Street Bars/Alco carts closure on Suk.

[hughben]

I don't frequent them, but I was informed they (as well as street restaurants) have been forced to close by the authorities on Sukumvit near Nana.

Will it happen all around the city?

[khounteen]

It will happen everywhere eventually. Look at the way they are cleaning up all the beaches.

[SamSipEt]

If it happens (and I suspect that it will) then they will almost certainly only target the tourist areas and leave the Thai neighbourhoods with street stalls alone.

For me those stalls as well as the market / pop up bars all along Sukhumvit to Soi 19 (or perhaps further now) are a pain when you are trying to walk somewhere but are also part of the local colour. On balance it will be a shame to see them go.

[rgs2001uk]

If it happens (and I suspect that it will) then they will almost certainly only target the tourist areas and leave the Thai neighbourhoods with street stalls alone.

For me those stalls as well as the market / pop up bars all along Sukhumvit to Soi 19 (or perhaps further now) are a pain when you are trying to walk somewhere but are also part of the local colour. On balance it will be a shame to see them go.

The mrs was on Ramkhamhaeng Rd the other day up beside the Uni (hardly a tourist area) she mentioned a lot of the road side vendors who appear at night were now gone.

How long it last for I dont know.

I have witnessed roads being cleared of parked cars that used to use the road as a car park for local eateries. Again Thai area.

[SJM2013]

Lights out at 2am more or less then, if the authorities close them down.

Hardly befitting for a city with a reputation as a nightlife hub.

They are not without their problems, but they are convenient if you want to stay out late and have a drink or some decent food.

I have also heard they are closing down.

Shame.

[SJM2013]

I walked along lower suk from soi 3 sometime after 2am on Saturday.

There were no mobile bars anywhere almost up to asoke bts.

There were plenty of food stalls, with people sitting eating as normal.

However, near to asoke bts there were a few mobile bars around. Same one's who are always there.

General consensus amongst the girls operating the bars was that they didn't think the mobile bars would be away for too long.

Time will tell.

[millwall_fan]

As a former publican I'm not sorry to see street booze stalls closed down: they undercut legitimate businesses like mine because they didn't pay any taxes, didn't have to pay health insurance for their staff, etc etc. On the other hand if this 'crackdown' is to be extended to all street vendors, I'm not in favour as the only way an ethnic Thai can hope to start a business is to do so on the streets: the Chinese Thais own all the buildings and charge exorbitant rents that Thais simply can't afford and even if they could they find it impossible to break through the complicated system of guarantees required to get start-up loans for businesses that are designed to perpetuate Chinese economic hegemony

[tony5150]

Will this also include the dirty plastic chairs roadside on soi 4? Please say it ain't so. I enjoy a few after hour rye and cokes in that area.

[YeahSiam]

I'm not really bothered either way by the ones on the main Sukhumvit Road. If I want to proceed quickly from lower to mid Sukhumvit, I just cross the road.

Soi 11, on the other hand, was an absolute nightmare and I'm extremely happy they've tossed those booze buses out.

A few people complain that the "atmosphere" and the "vibe" has been lost and I have to ask: what atmosphere and what vibe is lost by not being able to drink cheap booze while dodging shifty drug dealers, skanky ladyboys on the make, beggars, high humidity and exhaust fumes from tuk tuks, motorbikes and taxis passing close enough to you to knock your elbow as you raise the glass to your lips.

I'm all for alfresco when it's safe, clean and pleasant but being forced to jostle for space on the tarmac with mad Bangkok traffic just felt really dangerous

Edited August 26, 2014 by YeahSiam

[Showbags]

Clubs and bars to close at 10 pm soon.

[smokie36]

Clubs and bars to close at 10 pm soon.

Lol Cambodia rubs her hands with glee......

[Showbags]

Vietnam says tourist arrivals up 15% this year.....wonder why

[TheSpade]

Will it happen all around the city?

I haven't seen booze bars anywhere aside from lower Sukhumvit.

The rest of BKK doesn't have them IME.

It's very much a tourist thing.

Soi 11 could do with a few less booze buses tbh. Most of the pavement is lost to them.

And the people who hang around them (hookers, ladyboys, and drug dealers) don't make them pleasant places to drink anyway,

[Diplomatico]

Clubs and bars to close at 10 pm soon.

Source? I've seen it stated that it may become "no drinking in bars/restaurants after midnight"...have seen nothing that said anything about places having to close at 10 pm. I doubt you have either.

http://chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4387

Edited August 30, 2014 by Diplomatico

[rhodie]

As a former publican I'm not sorry to see street booze stalls closed down: they undercut legitimate businesses like mine because they didn't pay any taxes, didn't have to pay health insurance for their staff, etc etc. On the other hand if this 'crackdown' is to be extended to all street vendors, I'm not in favour as the only way an ethnic Thai can hope to start a business is to do so on the streets: the Chinese Thais own all the buildings and charge exorbitant rents that Thais simply can't afford and even if they could they find it impossible to break through the complicated system of guarantees required to get start-up loans for businesses that are designed to perpetuate Chinese economic hegemony

A bit rich mate. Because you own a bar you don't want street bars. But other street vendor stalls are OK because while they don't pay taxes etc. as well, and they can undercut the shops that pay taxes etc., that''s OK by you because you don't own a shop.

Don't you just love the hypocrisy.

[rhodie]

I really think that Suk vendors all add to the atmosphere. It would be a pity to see them go.

[Diplomatico]

Near where I live in CM, we have a pick-up truck bar that opens around sunset each day. Guy sets up about 10 tables w/stools in front of a 7-11 across from a large shopping center. Sells drinks from the back of the pick-up, brings his own sound system to play music. Presumably, if you wish for some fine dining, the 7-11 provides 24 hour food service.

[Thighlander]

When I fist became a sidewalk bar fan about 10 years ago; I was a regular in the Suk 11 area....One of the guys told me he had a permit to operate from Midnight to 6am. One time some Africans walked by and he went to his pick-up and bent down, I could see him jamming a cartridge in his pistol. He knew I saw the gun, and he said "brack guy, no good." But, he also had a permit for the gun on that specific block. One year I came back, about this time of year, and he was gone. I inquired to one of the freelancers (not that I would ever pay for it, lol), and she told me he closes down for a month or two during the low season.

So perhaps they are just laying low until the high season resumes. Maybe a good litmus test will be the Thermae, the quintessential late night bar on Sukhumvit. Ownership was or is tied to the police. Of course, most would say the place isn't what it was, and I would agree, but it seems to stay open very late through thick and thin. Some of those places have prices higher than inside places. I was drinking 60 thb Tigers on Sukhumvit 22, two years ago, and the place by the Asoke MRT was charging 120 for Large Leos, got back to my neighborhood place in Rachada and they were 60 THB, and had incredibly good grilled pork tenderloin.