Pattaya Nightlife News and Reviews

There has been a Far East A-GoGo operating on Soi Post Office for as long as I can remember (albeit with a little break between Far East 1 being replaced by Far East 2).

Well it seems that Far East Rock 2 didn't survive the second lockdown and the venue has now been totally gutted and cleared out.

October 1 has been proposed as the possible start date for when foreign tourists will be able to return to Thailand without first needing to spend their 14 days of quarantine confined to a hotel room.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn has spoken of plans to define the whole of Phuket as a quarantine hotel where tourists can freely roam. Only after 14 days and presumably a negative test will the visitors be allowed to cross the bridge and travel into the rest of Thailand.

The Phuket idea is that all local residents could be vaccinated against coronavirus by 1st October and hence be safe from imported disease. TAT is now pushing for tourism workers to be included in the second round of inoculations. However it is not yet clear whether the national government supports the timetable.

Phuket had planned to purchase and distribute government approved vaccines to the locals but the national government said that local administrations and private organisations are not permitted to purchase the vaccine independently.

Officials in Pattaya also said they had also considered similar plans.

Pattaya has re-opened for trade after the latest coronavirus lockdown. However time has taken its toll and there are now less open businesses than just before the lockdown. However it seems a little bit of an exaggeration for local news reports to suggest that Pattaya's nightlife looks dead and buried.

Although bars can now re-open they are severely restricted by very early closing time so perhaps it is not so surprising that some have decided that it is not yet worth re-opening. There are plenty of options though, and there are plenty of places that will sell you a beer and offer a little female company.

 

Pattaya's longest running GoGo bar on Beech Road seems to have been saved from closure by a crowd funding campaign. The bar previously announced an imminent closure due to covid related finance issues.

However the bar seems to have been saved by the raising of 16,000 dollars via the crowd funding website gofundme.com.

A 20th January update on the crowd funding campaign reads:

Wow, I am blown away by how much traction this campaign has gotten! Thank you so much for your invaluable support.

Looks like we are going to make it through this month. Woody and Bob are overjoyed - this situation has been a huge source of stress for all of us.

The bar has now been slated for re-opening on the 12th of February.

Update: The TQ crowd invited to support the campaign

4th February 2021. Thanks to Ishi of www.pattayagogos.net (Japanese language)

The crowd funding campaign info was posted on the front of TQ. This was spotted on 3rd February.

Pattaya's bars have been allowed to re-open from 1st of February under an incredibly restrictive 11pm closing time.

Contributors on Pattaya Addicts have been asking the question about how many bars will be re-opening. The forum offers very sad pictures of Walking Street's Simon beer bar complex clearly not going to be re-opened any time soon.

There is also a question mark over the Made in Thailand complex on 2nd Rd nearly opposite the Central Festival mall. Up until now there have been some keen bar owners there working hard to promote interest in Pattaya's post covid nightlife, but there are now fears of a short notice shutdown by those in control of the lease or land.

Chonburi including Pattaya has been defined as a Medium Control province and lockdown rules have been changed to the following:

• Pubs, bars, karaoke and entertainment venues can operate provided customer numbers are limited. Alcohol can be served until 11pm and live music allowed provided nobody dances

• Restaurants can open under social-distancing practices until 11pm

• Seminars, banquets and catered events can be held with no more than 300 participants

• No alcohol or dancing is allowed at these events.- School, education institute, or tutorial school can open but classes must be kept small

• Department stores, malls and supermarkets can open as normal, provided no promotions bringing together people are held

• Conventions or exhibitions allowed provided all preventive measures are in place

• Gyms, fitness centres and boxing training camps can hold competitions with a limited audience

In a move claimed to be a method of funding medical treatment for uninsured visitors, Thailand has decided on a 300 baht entry fee

Travellers will need to pay it on each and every entry according to reports. Payment will likely be in the form of a stealth tax applied when someone purchases a flight to Thailand.

Media has reported that the fee will be used for the management of tourism destinations but will also be used as an insurance benefit for international travellers who fall sick or are injured on their trips to the kingdom are unable to pay for medical treatment.