457 replies to this topic
Posted 2007-12-13 01:04:22
Thai election forces 2-weekend booze ban
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BANGKOK: -- No alcohol will be served to expats, tourists or local residents in bars and restaurants over the next two weekends nationwide due to the oncoming election.
The first dry days will be 14, 15 and 16 December, pre-election days for a few million Thais who registered to vote early.
Thaivisa has been informed that no alcohol is allowed to be served nationwide between Friday 14th at 6pm until Sunday 16th at midnight.
Elections on the 23rd will mean no alcohol will be sold from 6pm on the 22nd till midnight on the 23rd of December.
Practically this means two or three dry days in the two weekends ahead, although some tourist areas tend to be lenient once it's past 7pm on election day.
Please be aware that local rules could apply. Big hotels are not likely to be affected.
--thaivisa.com 2007-12-13
Posted 2007-12-13 01:15:49
So it's off to Tesco tomorrow evening to stock up... 
Posted 2007-12-13 01:20:53
Unsuspecting visiting tourists will be surely amaized! Thing is a lot of countrys have elections but dont ban alcohol. This will be a right pain for people on their 2 week vacations - especially if they catch both ends.
Edited by pointofview, 2007-12-13 01:22:00.
Posted 2007-12-13 01:26:48
"So it's off to Tesco tomorrow evening to stock up."
They've got a marketing opportunity to sell hip flasks, too, I guess.
Posted 2007-12-13 01:47:42
 pointofview, on 2007-12-13 01:20:53, said:
Unsuspecting visiting tourists will be surely amaized! Thing is a lot of countrys have elections but dont ban alcohol. This will be a right pain for people on their 2 week vacations - especially if they catch both ends.
This is really over the top. One dry day on the main election day can arguably be tolerated and might even prevent a few drunked bums from going out and shooting a poling station but this really messes up tourists and owners of pubs and restaurants.
Posted 2007-12-13 02:00:27
Arkady, on 2007-12-13 01:47:42, said: pointofview, on 2007-12-13 01:20:53, said: Unsuspecting visiting tourists will be surely amaized! Thing is a lot of countrys have elections but dont ban alcohol. This will be a right pain for people on their 2 week vacations - especially if they catch both ends.
This is really over the top. One dry day on the main election day can arguably be tolerated and might even prevent a few drunked bums from going out and shooting a poling station but this really messes up tourists and owners of pubs and restaurants.
Just goes to show how these people fear the masses
Posted 2007-12-13 02:12:30
rennie45, on 2007-12-13 02:15:49, said: So it's off to Tesco tomorrow evening to stock up...
Make sure you go when they are open to sell booze............. 
Posted 2007-12-13 02:19:03
We are in Patong during both weekends for holiday, to have fun and we were ready to leave our Euro's in Thailand by having good times. We do NOT have to vote for these [ admin edit] so I can't get it why we (tourists) have to suffer too ?
What a brilliant idea again !!! Specially during peak season.
Edited by george, 2007-12-13 02:23:53.
Language
Posted 2007-12-13 02:21:24
When you read between the lines, this is obviously "much ado about nothing" in terms of genuine impact on tourists. If Big Hotels are not likely to be affected, I seriously doubt that the average tourist will feel that their Thailand experience will have been significantly dampened.
Posted 2007-12-13 02:24:09
clever aint they! oh well, what can you do? I think I will just stock up at home and take the next couple of weekends easy.
I really feel sorry for the bar owners though, it could run into the hundreds of thousands in losses for some of them. imagine how much a large bar like robin hood or Molly's could make if they could stay open.
Posted 2007-12-13 02:29:11
Please post back and tell us all how you got plastered anyway on those days.
Posted 2007-12-13 02:37:12
These Elections are getting far too frequent, presume the problem is that they are using a proportional representation voting system and mush of the time many of the voters are so intoxicated they would have have problems counting to 3...
To be serious I assume that only Thai people can vote so why not allow some bars (and hotel bars) to open in tourist areas as long as they serve people with non Thai ID.
BB
Posted 2007-12-13 02:44:21
I figure this will be enforced the same as most laws in the tourist areas. The bars will operate as usual, maybe pouring beer into cups instead of handing out bottles, and they'll have runners set up to let them know when the police are in the area and alter business only until the police leave.
Same as how most of the shops selling bootlegs work.
Posted 2007-12-13 02:45:11
There seems to be some criticism of how the Thais are unable to remain sober for the election and have to have this order imposed on them.
It seems from some posts that some expats are unable to manage a few days without drink as well as those they criticise.
I doubt whether this will have much impact on tourists other than those on 'boozy' trips who are hel_l bent on getting pissed at every given opportunity.
A few days sobriety wont do anyone much harm!
Posted 2007-12-13 02:56:11
This will certainly be good for the pre-Christmas tourist trade........ 
Posted 2007-12-13 02:58:48
I think we should send Sargent Wallop to investigate.
Seriously it's not "What were they thinking?" It's "Are they capable of thinking?"
Posted 2007-12-13 02:59:47
john b good, on 2007-12-13 03:30:38, said: It would appear that your average Thai is not responsible enough to stay sober until he/she casts their vote.
My guess is that it is to stop them being bribed by a drink or five...................
See this thread for more details.
Another example of an imature electoral society. 
Posted 2007-12-13 03:48:12
If I do remember, in april 2006 for the general elections, we didn't have this system of "pre-election days".
Is it new ? Can you confirm ?
By the way, what is the source of this news (ban on 2 week ends) ?
Edited by cclub75, 2007-12-13 03:53:47.
Posted 2007-12-13 03:48:30
The ban or proposed ban this weekend seems a very late afterthought as there are some major events scheduled this weekend. Think LOSO at Xcyte in Pattaya ?
This lunacy has got to stop. Close a couple of days in August and we'll swallow it. Close 5 or 6 days in December and you're screwing with people's lives.
Posted 2007-12-13 03:57:06
cclub75, on 2007-12-13 03:48:12, said: If I do remember, in april 2006 for the general elections, we didn't have this system of "pre-election days".
There was no general elections in 2006.
Posted 2007-12-13 04:06:25
I don't drink so no big deal, but i guess for the boozers in the forum, they are about to cut their throats - 
Posted 2007-12-13 04:06:27
George, what was the source of info for the original post? I mentioned it casually to a Jomtien bar owner last night (the 12th) and neither he nor his Thai manager knew anything about it. If they haven't been informed 48 hours before the event, that seems to be a tightly held secret. Will the BiB will be out and about today (the 13th) to advise bar and restaurant owners?
Posted 2007-12-13 04:10:57
Posted 2007-12-13 04:23:17
my local serves me in a mug with the rest of the locals - so what!
Posted 2007-12-13 04:35:44
It doesn't say that we are forbidden to consume alcohol. It only says no alcohol will be "served" or "sold".
This means it is okay to drink our own alcohol, and to drink it regardless of the location.
It's a bit like the time-of-day restriction on alcohol sales. You can't buy alcohol before 11am or between 2pm and 5pm, but you can consume it any time of the day.
If we had left bottles of whisky with our name on it at a bar or club that were purchased on a date prior to the 14th of December 2007, can we consume them?
Would any bars or clubs allow BYO?
Edited by hyperdimension, 2007-12-13 04:49:51.
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Can you imagine? Gotta stay at home and get smashed during the holidays or go on a vacation. 
