Why everything is closing early and Bangkok nightlife may never be the same

[ericthai]

10 minutes ago, JemJem said:

I was lucky that during my twenties, which came in the 1990's, there was no 2 am curfew thing. All the clubs and most bars could close early morning. I had a great time back then. But since the 2 am curfew thing was introduced (either in 1999 or 2000), nightlife has never been the same for me.

 

Back when it was introduced, most people thought the curfew wouldn't last long. However, sadly, it has.

it was changed around 2003/4 to 12 am with the exception for a few entertainment places I believe Nana, Patpong, Ratchada and RCA.  I agree, everyone said it wouldn't last long and actually it didn't a few months and then everything back to normal.

[bbi1]

On 2017-6-1 at 8:56 PM, CLW said:

First I thought isn't Mixx closed since some while, but I got confused.
The climax club is closed permanently

Wow really? What happened to Climax for it to get closed permanently? Always thought that joint had the cops well taken care of.

[bbi1]

15 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Anyone remember NASA? That really was a club!

Have no idea what you are talking about. Are you talking about the space shuttle? lol

[bbi1]

10 hours ago, JemJem said:

I was lucky that during my twenties, which came in the 1990's, there was no 2 am curfew thing. All the clubs and most bars could close early morning. I had a great time back then. But since the 2 am curfew thing was introduced (either in 1999 or 2000), nightlife has never been the same for me.

 

Back when it was introduced, most people thought the curfew wouldn't last long. However, sadly, it has.

2am curfew is a big joke. Clubs in the Western world close at 5am. No wonder why Thailand will keep it's 3rd world status being behind the 1st world countries.

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

2am curfew is a big joke. Clubs in the Western world close at 5am. No wonder why Thailand will keep it's 3rd world status being behind the 1st world countries.

Ive often wondered what the difference is between 1 st and 3 rd World Countries is , now I know , it is what time the clubs close 

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

2am curfew is a big joke. Clubs in the Western world close at 5am. No wonder why Thailand will keep it's 3rd world status being behind the 1st world countries.

When do you sleep, during the day i suppose, give your liver a rest and get up at sunrise,it's quite nice.

[bbi1]

6 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

When do you sleep, during the day i suppose, give your liver a rest and get up at sunrise,it's quite nice.

You don't need to drink alcohol when you go to a club, you can give your liver a rest when clubbing too. Nobody said you've gotta drink when clubbing :)

[soalbundy]

Just now, bbi1 said:

You don't need to drink alcohol when you go to a club, you can give your liver a rest when clubbing too

yeah i bet, I've been there, done that but now I've got a life.

[junglehash]

Everything is back to normal, Nightclubs close 4 Am, and then you can go to the next club...

Not to mention any clubs, but you can still party to the early morning.. 09:00AM in the morning......

 

Soi 11 is the place to be

 

[bbi1]

3 minutes ago, junglehash said:

Everything is back to normal, Nightclubs close 4 Am, and then you can go to the next club...

Not to mention any clubs, but you can still party to the early morning.. 09:00AM in the morning......

 

Soi 11 is the place to be

 

Has Climax closed like someone above said? Interesting to know if that's true and the reason why

[sandrew33]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

Has Climax closed like someone above said? Interesting to know if that's true and the reason why

Climax closed permanently at the end of April. 

 

The official reason is a dispute about terms of a new long term lease (I.e a rental agreement) which may or may not be related to redevelopment of the Ambassador Hotel at some point. 

 

But yes, it's closed and it's permanent (at least in that location). 

[hawker9000]

This thread should probably be closed.  The early closings at the major entertainment venues in BKK are not happening.  They're not closing early, but at their regular times. There are always going to be individual cases of bars in violation of this or that, being raided for drugs or underage, etc. etc. and the Thonglor police may have enacted a few early closing days awhile back to make some point or other.   But in the main, it's not happening and this whole thread is now just misinformation.  Re-title it or close it.

[wildewillie89]

I am confused by all the 'tourism' talk in this thread. I don't think the people who are going to clubs for an extra couple of hours are the same tourists bringing in all the money to the country lol. Usually they are shacked up in a shitty hotel, eating whatever they can find, just to have enough money to buy the cheapest drink on the menu at the club. 

The people the government are focusing on are obviously the richer Chinese, Japanese etc. Who have their own private parties at various venues. Spend the day in shopping malls spending ridiculous amounts of money and eating whatever they like, and most importantly, visiting all of the tourist attractions. The places these party goers are going to are generally supported by the general Thai population anyway. 1 Chinese tourist probably spends the same as 100 'party' tourist. 

I am sure Thai locals know about the venues that remain open, and if they do not fancy them all that much, I am sure they will just drink in their apartment/house, like most Thais do anyway around the country. Also, with the aide of things like apps etc, you don't need a club to find 'fun' anymore.

I do not really agree with the law, but people at least need to put forward half useful ideas of why they should be open...Seems 'tourism' is the go to word for everything. 

[Thai Ron]

On 6/4/2017 at 11:23 AM, bbi1 said:

Wow really? What happened to Climax for it to get closed permanently? Always thought that joint had the cops well taken care of.

Climax was unable to renew its lease at the Ambassador hotel.

 

The reason? The police had been in attendance on several occasions over the years to shut it down and the hotel felt such events reflected badly on its profile. They - quite rightly - believe they can get another tenant who will operate within the law and pay the same, if not more, rent.

 

Climax was an abomination. If the sight of old men shortening the service life of their replacement hip joints trying to keep up when "dancing" with young hookers less than half their age wasn't enough to put you off, then the all-too-common specter of one of these old boys groping a girl inside her clothing would have you vomit up your last three meals.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

[hawker9000]

Climax was unable to renew its lease at the Ambassador hotel.

 

The reason? The police had been in attendance on several occasions over the years to shut it down and the hotel felt such events reflected badly on its profile. They - quite rightly - believe they can get another tenant who will operate within the law and pay the same, if not more, rent.

 

Climax was an abomination. If the sight of old men shortening the service life of their replacement hip joints trying to keep up when "dancing" with young hookers less than half their age wasn't enough to put you off, then the all-too-common specter of one of these old boys groping a girl inside her clothing would have you vomit up your last three meals.

 

Good riddance to bad rubbish

"I am confused by all the 'tourism' talk in this thread. I don't think the people who are going to clubs for an extra couple of hours are the same tourists bringing in all the money to the country lol. Usually they are shacked up in a shitty hotel, eating whatever they can find, just to have enough money to buy the cheapest drink on the menu at the club."

 

'Would love to see your sources for that. (You DO have sources and are not just making stuff up...)

[bbi1]

39 minutes ago, Thai Ron said:

Climax was an abomination. If the sight of old men shortening the service life of their replacement hip joints trying to keep up when "dancing" with young hookers less than half their age wasn't enough to put you off, then the all-too-common specter of one of these old boys groping a girl inside her clothing would have you vomit up your last three meals.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

Yeah, Climax was full of old dudes with shocking "dancing" trying to pick up hookers young enough to be their daughters but it was ok for an "early" drink before the full price entry fee kicked in, then heading off to somewhere decent around midnight. When I say "early", probably half of this thread are already tucked away in their beds based on past responses lol.

[brewsterbudgen]

Climax was unable to renew its lease at the Ambassador hotel.
 
The reason? The police had been in attendance on several occasions over the years to shut it down and the hotel felt such events reflected badly on its profile. They - quite rightly - believe they can get another tenant who will operate within the law and pay the same, if not more, rent.
 
Climax was an abomination. If the sight of old men shortening the service life of their replacement hip joints trying to keep up when "dancing" with young hookers less than half their age wasn't enough to put you off, then the all-too-common specter of one of these old boys groping a girl inside her clothing would have you vomit up your last three meals.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

The few times I went to Climax it was full of "young" dudes who thought they were pulling girls, as they would never pay for it! How deluded!!

[CLW]

I can understand the early closing for clubs close to residential areas but for example RCA and other for nightlife dedicated areas why should they not open late

[sandrew33]

16 hours ago, Thai Ron said:

Climax was unable to renew its lease at the Ambassador hotel.

 

The reason? The police had been in attendance on several occasions over the years to shut it down and the hotel felt such events reflected badly on its profile. They - quite rightly - believe they can get another tenant who will operate within the law and pay the same, if not more, rent.

 

Climax was an abomination. If the sight of old men shortening the service life of their replacement hip joints trying to keep up when "dancing" with young hookers less than half their age wasn't enough to put you off, then the all-too-common specter of one of these old boys groping a girl inside her clothing would have you vomit up your last three meals.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

Hahaha... 

 

A. Not true that this was driven by the Hotel in terms of some sort of objection to police attendance - if you knew who is behind Hillary Group you'd be laughing at your own ignorance :)  (the hotel have also had discussions with the operator of other late night clubs in the Soi as regards taking on the venue - there are disparate stories on the outcome of said discussions); 

 

B. More "young guys" in there than old guys by 1am or so; 

 

C. Quite popular with Thai girls who weren't "on the job" or at least weren't on the job in there because of the cheap drinks and the band's who played quite a bit of Thai favorite stuff as well as "current hits". 

 

D. The place smelled like a toilet and wasn't my cup of tea but as a resident of Soi 13 for some time I did get dragged along there at times. Like most bars they are what you make of them I guess. 

 

E. Nice to see a typical Thai Visa post though - use the topic du jour to re-run ones old biases and general grievances, no matter how far separated from reality or actual knowledge they might be :) 

[sandrew33]

14 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The few times I went to Climax it was full of "young" dudes who thought they were pulling girls, as they would never pay for it! How deluded!!

And then in the morning they were surprised at how much she needed for cab fare to get home  

[YetAnother]

they just started enforcing a 2004 law now ?

[Thai Ron]

7 hours ago, sandrew33 said:

Hahaha... 

 

A. Not true that this was driven by the Hotel in terms of some sort of objection to police attendance - if you knew who is behind Hillary Group you'd be laughing at your own ignorance :)  (the hotel have also had discussions with the operator of other late night clubs in the Soi as regards taking on the venue - there are disparate stories on the outcome of said discussions); 

 

B. More "young guys" in there than old guys by 1am or so; 

 

C. Quite popular with Thai girls who weren't "on the job" or at least weren't on the job in there because of the cheap drinks and the band's who played quite a bit of Thai favorite stuff as well as "current hits". 

 

D. The place smelled like a toilet and wasn't my cup of tea but as a resident of Soi 13 for some time I did get dragged along there at times. Like most bars they are what you make of them I guess. 

 

E. Nice to see a typical Thai Visa post though - use the topic du jour to re-run ones old biases and general grievances, no matter how far separated from reality or actual knowledge they might be :) 

A. I know exactly who's behind Hilary! I also know who's behind the other late night venues in the area and my info came from him.

B. What "other late night clubs in soi 11" other than Sugar Club?

C. Popular with non-working girls?? Because of the live band?? Yes because it's so terribly difficult to find live bands doing Western and Thai covers in Bangkok, isn't it? The presence of so many foreign men with full pockets must be totally coincidental.

D. No "clubs" like Climax aren't what you make of them. They're what the hookers and the Johns make it of them for you

E. No biases here and I've been a regular club goer in the area for a decade. My knowedge of the goings on within are likely far more extensive than yours.

[bbi1]

1 hour ago, Thai Ron said:

A. I know exactly who's behind Hilary! 

Bill Clinton? Or was he behind Monica Lewinsky? 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎04‎.‎06‎.‎2017 at 9:24 AM, bbi1 said:

Have no idea what you are talking about. Are you talking about the space shuttle? lol

Hmmmm. Not been in Bkk very long, then?

You can find it on google.

[bbi1]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Hmmmm. Not been in Bkk very long, then?

You can find it on google.

Not long at all, just a few years.

[CLW]

I miss something from back home. Driving home drunk or observe drunks in the first train or subway [emoji16]
Hardly possible here

[sandrew33]

22 hours ago, Thai Ron said:

A. I know exactly who's behind Hilary! I also know who's behind the other late night venues in the area and my info came from him.

B. What "other late night clubs in soi 11" other than Sugar Club?

C. Popular with non-working girls?? Because of the live band?? Yes because it's so terribly difficult to find live bands doing Western and Thai covers in Bangkok, isn't it? The presence of so many foreign men with full pockets must be totally coincidental.

D. No "clubs" like Climax aren't what you make of them. They're what the hookers and the Johns make it of them for you

E. No biases here and I've been a regular club goer in the area for a decade. My knowedge of the goings on within are likely far more extensive than yours.

Sure Ron, you know all. But P didn't tell you that :) 

 

Again, Climax was a toilet but there were plenty of girls not working while in the bar. Plenty working of course in every club in 11. In fact, the same girls frequented Sugar, Climax and Levels and often do a move around between the clubs on any given night. 

 

And, like any bar, it's what you make of it. I've been to some of the worst bars on earth but if you are with a couple of good friends you can always make something out of it. I just find it funny that a guy who has a decades experience around 11 is so easily annoyed by hookers and their customers. They are everywhere in that Soi :) 

 

Maybe Insanity will be different   - look forward to seeing you there :) 

[Thainess]

On 6/5/2017 at 3:47 PM, wildewillie89 said:

I am confused by all the 'tourism' talk in this thread. I don't think the people who are going to clubs for an extra couple of hours are the same tourists bringing in all the money to the country lol. Usually they are shacked up in a shitty hotel, eating whatever they can find, just to have enough money to buy the cheapest drink on the menu at the club. 

The people the government are focusing on are obviously the richer Chinese, Japanese etc. Who have their own private parties at various venues. Spend the day in shopping malls spending ridiculous amounts of money and eating whatever they like, and most importantly, visiting all of the tourist attractions. The places these party goers are going to are generally supported by the general Thai population anyway. 1 Chinese tourist probably spends the same as 100 'party' tourist. 

I am sure Thai locals know about the venues that remain open, and if they do not fancy them all that much, I am sure they will just drink in their apartment/house, like most Thais do anyway around the country. Also, with the aide of things like apps etc, you don't need a club to find 'fun' anymore.

I do not really agree with the law, but people at least need to put forward half useful ideas of why they should be open...Seems 'tourism' is the go to word for everything. 

Your assumptions are ludicrous and way off the mark. Are you new in Thailand? It's true that there are a few rich Japanese in Bangkok, but they don't generally tend to be long stayers. They come in for a week or two or even just a weekend and spend a lot of money, then go home. As to the Chinese, over 90% of them in Thailand are on package tours of 2 days to a week. They pay everything upfront and have to conform to a visit schedule laid down by the tour company, i.e. breakfast at 8, leave hotel at 9 for tour, return to hotel at 6 for dinner and all expenses are paid for. They are called "zero dollar tourists" as many of them spend almost nothing in Thailand and all their money goes to the tour company in China. Contrary to what you confusedly seem to believe in your dream world, it's still the European and American tourists who are spending big in Bangkok on entertainment - however, probably not the kind of cheap charlies who tend to comment on this forum (myself excluded).

[wildewillie89]

11 minutes ago, Thainess said:

Your assumptions are ludicrous and way off the mark. Are you new in Thailand? It's true that there are a few rich Japanese in Bangkok, but they don't generally tend to be long stayers. They come in for a week or two or even just a weekend and spend a lot of money, then go home. As to the Chinese, over 90% of them in Thailand are on package tours of 2 days to a week. They pay everything upfront and have to conform to a visit schedule laid down by the tour company, i.e. breakfast at 8, leave hotel at 9 for tour, return to hotel at 6 for dinner and all expenses are paid for. They are called "zero dollar tourists" as many of them spend almost nothing in Thailand and all their money goes to the tour company in China. Contrary to what you confusedly seem to believe in your dream world, it's still the European and American tourists who are spending big in Bangkok on entertainment - however, probably not the kind of cheap charlies who tend to comment on this forum (myself excluded).

I was under the impression the military government had cracked down on these 'zero dollar' tourists last year? With a change of focus to 'rich' Chinese. Isn't that what I said? Rich Chinese, Japanese etc. Did you just make a ludicrous assumption that I was talking 'zero dollar' tourists? lol. From a graph I saw, the zero dollar Chinese tourists matched Europe spending. 27% vs 28% of total tourism revenue anyway. So I don't know where your figures about Europeans spending big is coming from. However long someone has been in Thai has no meaning to tourism stats lol. But if it makes you feel better by saying it, by all means go ahead :).

[Thai Ron]

5 hours ago, sandrew33 said:

Sure Ron, you know all. But P didn't tell you that :) 

 

Again, Climax was a toilet but there were plenty of girls not working while in the bar. Plenty working of course in every club in 11. In fact, the same girls frequented Sugar, Climax and Levels and often do a move around between the clubs on any given night. 

 

And, like any bar, it's what you make of it. I've been to some of the worst bars on earth but if you are with a couple of good friends you can always make something out of it. I just find it funny that a guy who has a decades experience around 11 is so easily annoyed by hookers and their customers. They are everywhere in that Soi :) 

 

Maybe Insanity will be different   - look forward to seeing you there :) 

Yes, of course hookers and Johns can be found everywhere in soi 11 and in most of the farang-oriented entertainment venues in the area but Climax was one of those where there were "no holds barred" for want of a better description.

 

Catching a glimpse - no matter how brief - of a man who could easily be a grandfather trying to force a hand into a young girl's panties on a dancefloor is enough to "annoy" anyone with fundamental respect for another human being, regardless of her profession.

I don't agree with you on the "what you make of it" angle. Shit music, boorish people will severely restrict enjoyment if you're with like-minded friends who like "good" music and good people. My friends and I share musical tastes and decent standards of behavior.