The truth is very few bars are actually owned by the police in comparison

Loads of bars are owned by the Police. There are 5 on Soi Cowboy alone (that I know of for a fact). My local is owned by an ex-Policeman and is frequented by Lumpini officers.

However, I don't bother going to Cowboy any more, it has been ruined with all the neon facades and lost it's appeal several years ago. Nana is even more desperate. Patpong seems to be the worst of the lot (despite some claiming a resurgence) and last time I ventured into a bar there on the ground level, I was presented with a bill for 4,000thb for 3 beers which I refused to pay then left. Patpong seems to attract more pondlife Thais than the other places, partly due to the street market as most of the vendors are playing hard-man gangster while in reality they are horrid little oiks selling knock off junk and Chinese dildos.

I'm all for closing the bars earlier in Patpong.

Are you mad, man? Where would I go?

The whole idea of closing late is to get more profit and protection money for the mobs and who are the mobs? At the end all this bar owners are actually working their ass off just to pay of this Mafias and more drug problem.Most of the civilized cities in ASEAN have strict control over closing time except cities that rule by Mobs such as Bangkok and Manila..........

good idea,back to what it was before all these changes started.it was 4 am for ages then they changed the rules.now you have bars on the street because of it

I asked a girl in one of those neon caverns on Cowboy why there were about 40 girls and 5 customers in there (a Sunday night about midnight recently in what I would still have regarded as mid high season). She said maybe it's because most of the girls are just dancers and don't want to 'go with customer'. Yep - sounds like a good enough reason and symptomatic of the decline of that street (either that, or of my advancing years). The regular small beers were 160-180 baht

"Changing the closing time to 4am could reduce crime, particularly rape

and robbery, because it will be morning by the time would-be burglars

and rapists leave the bars," she said.

I never heard a more stupid statement than that!

Orrrrrrrr....in others words: Crime would increase because people would spend time in the bars, giving criminal elements more time to break into properties.

Annddddd.....usually rapists and would-be burglars do not frequent 'regular-open-times-bars' , but the more sleazy backstreet karaoke joints.

Yes make it 4am or 5am or 24 hour if people want to drink all night.

Nanny state. Let market forces dictate how many bars open.

spot on there!

I hardly get out the door before 3 or 4am.. I wish there were some 24-7 bar PaRties going on

Great idea and about time! In the past it was like this (late night openings everywhere and by every place). It was the "New Social Order" of the Thaksin regime that stopped it, for no good reason (rumors were so that his son would stop partying all night...). These closures seriously hurt toursim by young people, forcing many to abandon Bangkok for Singapore or Hong Kong.

How can we 'help' this decision to be made favorable to nightlife businesses?

Rubbish, Singapore bars close on weeknights no later than 2 am, with most closed by 1 am. On weekends its 2 am with the exception of some special areas at 3 am.

Hong Kong bars are usually closed between 1 am and 2 am

I suggest you visit the cities and see for yourself.

BTW, no one picks a city as a destination because the bars are opened an hour later. TheBangkok bars could close at 12 am and they would still be busy.

Thaksin has not been in office for some time. He has nothing to do with the bar closings. Give it a rest.

Living in Cambodia, but back in BKK after 6 months out, I am so disapoined to see the police closing (raiding) terraces on Khao Sarn at 2AM!

Having been in Thailand many times since more than 20 years, I feel like what I would call AmeriThai... A land whose freedom (thai is meaning "free" from what I did knew I think) is a legend of the past!

Where has gone that welcoming freedom and 24/24 life?

I can barely accept their f***** ban on alcohol at some hours of the day or night...

But this police state is not a place for relaxed partying tourists anymore!

Seeing the prices soaring (skyrocketing) and the warmth of welcome sinking like the Titanic, I understand better each time I come back why Cambodia's tourism gets 30% increase every year...

Forget about Thaimerica, enjoy wild Cambodian Kingdom of Wonders!

How many policeman own bars ?

If you count low class karaoke bars with minors working in them, they own a lot.