Pattaya’s beaches quietly reopened Monday for recreation, swimming, sun bathing and renting beach chairs, with few tourists and no umbrellas.
Despite the amount of complaint from expats about the weeks-long beach closures and from vendors about losing income, neither showed up in force June 1. Scattered sun lovers spread out on towels and mats, keeping their proper distance from each other.
Pattaya officials said chair and umbrella vendors should all return by June 7 when new rules are in place to prevent the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Many had left the city or had their equipment in store, city hall explained.
Physical distancing will be enforced, with beach chairs placed at least 1 to 1.5 meters apart. This will effectively reduce the number of chairs. No chairs will be allowed three consecutive days a week, instead of just one.
When they do return, the chair renters should have more hours to work. Pattaya is planning to increase services hours to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m.
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