Pattaya Nightlife News and Reviews

From July 1, Thai shopping malls, schools and educational institutes will be able to operate as normal, while bars and entertainment venues will be allowed to reopen only if they possess a valid licence, Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said after the committee approved the fifth phase of lockdown relaxation.

Bars, pubs and entertainment venues will be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages, but will have to shut shop at midnight. These night venues are required to ensure customers are seated at least a metre apart, with tables separated by a two-metre space and 1.5-metre-high partitions. Patrons are not allowed to share tables with strangers while servers must wear masks at all times. Furthermore, frequently touched areas, including toilets, must be cleaned regularly, smoking areas clearly marked and the venues properly ventilated.

Entertainment venues are not allowed to launch any promotions just yet as these will trigger crowds. These places must screen each customer, provide hand-sanitising gel, limit customers to five per table, not serve alcoholic beverages in shared containers, and install CCTVs, recordings of which should not be deleted for a month so officers can check the situation periodically. Also, singing and dancing are strictly prohibited.

Each business must register with the ThaiChana platform before reopening.

Meanwhile, massage parlours and spas holding valid licences will be allowed to reopen, though all customers have to check in using the ThaiChana platform and are required to wear a mask at all times, except during a bath. Spas and massage parlours are required to limit the number of customers and have their masseurs/masseuses and other employees checked frequently.

Thailand's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has decided that pubs, bars and entertainment venues could be allowed to open from July 1 provided they strictly observe following 22 practices:

• - Controlling the number of patrons to ensure the venue does not get congested;
• - Checking every customer and staff member's temperature;
• - Providing alcohol-based hand sanitising gel at all entrances and other areas as necessary;
• - Ensuring groups are no bigger than five;
• - Ensuring customers queuing to be seated maintain social distancing;
• - Ensuring all tables are at least 2 metres apart or are partitioned;
• - Ensuring seats are at least one metre apart;
• - Ensuring all venues are properly ventilated;
• - Only eating and drinking is allowed;
• - Beverages can only be served individually, and shared jugs or ice buckets are prohibited;
• - Serving staff are required to wear a mask or face shield at all times;
• - Stage or performance area must be partitioned, and audience must be at least 2 metres away from the stage;
• - Event comperes or speakers are required to wear a face shield at all times;
• - Patrons are not allowed to be loud or walk around the venue if not necessary;
• - If the sharing of food or beverages cannot be avoided, everyone at the table must be provided with an individual serving spoon or glass;
• - Toilets must be cleaned every 30 to 60 minutes;
• - All tables, chairs and frequently touched surfaces must be cleaned regularly;
• - No sports matches or competitions that will attract large groups of people are allowed;
• - No video gaming or pub games like pool and darts will be allowed;
• - Social distancing measures must be observed in smoking areas;
• - No service personnel or public relations representatives are allowed to sit with customers.

Thai nightlife will soon be back in full swing as a key member of the virus-fighting state agency on Sunday promised to allow pubs, bars, karaoke parlours and other entertainment venues to reopen their doors.

The decision was reached in talks between Nattapol Nakpanit, from the Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), and representatives of nightlife and musicians. It still needs endorsement, however, by the full-fledged CCSA meeting on Friday.

  There has been an improvement in nightlife as the Thai Government has ended the overnight curfew and allowed restaurants to start selling alcohol.

So of course many bars have now re-opened with a focus on the availability of food, when in fact operations may be more about drink and ladies. GoGos are still firmly closed though, as the licensing system simply does not allow for the illusion of food sales. Unfortunately for the GoGo trade, large nightlife venues in other Asian counties have proved to be the centres of local breakouts of coronavirus.

And of course the moral boundaries between bars with food vs restauranats with beer are being enforced by police raids. But the police are easily persuaded on which side of the line a particular venue lies.

The Thai government has now released the lock down on nearly all businesses except bars and soapy massages. Presumably the basis for this is more moralism than publich health considerations.

The news follows a meeting of a committee under the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha chaired the meeting at Government House on Thursday. The CCSA will decide on the business lockdown easing on Friday.

A source said that Gen Prayut agreed to lift the 11pm-3am curfew so that people could return to their normal life. Almost all businesses would be allowed to resume except pubs, bars, karaoke shops and bath-sauna-massage parlours.

Bars haven't been given a date to re-open after lock down has been ended, but it can't be long now. However it is likelt that several gogos will remain closed.

Connections of the long running Happy A-GoGo have suggested that Happy A-GoGo will not be re-opening after the end of lock down. The owners will be concentratiing on sister bar Baccara.

Meanwhile Rich A-GoGo has posted a for sale sign so the proespectes of a re-opening look unlikely.

More to follow...

A meeting to discuss possible transition guidelines was held last Sunday at the Hollywood Club attended by representatives of Pattaya's bar and nightclub scene, and officials from City Hall and the local police.

Social distancing (surely a phrase to be added to dictionaries from this year), limiting customers inside a bar, and bar workers with face masks and gloves, are just some of the proposed ideas for bars and nightclubs in the party town when they are finally allowed to re-open.

In the suggested proposals, customers could also be asked to submit ID prior to entering a venue in case the information is needed for contact tracing in future. Screening checkpoints could also be set up at the entrances to popular haunts like Walking Street and Soi 6.

...See full article from thethaiger.com

Police in Pattaya have raided a darkside bar for violating the Covid-19 emergency decree by being open and selling alcohol.

The Pattaya News reports that the raid took place at The Pussycat Club at 9pm on Saturday. On arrival, the club appeared to be in darkness, with a closed sign on the door, but officers could hear voices inside.

8 people, 5 Thais and 3 foreigners, were found to be drinking on the premises, violating the ban on social gathering for the purpose of consuming alcohol.

The bar owner was taken to Nongprue police station alongside with her customers, all of whom will appear in court in the near future.

The Covid-19 Centre for Situation Administration has announced that the emergency lockdown decree for Thailand will be extended until 31st May 2020.

The decree does not necessarily mean that the current will restrictions will be maintained for a month. The authorities can vary the conditions as they see fit.

Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA, told the Thai press this afternoon that that the national curfew will very likely remain. Bans on international flights, except for repatriated Thai citizens and a few other exceptions, have now been extended to the end of May. Some domestic travel restrictions will remain. Social and mass gatherings will still be banned.

But Tawesilp says the administration will be looking in depth at reopening businesses and easing restrictions, based on a colour coded scale of guidelines, gradually throughout May. Businesses will have to adhere to new health rules and guidelines once opened. These could include the compulsory wearing of face masks in stores, limits to the numbers of people in stores and no special incentives that may create too many customers at one time.

A group of us lads were due to visit Pattaya in May, but clearly due to the current situation we are not able to come. For some, that might be described as a terrible misfortune or a terrible blow (pardon the pun)... for us, it's worse ... it's a fucking catastrophe!

If you were in a position to help, would you not want to help these desperate humans? Well, I am glad to say I have devised a plan where you can indeed lift these men out of suffering.

Let's do our bit for those most affected by the virus. I would like to arrange a Zoom Conference call (webinar) with my friends and ladies/trannies/animals from your gogo bar on the weekend on 9th May.

Let me know if we can arrange this