PHUKET and Thailand have begun another five-day national public holiday period that will conclude on Tuesday with a ban on the sale of alcohol.
Tuesday marks Visakha Buja Day, perhaps the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar. Today is the Royal Ploughing Day holiday.
Cabinet decided to also make Monday a public holiday, knowing that inevitably many people would take the day off anyway.
What the five-day holiday now represents is a practical boost for domestic tourism, with thousands expected to take the opportunity to return to their homes in other parts of Thailand or to enjoy the extend break at a holiday destination.
From 11.59pm on Monday, though, bars clubs and restaurants are expected to stop selling alcohol as a mark of respect for the holy Buddhist day.
Most bars and restuarants in Patong usually obey the annual request to close, said Patong Entertainment Association president Weerawit Kruetrakul today.
''It's true to say there are a few places that forget to close and they usually have to be shut by the police,'' he said today.
English Tourist Killed in Crash with Patong Tuk-TukTuesday marks Visakha Buja Day, perhaps the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar. Today is the Royal Ploughing Day holiday.
Cabinet decided to also make Monday a public holiday, knowing that inevitably many people would take the day off anyway.
What the five-day holiday now represents is a practical boost for domestic tourism, with thousands expected to take the opportunity to return to their homes in other parts of Thailand or to enjoy the extend break at a holiday destination.
From 11.59pm on Monday, though, bars clubs and restaurants are expected to stop selling alcohol as a mark of respect for the holy Buddhist day.
Most bars and restuarants in Patong usually obey the annual request to close, said Patong Entertainment Association president Weerawit Kruetrakul today.
''It's true to say there are a few places that forget to close and they usually have to be shut by the police,'' he said today.
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As a social drinker and a person that likes a drink with my dinner, particularly when on holiday, I really think this law should be relaxed for the tourism sector.
I seem to be fantastically unlucky in that the last few times I have had stopovers in Thailand that it was one of these special days and the only place I could find a drink was in my hotel minibar.
No fun at all.
Posted by Rob on May 13, 2011 23:12