Papa Sam

Seems the big nightclubs in the Ekkamai nightlife area of Bangkok are now preparing to reopening their doors. The Czech Club on Sukhumvit Soi 63 is openly looking for staff: Looks like a regular restaurant to me ... Do they know something others don't? Central World Bangkok:

Hillary 2 getting disinfected last night after closing hours: KSR at 9 PM: Nana hotel parking lot last night with the tall Landmark hotel in the background: Pics from social media Polls show that 57% of Thais are not happy that drinking alcohol in restaurants is allowed for fear of new clusters: https://www.bugaboo.tv/news/588175

Mr. Anan Suwanpan, the CEO of Saeng Chan brewery along with representatives of the Chonburi pub, bar, and karaoke operators met today November 17th with Gen. Supot Malaniyom, secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC) to submit a letter to Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha. They asked for guidelines for the operation of entertainment venues, pubs, bars, and karaoke so that they can open their venues. The meeting took place today in the Government House in Bangkok. Apparently after their meeting, Mr. Anan Suwanpan explained to the night entertainment operators: What the business owners in Pattaya will have to do is to adjust their business model, that is they should make the pubs and bars look more like restaurants. Openness (ventilation?), less capacity than before, social distancing, more lights to illuminate the places are some of the measures. SHA standards must also be met before the bars could be converted into restaurants. Sources: Newsdirectory article today Channel 7 News today Freely edited from Google Translate results Patong bars defy national order, open as ’restaurants’: https://www.thephuketnews.com/patong-bars-defy-national-order-to-open-as-restaurants-81397.php

XXX Lounge on Bangkok's Patpong 2 Road: The world's first "gogo restaurant"? Their emphasis is clearly on food - and not on girls, drinks and music like in traditional gogo bars: XXX Lounge's gogo da..., I mean food servers: Before this place became a gogo, 2 or max 3 years ago, there used to be a steak house at this location: Perhaps they've reactivated their restaurant license? Picture sources: facebook.com/xxxloungebkk/ and Bangkok Post Postscript: in Europe and Brazil there are similar places where they serve you girls and food (called termas, FKK clubs, and whatever)...

Nice pictures!! Today's cameras thankfully often have HDR capabilities. The subject doesn't appear as a dark silhouette against the bright background (as in the first picture) anymore if you turn on HDR. I rarely use flash.

Not only bars in Pattaya and Bangkok are disappointed by the government's decision to postpone the reopening of nightlife venues from December 1st to January 16th next year: "Businesses in Nakhon Ratchasima, one of the most bustling cities in the Northeast, have expressed anger at the delayed return of the city's nightlife. Phakin Petpol, manager of Tawan Daeng, an entertainment complex in Muang district, said the company called more than 150 employees back to work after the complex learned that pubs and bars would open their doors again on Dec 1." "To be told they now have to be on standby for another month or so, it's not a pleasant feeling," the manager said." "The premier has warned entertainment businesses not to reopen before they are given permission to do so or they will face swift legal action. Many pubs and bars have already defied the rules..." Source: Bangkok Post 17 November 21

Giving this thread a bump. Why Not? is one of the few lb bars open now. Nice dress or not? Pocky @ WhyNot Bar Bangkok Sukhumvit Soi 4

I see! Thank you! Soi Nana, tonight November 16th: Soi 8 tonight: Source: Twitter

Khaosod today writes that the government in Phuket signed a provincial order, effective from November 16th onwards, that says: In Phuket, restaurants can sell alcoholic beverages from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Entertainment venues, pubs, bars, karaoke, cockfighting stadiums, fish fighting arenas (!), boxing stadiums or gambling venues will remain closed. (via Google translate) Video: The tourist machine is alive again: Phuket a role model for Pattaya?

Sexy Ploy:

The W night market in the W District near Phra Khanong BTS station / P.J. O'Brien's (Ekkamai area) is also open now: Also open in the W District is Kosmo Bar: https://www.facebook.com/kosmobkk/

Sexy May Lee @ Chaos9

Thank you, Mabu! Will certainly check out Rumours next time I'm in town! Do you perchance know if Vagabond Bar, across from Soi 8 on Soi 11, is still there? Ladyboys used to hang out there a lot - before the pandemic that is. www.facebook.com/vagabondbarbkk

The Thaiger has a good article on how bars bypass the booze ban in Bangkok: Bars are closed in Bangkok… but not on Khao San Road "The Thai government says bars are closed, and will be until mid-January, but if you look hard enough you’ll find many are open… and packed" "Around 20 to 30 officers lined up for a photoshoot outside the empty Mulligan’s bar. What the cameras didn’t catch was the crowds of people around them. As partygoers stood close together on the street, some with drinks in hand, police spoke into a megaphone, reminding everyone to wear masks and social distance because Covid-19 is still spreading in Thailand. After the warning, bars turned the music back on and bartenders went back to pouring drinks… lots of drinks..." "Khao San Road isn’t the only place where you’ll be able to go out for drinks in Bangkok. Other bars in the city are serving beer and cocktails in paper cups in a not-so-discreet effort to be discreet." AJ from the Pattaya News shares his opinion on whether it's possible to set up covid rapid testing checkpoints in Pattaya: https://www.facebook.com/Xylanic/posts/10165874717020008 "The ccsa has basically said areas that show they are able and ready to open like khaosan can. But areas and owners need to come together for this." "The biggest issue is alcohol sales have not been legally allowed even in restaurants by the governor in Chonburi and there is dispute on who can allow it in Pattaya as an exception zone. This is being worked on by eight major tourism associations many not even bars directly. I'd advise every bar and restaurant owner I know to do a Thai stop covid assessment (need a Thai speaker) and show you are prepared for opening if we have any chance of opening like Phuket, Bangkok, etc. Having staff vaccinated will also be a must. Bangkok also agreed to somewhat silly rules in theory like 9pm cutoff which I'm sure places here would initially agree with to just be allowed to open." Khao San this past Saturday: ::

The Bangkok Post: BMA eases curbs on booze sales in Bangkok More restaurants and eateries will be allowed to serve alcoholic beverages from tomorrow, Tuesday night, namely those with a "Thai Stop Covid" certification. More than 30,000 restaurants and eateries are certified as Thai Stop Covid Plus venues while 6,579 businesses in Bangkok have obtained SHA certification, and only 700 have received SHA Plus certification. This TSC certificate is apparently separate from the SHA certificates... Seems there's not a huge difference between Thai Stop Covid / Thai Stop Covid Plus and the SHA/SHA Plus systems... The sale of alcoholic beverages will still be restricted after 9pm even though the Thai Restaurant Association called on the government to allow operators to serve alcohol until 11pm. An SHA-certified venue has public health measures in place to prevent contagion, while SHA Plus certification means at least 70% of the staff are vaccinated. Problems two weeks after the reopening: The "director of Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) Pattaya office, said Chon Buri will see 50 billion baht in tourism revenue in the fourth quarter following the reopening. He said about 10%, or 2,000, of travellers arriving in Thailand since Nov 1 head to Chon Buri and the number is expected to double in the middle of the month." Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/2214943/off-to-a-shaky-start

Niall was doing a pub crawl over the weekend. Lots of "nightlife-ish" stuff going on in Bangkok at the moment - despite the partial nightlife ban... On Soi Nana some of the bars and pubs that are open are: Rest Hub music pub The Blackout The Blarney Stone Irish pub Hillary 2 Fitzgerald's Pub Chequers Bar Always Hooters Nana The Kickoff (ex k+s bar) Morning Night Bar Stumble Inn In Patpong the XXX Lounge bar on PP2 is open (probably the only gogo bar to be open at the moment). Shenanigans on Surawong is also open meanwhile. Live music back at Shenanigan's on Surawong: Sukhumvit Soi 7 with its dozen or so small bars is hopping! Bars Niall visited there are: The Beer Garden Random@7 live music bar Heaven on Seven music pub On Soi 23/Cowboy area only Scruffy Murphy's is open. But boy that bar is busy! Soi 33: O'Shea's is also very busy. Niall doesn't mention the exact time he visited it, but looks like the 9 PM booze ban isn't strictly enforced everywhere... The Robin Hood is busy he says. Other Sukhumvit places: Street bars serving booze Carl's Jr open :-) Quite a lot going on for a place where the reopening of nightlife has been postponed until mid-January... No need to postpone a planned trip to Bangkok over Xmas/New Year Eve imo... Khao San Road last weekend: Only fully vaccinated people were allowed into KSR and they had to take a rapid test before being allowed in. Perhaps a model for other bar areas such as Soi Cowboy to entice the relaxation of the booze ban after 9 PM by the authorities? Another video of lower Sukhumvit from last weekend, unfortunately the YouTuber was not very discreet, so one can clearly see people's faces :-( Off-topic: This is how Bangla Rd Patong Phuket looked like this weekend at 11 PM: Wondering how many people will change their mind and go to Phuket instead of Pattaya?

But if I'm looking at the latest pictures from Bangkok, I see many of *my* favorite bars are open already, lol... Gogos haven't opened yet, okay. But I can live without them... So why wait for gogos to open? They're a tourist ripoff anyway imo.... let's go back to Thailand ffs!!

Bangkok nightlife 12 & 13th of November 21: Soi 4 Nana: Fitzgerald's: Stumble Inn: I'm wondering when bars will be allowed to reopen: Is January 16th really set in stone? Sukhumvit this weekend: Pics from social media (Kun Tabi) Will Thailand nightlife survive another 2 months of closure? https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/8039-news-forum-will-thailand’s-nightlife-survive-another-2-months-of-closure/page/2/

Video: It's Friday night, November 12th, Sukhumvit Soi 4 is not empty but it's not really busy either. The center of action is Hillary 2. Why Not Bar: "A bar with trans girls is obviously lacking of customers." The bar area on Soi 7 was closed early at 9 PM when police arrived and shut the bars down. Soi 8 was busy past 9 PM. Soi 11 was very quiet. No tourists on Sukhumvit. Only hope for thirsty people are tuktuk drivers who can get you to some bars that are open late... Lower Sukhumvit last night:

Interesting recent interview with Lights Out Janet: She is a celebrity in Thailand and even once appeared on the "Thailand's Got Talent" TV show. As a competition boxer she fought not only in Thailand but also in China and Japan. She had to adapt to the cold weather there she answers when asked about challenges she faced abroad. She's now 38 y.o. and is retired from competition boxing. Her last fight was already 10 years ago. She couldn't do competition boxing anymore because of her breast and chin surgeries... She's working currently as a brand ambassador for a plastic surgery clinic. She's been married to her husband for ten years now and they still love each other she says... Before the pandemic, she was contacted to work in two movies, one in Hong Kong, and another one in Italy but that unfortunately didn't work out because of covid... She now wants to do two Thai 'inspirational' movies... Her father wasn't happy when she became a transgender woman. She even got into boxing and became a boxer mainly because her father loved to watch boxing fights... In five or ten years she wants to go back to her home village in Khon Kaen and lead a simple farm life there...

Oh no: Bars closed until mid-January The Center for Management of the Situation of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has postponed the opening of entertainment venues, pubs and bars from December 1st of this year to January 16th, 2022. https://www.springnews.co.th/news/818038

Sois 4, 6, and 8 on November 11th: Fitzgerald's and the new Champ's bar on Soi 6 are open, Rumours on Soi 8 is also open.

Drawing lessons: Today let's draw what you see in front of you...

During lunch hour, there's lots of street food carts on Soi Cowboy these days: Pics from social media Most customers are apparently locals such as construction workers. It's now been 11 days since the reopening of Thailand and one can hardly see a single tourist on Soi Cowboy...

K+S Bar, a bar on the outside of Nana Plaza, located below former lb gogo bar Mercury, is now apparently called the "Kickoff Pub & Restaurant" Wishing the new bar many bell rings! Edit: Here a picture of Kickoff taken tonight, November 11th, from the railings of Hooters Nana: Big Dogs is still closed... Hooters Nana is open: Pics from social media Video of nightlife on Soi 4, 6 and 8 on November 11th: Fitzgerald's on Soi 4 and Champ's, the new bar on Soi 6 are open.