Early closing. Who suffers?

[mikegb]

Here we go again with the rumour/reality that the bars will be forced to shut at 1am.

I remember a discussion about this a while ago. My opinion is this - We know how much we have to spend each day on holiday. If we normally like to drink until 4 or 5am then we go out later, and we only have so much to spend.

If closing is 1am, then you wouldnt go out at 11pm. You would go out earlier, and still get the same amount of drink inside you.

So. Who loses out?

Firstly, bar owners. For sure it will hit them hardest. People may end up splitting their time between bars and then getting drink from 7-11 etc and having more fun in the bedroom. As we know, a lot of bars really struggle to make money, and I cant understand the logic in closing earlier. If a lot of bars cant make money and they close, then the place looks like a ghost town and people move on to other tourist destinations. ALL businesses then get affected. Maybe it is a move by the government to once again 'clean up thailand' and attract families instead of people like us on the forum.
Personally I think both can be catered for, but someone else obviously has different plans.

Second - The Matress Monkeys. They lose out. If the bar girls end up earlier in hotels, they get humped more. A drunk punter at 5am is ideal for them because they know that 2 pumps and a squirt and the guy is going to be asleep . They are also going to lose out on drink money, and if the place becomes quieter, then getting a punter in the firsrt place is going to be harder.

For myself, the closing time doesnt really bother me that much (although I loved it when bars were open until 5am!). I have always been able to find places and do things until I want to go to bed. I have forgot the amount of times I have gone back to my hotel at 5 and 6am and the bars have been closed at 2am. People ALWAYS find a way to enjoy themselves.

I hope that it is just 1am closing until November for the busy season, then back to 2am.

Nothing lasts forever. Everything is always changing. That is what makes life interesting. Lets hope this new idea doesnt close any / many businesses.

[Nicke]

There are forces in Phuket including the governor who want Phuket get excemptions from the law because this is mainly a tourist destination. He suggest a closing time of 03 or 04. I believe myself whatever happen in short term, we will have later closing time later on.

Bars also lose if bars and discos close same time, people who want to continue to the disco have to leave the bars earlier, so if closing time is 01 many people will leave the bars at midnight or maybe earlier. I would like to see a later closing time for discos.

At the moment, althought the closing time is 02:00 am now the good news is that the police do not enforce it as strictly they could do in the past. E.g. arrive 10 minutes before 02 and order the bar to be EMPTY at 02 (When we had Purachai as interior minister). They are still little bit relaxed and show up between 02:00 - 02:30 some nights to make sure it is closed.

Bangla is an entertainment zone, Nana Plaza and other areas who close 01:00 in Bangkok is not inside any entertainment zone. I think we will see earlier and more strict closing time for bars outside the zones while it will be more relaxed closing time inside the zones.

[maipenrai]

I agree with nicke 100 percent .

I also think u will see zoneing and bangla road will be that entertainment zone .

The 2 am closing time does seem to be in force at the moment the other night i went to safari 2.30 am it was closed and went to other places that i thought i may get a beer or 2 and everything was closed even the thai karokes were closed i was surprised .

[Geir]

Originally Posted by Nicke

Bangla is an entertainment zone, Nana Plaza and other areas who close 01:00 in Bangkok is not inside any entertainment zone. I think we will see earlier and more strict closing time for bars outside the zones while it will be more relaxed closing time inside the zones.

I really hope you are right, Nicke.
1 o`clock closing will be bad news for all the bars. And for us thirsty coustomers as well.