Why are the clubs closing at 2am?

[Mentors]

be funny if they bring back the 10pm curfew.................

I prefer the Midnight closing.

[tribalfusion001]

Pipe and slippers brigade zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[doctorproc156]

Go somewhere else? There are plenty of places open past 2, like Khao San etc.

[brewsterbudgen]

I believe that "late licences" can be granted, but for those that don't have them it's just the law being enorced for a change. Outside the entertainment zones I think it's 1am closing.

[tribalfusion001]

Go somewhere else? There are plenty of places open past 2, like Khao San etc.

That was the place I wanted to go to, the music, the dj's, the vibe!

Least I know now, 2am closing time due to killjoy spoil sports in camo!

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

In 9 months things might be very different. The coup government is changing the way things are done. Here in Pattaya, bars and discos are being raided and closed down every night, some for days (one bar sign said closed for renovations. Ha!) , for being open after 2 am, including iBar, Insomnia, Flex, Lucifer and others. For the first time in 10 years, I've been witness twice to drug arrests in the middle of a soi by plainclothes and uniformed cops. For the first time I or others can remember, Soi Buakhao was blockaded by police and Thai Navy soldiers and everyone, Thai and farang, were stopped, questioned, and some arrested. For the first time I've ridden into a huge police/military inspection stop on a small subsoi. I was waved through but no Thais were waved through. For the first time, I'm seeing cops on active duty on nighttime streets in Pattaya, not just out collecting for the boss.

If you think things will just go back to "normal" after the recent heavy enforcement activity, you'd better keep your eyes open from now on. Please don't read this as "I love the military" statement. Open your bloody eyes. Remember what Gen Prayuth said recently about changing Thailand's sordid image around the world. Most of you won't want to believe the coming chagnes but I think he was serious and it seems as though he will be around for a long time.

[brewsterbudgen]

In 9 months things might be very different. The coup government is changing the way things are done. Here in Pattaya, bars and discos are being raided and closed down every night, some for days (one bar sign said closed for renovations. Ha!) , for being open after 2 am, including iBar, Insomnia, Flex, Lucifer and others. For the first time in 10 years, I've been witness twice to drug arrests in the middle of a soi by plainclothes and uniformed cops. For the first time I or others can remember, Soi Buakhao was blockaded by police and Thai Navy soldiers and everyone, Thai and farang, were stopped, questioned, and some arrested. For the first time I've ridden into a huge police/military inspection stop on a small subsoi. I was waved through but no Thais were waved through. For the first time, I'm seeing cops on active duty on nighttime streets in Pattaya, not just out collecting for the boss.

If you think things will just go back to "normal" after the recent heavy enforcement activity, you'd better keep your eyes open from now on. Please don't read this as "I love the military" statement. Open your bloody eyes. Remember what Gen Prayuth said recently about changing Thailand's sordid image around the world. Most of you won't want to believe the coming chagnes but I think he was serious and it seems as though he will be around for a long time.

The military made it quite clear that one of their priorities was to crack down on drug use. They are just doing what they said, by focusing on after hours clubs where drugs are routinely taken.

[tribalfusion001]

In 9 months things might be very different. The coup government is changing the way things are done. Here in Pattaya, bars and discos are being raided and closed down every night, some for days (one bar sign said closed for renovations. Ha!) , for being open after 2 am, including iBar, Insomnia, Flex, Lucifer and others. For the first time in 10 years, I've been witness twice to drug arrests in the middle of a soi by plainclothes and uniformed cops. For the first time I or others can remember, Soi Buakhao was blockaded by police and Thai Navy soldiers and everyone, Thai and farang, were stopped, questioned, and some arrested. For the first time I've ridden into a huge police/military inspection stop on a small subsoi. I was waved through but no Thais were waved through. For the first time, I'm seeing cops on active duty on nighttime streets in Pattaya, not just out collecting for the boss.

If you think things will just go back to "normal" after the recent heavy enforcement activity, you'd better keep your eyes open from now on. Please don't read this as "I love the military" statement. Open your bloody eyes. Remember what Gen Prayuth said recently about changing Thailand's sordid image around the world. Most of you won't want to believe the coming chagnes but I think he was serious and it seems as though he will be around for a long time.

The military made it quite clear that one of their priorities was to crack down on drug use. They are just doing what they said, by focusing on after hours clubs where drugs are routinely taken.

It's just controlling people, no freedom, no choice, no vote, nothing, now cannot even party into the small hours!

[Spoonman]

In 9 months things might be very different. The coup government is changing the way things are done. Here in Pattaya, bars and discos are being raided and closed down every night, some for days (one bar sign said closed for renovations. Ha!) , for being open after 2 am, including iBar, Insomnia, Flex, Lucifer and others. For the first time in 10 years, I've been witness twice to drug arrests in the middle of a soi by plainclothes and uniformed cops. For the first time I or others can remember, Soi Buakhao was blockaded by police and Thai Navy soldiers and everyone, Thai and farang, were stopped, questioned, and some arrested. For the first time I've ridden into a huge police/military inspection stop on a small subsoi. I was waved through but no Thais were waved through. For the first time, I'm seeing cops on active duty on nighttime streets in Pattaya, not just out collecting for the boss.

If you think things will just go back to "normal" after the recent heavy enforcement activity, you'd better keep your eyes open from now on. Please don't read this as "I love the military" statement. Open your bloody eyes. Remember what Gen Prayuth said recently about changing Thailand's sordid image around the world. Most of you won't want to believe the coming chagnes but I think he was serious and it seems as though he will be around for a long time.

The military made it quite clear that one of their priorities was to crack down on drug use. They are just doing what they said, by focusing on after hours clubs where drugs are routinely taken.

It's just controlling people, no freedom, no choice, no vote, nothing, now cannot even party into the small hours!

The closing times have been around a lot longer than the current Junta that is enforcing them.

[tribalfusion001]

The thing that annoys me is that, a simple announcement from the ncpo that the official closing times of 2am are to be enforced would be fine. Last weekend I was in Narz until 3am and nothing was closed, but this weekend it has changed, if I knew the club would have shut at 2am, then I would have got in there earlier and also the Facebook page for Glow Bar stated 4am closing time on a Saturday. It's the typical logic of this place...

[Cypress Hill]

They'll have to change the law to allow opening until 6am in certain areas . . . or watch a significant enough chunk of tourism vanish.

Personally, I've accepted that high quality clubs, music and people are among the things I've given up on up living here.

I shed no tears when cesspits like Climax, Insanity, Mixx, Spicy etc are shut down.

Scummy, old-enough-to-know-better Westerners who think it's perfectly ok to finger a local woman on a freakin' dance floor aren't really the kind of people I want to rub shoulders with but as the OP said, Glow on 23 is nothing like that.

They bring in some quality DJs who play pretty good deep and tech house.

[tribalfusion001]

They'll have to change the law to allow opening until 6am in certain areas . . . or watch a significant enough chunk of tourism vanish.

Personally, I've accepted that high quality clubs, music and people are among the things I've given up on up living here.

I shed no tears when cesspits like Climax, Insanity, Mixx, Spicy etc are shut down.

Scummy, old-enough-to-know-better Westerners who think it's perfectly ok to finger a local woman on a freakin' dance floor aren't really the kind of people I want to rub shoulders with but as the OP said, Glow on 23 is nothing like that.

They bring in some quality DJs who play pretty good deep and tech house.

The last time I visited Climax, Bossy, Nana Liquid, Spicy, etc was over 3 years ago and there were dives then, full of freelancers and sweaty tourists!

I prefer a more European type of club, underground music, good sound system, good dj's, up for it crowd with a good vibe, Glow Bar ticked the boxes. It's a shame that I'm going back to the UK on Thursday, I see that Demo have Aly & Fila playing on Thursday night, also would have liked to check out Glow Bar again.

I've been in Bangkok since 10th May and the curfew stopped me going to Glow Bar, plus some of world cup matches that I've watched at the weekend, also my Thai wife has run out of money, she needs to start working in the UK again, plus she refuses to fly back on her own!

Hopefully should be back again mid to late April 2015 and visiting Glow Bar, even if it's a 2am finish...

[monkeycountry]

They'll have to change the law to allow opening until 6am in certain areas . . . or watch a significant enough chunk of tourism vanish.

Personally, I've accepted that high quality clubs, music and people are among the things I've given up on up living here.

I shed no tears when cesspits like Climax, Insanity, Mixx, Spicy etc are shut down.

Scummy, old-enough-to-know-better Westerners who think it's perfectly ok to finger a local woman on a freakin' dance floor aren't really the kind of people I want to rub shoulders with but as the OP said, Glow on 23 is nothing like that.

They bring in some quality DJs who play pretty good deep and tech house.

Many tourists do their partying on the islands down south where closing hours ar e not really an issue.

[DoctorB]

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Don't know, don't care, ruined my night, sod the law!!!

that's what you get when you try to wait around till things close and get a deal...

I was in glow bar in soi 23 with my wife, just dancing and drinking, walked down cowboy when we got kicked out of glow bar and cowboy was closed too! It's hardly encouraging people to come to Thailand when you close everything at 2am...

You won't get any sympathy from the cardigan and slippers brigade on here. After all, you can't bust a move when your gout's playing up

Yes. You've got to realise that for a great many people the idea of others enjoying themelves in their own way is totally unacceptable.

Lord knows, there are enough of them who post on here; the Nakhon Nowhere cocoa brigade.

[NoshowJones]

If anybody wants to obey every law that some Authority etc makes up, why bother getting out of bed in the morning.

[NoshowJones]

You will get over it mate. Just drink faster next time....

Don't blame the law because the scene in which such clubs operate does not find it trendy to start a wee bit earlier. And don't blame the Army because from what I can tell they are doing a stellar job cleaning up the whole place..

Oh don't be so bloody naive. Start thinking for yourself.

Had it occurred to you that there might be a reason for that? As in, what they SAY they're doing isn't what they're doing at all?

They've censored the press and the media, banned protests, and have just declared - wait for it - that populist policies will be outlawed in future. Then in the next breath, they've announced that in order to get the conomy moving again, they're asking banks to slacken their criteria to make it easier to extend loans to those who currently don't qualify for them. Laughable

Remember subprime by any chance?

My Thai wife has started to think for herself, she questioned the soldier why the club was closing at 2am, although she was drunk and enjoying herself dancing to the music.

I was in Hanoi two weeks ago and the police come along at midnight and closed all the bars, this is not much different and Vietnam is a communist country, wake and smell the roses, this is not freedom!!!

and your happy for your wife to get drunk?????? Your words.

[tribalfusion001]

and your happy for your wife to get drunk?????? Your words.

Not that drunk, a little merry, lots of dancing!

[NoshowJones]

Not to sound selfish but I like the 2am closing.

I am usually drunk by 1:30, but stay around because it's open.

2am perfect for me , get drunk and home early enough to wake up for work.

Though can see how it would not be so good for tourists who are use to opening times being till early mornings

Another poster glorifying being drunk. Unless your work starts the next night, you should get sacked.

[slipperylobster]

I'm neither for or against the coup, but spoiling people's fun is just not cricket

If cricket was fun, he would be doing that instead of carousing out and about at 2am.

[tribalfusion001]

I'm neither for or against the coup, but spoiling people's fun is just not cricket

If cricket was fun, he would be doing that instead of carousing out and about at 2am.

But cricket ain't fun, hanging around in decent clubs at 2am is

[tribalfusion001]

Not to sound selfish but I like the 2am closing.

I am usually drunk by 1:30, but stay around because it's open.

2am perfect for me , get drunk and home early enough to wake up for work.

Though can see how it would not be so good for tourists who are use to opening times being till early mornings

Another poster glorifying being drunk. Unless your work starts the next night, you should get sacked.

What's wrong with being drunk sometimes?

[Bernard Flint]

The raids on clubs in Pattaya have been going on for years.A tip off for drugs activity makes the police do their job at long last, and try to stamp out drugs,and lack of drink license too.

I suppose it can spoli the fun for some but 5am isnt exactly early,and the big worry is how many go home by car or motorbike, amazing how stupid some are

[Krataiboy]

Not to sound selfish but I like the 2am closing.

I am usually drunk by 1:30, but stay around because it's open.

2am perfect for me , get drunk and home early enough to wake up for work.

Though can see how it would not be so good for tourists who are use to opening times being till early mornings

Thanks for sharing that.

[NoshowJones]

Not to sound selfish but I like the 2am closing.

I am usually drunk by 1:30, but stay around because it's open.

2am perfect for me , get drunk and home early enough to wake up for work.

Though can see how it would not be so good for tourists who are use to opening times being till early mornings

Another poster glorifying being drunk. Unless your work starts the next night, you should get sacked.

What's wrong with being drunk sometimes?

Plenty, nothing against social drinking, but drunkiness has cost too many lives all over the world, accidents, health etc etc.

[tribalfusion001]

Not to sound selfish but I like the 2am closing.

I am usually drunk by 1:30, but stay around because it's open.

2am perfect for me , get drunk and home early enough to wake up for work.

Though can see how it would not be so good for tourists who are use to opening times being till early mornings

Another poster glorifying being drunk. Unless your work starts the next night, you should get sacked.

What's wrong with being drunk sometimes?

Plenty, nothing against social drinking, but drunkiness has cost too many lives all over the world, accidents, health etc etc.

You would hate most of towns and cities in the UK then, full of drunks every Friday and Saturday night, people throwing up everywhere, fights, women flashing their boobs and muff, it's not pretty!

[Seelow]

You will get over it mate. Just drink faster next time....

Don't blame the law because the scene in which such clubs operate does not find it trendy to start a wee bit earlier. And don't blame the Army because from what I can tell they are doing a stellar job cleaning up the whole place..

Oh don't be so bloody naive. Start thinking for yourself.

Had it occurred to you that there might be a reason for that? As in, what they SAY they're doing isn't what they're doing at all?

They've censored the press and the media, banned protests, and have just declared - wait for it - that populist policies will be outlawed in future. Then in the next breath, they've announced that in order to get the conomy moving again, they're asking banks to slacken their criteria to make it easier to extend loans to those who currently don't qualify for them. Laughable

Remember subprime by any chance?

My Thai wife has started to think for herself, she questioned the soldier why the club was closing at 2am, although she was drunk and enjoying herself dancing to the music.

I was in Hanoi two weeks ago and the police come along at midnight and closed all the bars, this is not much different and Vietnam is a communist country, wake and smell the roses, this is not freedom!!!

Time for you to leave Thailand which finally looks like it is being given a much needed spring clean and go off to Cambodia where the "laws" are a little more lax than BKK.

Does Thailand really need the Soi Cowboy/Nana Plaza crowd? I don't think so.

[Cthulhu]

In 9 months things might be very different. The coup government is changing the way things are done. Here in Pattaya, bars and discos are being raided and closed down every night, some for days (one bar sign said closed for renovations. Ha!) , for being open after 2 am, including iBar, Insomnia, Flex, Lucifer and others. For the first time in 10 years, I've been witness twice to drug arrests in the middle of a soi by plainclothes and uniformed cops. For the first time I or others can remember, Soi Buakhao was blockaded by police and Thai Navy soldiers and everyone, Thai and farang, were stopped, questioned, and some arrested. For the first time I've ridden into a huge police/military inspection stop on a small subsoi. I was waved through but no Thais were waved through. For the first time, I'm seeing cops on active duty on nighttime streets in Pattaya, not just out collecting for the boss.

If you think things will just go back to "normal" after the recent heavy enforcement activity, you'd better keep your eyes open from now on. Please don't read this as "I love the military" statement. Open your bloody eyes. Remember what Gen Prayuth said recently about changing Thailand's sordid image around the world. Most of you won't want to believe the coming chagnes but I think he was serious and it seems as though he will be around for a long time.

The military made it quite clear that one of their priorities was to crack down on drug use. They are just doing what they said, by focusing on after hours clubs where drugs are routinely taken.

It's just controlling people, no freedom, no choice, no vote, nothing, now cannot even party into the small hours!

The closing times have been around a lot longer than the current Junta that is enforcing them.

Interestingly enough this takes us back to the first Shin (TRT) government in 2001 when Purachai became Interior Mininster.

A TRT parliamentary group met to review the night life industry and recommended that all places of entertainment should close at 10.00 pm (yes, seriously I'm not making this up). Months of discussion followed before the current legislation came into force after the intervention of Dear Leader himself.

There was much talk for a while of midnight closing, but Dear Leader pointed out that as many people had invested in the entertainment industry in good faith, closing at 1.00 am would be more appropriate. Thus for a period it became so. In Pattaya that lasted for about 3 weeks. Fortunately practice soon then reverted back to the previous situation; ie the 2.00 am closing, which I believe was a measure from the 60s designed to save electricity. From the frequency with which they are raided, in Pattaya at least, I guess that discos and clubs are also covered by the same hours. Certainly Ministry of Sound, which invested millions to establish itself in Bangkok, ended up pulling the plug.

Among the long term effects of all this was the prohibition of alcohol sales in supermarkets, 7/11s etc, between 2 - 5 and after midnight, and the end of that great institution, the old Thermae coffee bar which used to re-open from midnight to 6.00am as a beer bar. Also the growth of the beer booths along Sukhumvit, when it was realised that the penalties for unlicensed alchohol sales were much milder than those for breaking the terms of a licence and a lot of thirsty farangs were on the streets after 2.00.

The moral of all this is that the current 2.00 am closing in Bangkok, or 3.00 am+ in Pattaya, is a result of local toleration and this can change at any time. The actual law itself, dating from TRT days is actually stricter. Purachai, (whatever happened to him?) went on record at the time as saying he could not see why anyone would want to be out on the streets after 11.00.

[taiping]

You will get over it mate. Just drink faster next time....

Don't blame the law because the scene in which such clubs operate does not find it trendy to start a wee bit earlier. And don't blame the Army because from what I can tell they are doing a stellar job cleaning up the whole place..

Oh don't be so bloody naive. Start thinking for yourself.

Had it occurred to you that there might be a reason for that? As in, what they SAY they're doing isn't what they're doing at all?

They've censored the press and the media, banned protests, and have just declared - wait for it - that populist policies will be outlawed in future. Then in the next breath, they've announced that in order to get the conomy moving again, they're asking banks to slacken their criteria to make it easier to extend loans to those who currently don't qualify for them. Laughable

Remember subprime by any chance?

My Thai wife has started to think for herself, she questioned the soldier why the club was closing at 2am, although she was drunk and enjoying herself dancing to the music.

I was in Hanoi two weeks ago and the police come along at midnight and closed all the bars, this is not much different and Vietnam is a communist country, wake and smell the roses, this is not freedom!!!

If your Thai wife was drunk at 2 am and "questioning the soldier why the club was closing at 2 am" according to the Law of the land, then perhaps it's a good thing they sent you home.

Better you go back to the UK and complain about the Law there. In case you haven't heard "This Is Thailand,"

[sydneyjed]

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Don't know, don't care, ruined my night, sod the law!!!

that's what you get when you try to wait around till things close and get a deal...

I was in glow bar in soi 23 with my wife, just dancing and drinking, walked down cowboy when we got kicked out of glow bar and cowboy was closed too! It's hardly encouraging people to come to Thailand when you close everything at 2am...

You won't get any sympathy from the cardigan and slippers brigade on here. After all, you can't bust a move when your gout's playing up

Cowboy is always closed by 2am as were/are majority of the bars anyway around sukhumvit..except the street bars which then pop up.If you know the area you could have gone up to Thonglor for the thai clubs or RCA for the serious night club dance scene instead of being a <deleted> drama queen on here!!

[Baerboxer]

well sorry the enforcement of the law ruined your evening....start earlier. As as I can remember, Soi Cowboy always closed at 2am, Usually Thonglor made the sweep but they have handed over the reins to the A Team.

Anyway, my experience (past) has been that rarely anything good happens at 2am, especially in hindsight the next morning

Typical BS response form the more self-righteous hypocrites who never have and never WILL break a law.

I wonder how many of them have bribed a Thai police officer after being breathalysed or greased a palm to make an immigration issue disappear.

Oh dear. A typical response from someone who thinks laws don't apply to anyone has self important as themselves. Considers it macho.

All there to be broken. So you won't be complaining when someone robs you or breaks into your property because they decided to break a law they didn't like; or maybe smashes into your vehicle whilst pissed or high.