed farangs coming to thailand and spoiling things and hurting thais. i responded by asking exaectly what the poster meant by that.

you can see NanLaew's comment in answer to that, then my subsequent post that you object to.

so anyway, set me right phil, if it's not a brothel what is it?

[salty]

Good to see the focus on the major problems. No need to sweat the small stuff like stuff like jet ski scams,lawless traffic,and police corruption.

[asiawatcher]

Thai logic. You can only buy booze at limited markets between 11 and 2 and between 5-8pm(?) but you can buy alcohol at any bar 24 hours! <deleted>!!!

[Siam Simon]

Like it doesn't already happen, facilitated by the odd private donation .

[neverdie]

so anyway, set me right phil, if it's not a brothel what is it?

I'd say you were pretty spot on with your original label.

[jalansanitwong]

24 hour drinking in a place like Pattaya will simply boost the local crime rate and create more work for overstreched embassies who have more important things to do than pick up all the pieces.

[PhilHarries]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

this is a joke, right?

my photo is on my profile and i will gladly supply you with my name by PM if that would make you happy.

sorry if you are genuinely offended by what i say phil, it wasn't meant as an insult to the inhabitants of pattaya.

it was actually a response to a post that has disappeared by another presumably thai member who complained about the decline in thailand and blamed farangs coming to thailand and spoiling things and hurting thais. i responded by asking exaectly what the poster meant by that.

you can see NanLaew's comment in answer to that, then my subsequent post that you object to.

so anyway, set me right phil, if it's not a brothel what is it?

Okay I apologise for coming over a bit heavy but I never saw the post you refer to. It's just that after living twelve years in Pattaya I agree it has it's sleazy side but the majority of the population are not whores, female or male. It's this sweeping generalisation approach that leads men, particularly westerners, visiting the town to regard any woman as available for a price. The other thing is that the real sleaze is there to be sure especially for those who go looking for it.

To answer your last question, it is not a brothel it is a town. Would you call Amsterdam a brothel, or Hamburg? The only difference is one of scale brought about by the Thai habit of paying off the law enforcement agencies so that they can persue their ultimate desire - money. Never forget that it is this lack of enforcement of rules and regulations that seems to attract many people to the Land of Smiles.

btw I have it on good authority that there are no prostitutes in Pattaya. How can you have a brothel if you don't have prostitutes? This was based on a statement by a woman minister in the government back in the mid to late '90s. She swept through Pattaya in her chauffer driven limo and made the grand statement that there are no prostitutes in Pattaya. She may have been asleep of course.

Edited December 7, 2010 by PhilHarries

[Beetlejuice]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

Visited Pattaya only a couple of months ago.

I would agree that the place is one big low class brothel and crime ridden cess pit. And I say this under a cowardly cloak of anonymity, wouldn`t wish to become a target for any of those Pattaya mobs.

The only types of people this statement would offend is those who have vested interests in that city, but a fact is a fact no matter who says it. The headlines speak for themselves.

Personally i would not want to live there for free

This is but no means anything personal against you, PhilHarries, and I respect you and your opinion, just my personal opinion regarding Pattaya.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Beetlejuice

[doggie888888]

If the article is to be believed, these "relaxed" hours apply to a so-called entertainment zone (an area from Dolphin roundabout to Walking St, and to 3rd Rd on the west)...so, I hope the old hours will be strictly enforced outside of these areas so some of us can get a decent night's sleep.

I hope the better hoteliers in the entertainment zone will get together to ensure the noise factor in their vicinity will not adversely affect their clientele at 4am!!!! Fancy staying at a Hilton and getting woken at 4am with the boom-boom sound systems from nearby bars?

[SomTumTiger]

And the bar stool warriors let out a huge cheer.

[GooEng]

i am quite aware of what goes on in pattaya - it's a brothel.

You have just insulted in the most disgusting fashion the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pattaya.

That you have done so in print says a lot about your ethics.

That you have done so under the cowardly cloak of anonymity speaks volumes of your moral fiber.

Visited Pattaya only a couple of months ago.

I would agree that the place is one big low class brothel and crime ridden cess pit. And I say this under a cowardly cloak of anonymity, wouldn`t wish to become a target for any of those Pattaya mobs.

The only types of people this statement would offend is those who have vested interests in that city, but a fact is a fact no matter who says it. The headlines speak for themselves.

Personally i would not want to live there for free

This is but no means anything personal against you, PhilHarries, and I respect you and your opinion, just my personal opinion regarding Pattaya.

likewise wouldn't live in the place if i was given a free condo and an allowance - it horrifies me.

however rose tinted a pair of specs you wear it's still undeniable that if you removed the brothel element of pattaya the rest of it would almost completely collapse as the sex trade is the engine that drives it's economy.

a crappy beach, a few golf courses and some second rate tourist attractions would certainly not support the place. hence my initial observation that it is a brothel - all the other business lines are peripherals.

sorry to point out that unwelcome and by no means new truth to those members here who have lived so long in LOS that they have adopted the local habit of existing in a state of denail about the iniquity of certain aspects of life in thailand and particularly in pattaya.

[JatujakShopper]

Pattaya gets 24 hour drinking whilst in Chiang Mai as things stand, all bars, hotels and restaurants are to be required, from 1st January, to comply with the law which prevents the sale of alcohol between 2 and 5 pm. This is unfair and unjust. Let's hope the mayor of Chiang Mai looks into the adverse effects on tourism of the alcohol restrictions here - although I'm not sure whether the Mayor of Chiang Mai has as much power as the Mayor of Pattaya - more likley to be the unelected Governor who is responsible.

They have enforced that idiotic 2-5 law pretty religiously here in Bangkok since its inception, which has ensured that I stayed home more and saved money. Now they have made Jatujak Market a no alcohol zone, which is simply retarded, and once again I stay home and save money. I have never seen anyone raving drunk anywhere in Bangkok between the hours of 2-5 (and I do get around, well I USED to until I couldn't drink in those hours any more) ) even once in ten years so I just don't get what the problem is- its probably all the work of some hypocritical fossil of a politician who pushes through a backwards, meaningless law that inconveniences a lot of people and hurts a lot of businesses just so he can play the highly moral fellow to his wife's majhong club. It's just stupid, I used to go to Zen for sushi at 4 in the afternoon, my dinner time and have a cold beer, I just don't get it. I'm sure they miss me.

All I want to do is walk around quietly with a cold beer in my hand and enjoy my afternoon despite the godawful heat, but no can do. The last time I went to Jatujak (which sadly just may be the last time I went to Jatujak) the vendors who knew me all sold me beer hush hush and wrapped the cans in paper towels for me- I feel sorry for them.

Anyway, congrats to Pataya, guess I'll take some of that money I'm saving not going out in Bangkok any more and head down there! leave the light on!

Edited December 7, 2010 by JatujakShopper

[frenchfarangjomtien]

I have a real question: how can a mayor decide over a national law ? Is the only reply: TIT ? (This is Thailand!)

Anyway, very happy not to have to deal with supid Bangkok laws and mibs whom i wish envy all the Pattaya mibs who make bigs bucks in the city of fun !

But people who don't like Chonburi, please, don't change your mind, stay in Bkk, there are enough of us here in Pattaya !

[scotbeve]

Pattaya gets 24 hour drinking whilst in Chiang Mai as things stand, all bars, hotels and restaurants are to be required, from 1st January, to comply with the law which prevents the sale of alcohol between 2 and 5 pm. This is unfair and unjust. Let's hope the mayor of Chiang Mai looks into the adverse effects on tourism of the alcohol restrictions here - although I'm not sure whether the Mayor of Chiang Mai has as much power as the Mayor of Pattaya - more likley to be the unelected Governor who is responsible.

All the mayor has to do is actually go out and count the tourists on both hands. Then and only then, will there be an understanding that "blinders" politics and the "all-saving-face-politics" does not work and never will.

[Billmont]

As a happily married man I do not need bars open 24 hours a day but I strongly believe in the freedon to drink 24 hours a day. When I was a single man all the bars were open 24 hours a day and they did well especially in Patpong. Air crews and late arivals could go out at 11pm and enjoy themselves to whatever time. Tourists come to Thailand to enjoy more freedon than they have back at home not to face the same restrictions. In any case most bars that have doors still remain open and of course such limited hours leads to even more corruption.

Almost all big cities world wide have red light districts so why pick on Pattaya. I for one think Pattaya a great city and although we live in the North East we holiday in Pattaya at least twice a year. Some of the best restaurants can be found in Pattaya and I am not talking about the 5 star hotels. There are Chinese, Indian, Italian, American and many types of European restaurants, spoilt for choice and much easier to get around than in gridlocked Bangkok. The shopping centres have wonderful food halls and are reasonable priced. The Mantra at Amari Orchid, Benihana's and Bruno's are world class, a little pricy but excellent for special occasions. What's wrong with a stroll though walking street, also some good seafood restaurants there. By some of the comments the saying "There are none so Righteous as the Converted" springs to mind.