‘Supposed to’ being the operative phrase, because a stroll down either of those streets, on most nights of the week, is sure to show the majority of the bars, go-go bars and nightclubs still open way after that time.
Yet rarely do you hear of clubs being closed down or being slapped with fines for staying open too late.
It is well known and actually, for the most part, admitted and accepted that many Patong entertainment venues, especially those along Bangla Rd, pay big bribes to various government agencies in order to stay continue to operate.
As was revealed this week, it’s actually officials from 17 agencies who are taking kickbacks.
Such pay-offs obviously make a huge dent into every company, no matter how profitable, and many companies, bars and nightclubs have had enough. It’s also a disgrace.
A letter was recently sent to the Phuket Media Association claiming that Chart Jindapol, adviser to the Office of the Thailand Trade Representative, was the bagman who was collecting huge amounts every month from payers of bribes. It was signed by the non-existent Association of Honest Patong Entrepreneurs – effectively anonymous.
This week, a month after the letter was sent, Mr Chart called a press conference and stated that it was somebody else that was raking in the B50 million a month, but did not say who that ‘somebody’ was.
The uneasy alliance among those involved in navigating the closing times is seemingly falling apart, which is no great surprise.
Times were rolled back and enforced with vigour when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came into power in 2001 and introduced a ‘social order’ campaign.
But holidaymakers, especially those in tropical countries, do not begin partying until late, and 2am for them is relatively early, with the vast majority of them not ready to ‘call it a night’ at that time.
When there’s been a crackdown in the past, many revellers either went back to their hotels and continued partying by the pool, or hung out on the streets outside convenience stores, the only place they could get a beer. Not an attractive sight.
So neither the tourists nor the entertainment business owners favours the law, and it has given rise to enormous corruption. It should be changed, and surely that can’t be difficult.
That it has not been changed leaves one wondering just who benefits most from the current situation, and who stands to lose the most if hours are extended.