Pattaya’s party people have another hour to revel after city officials and provincial police agreed to extend the allowed closing time of Walking Street bars to 3 a.m.
The move, which permits pubs and discos in other areas to remain open until 2 a.m., comes after yet another crackdown by Bangkok-based police and a subsequent protest meeting from bar owners who insist Pattaya, as a tourist town, should be exempted from national laws requiring entertainment businesses to close by 1 a.m.
Police and volunteers prepare to head out to Walking Street to make sure all entertainment venues adhere to the new agreement.
In fact, Walking Street go-go bars long have stayed open until 4 a.m. (and some discos until after dawn). But their late night operations were always subject to the whims of police, who turned a blind eye when convenient and staged impromptu crackdowns when it wasn’t. Such erratic enforcement infuriated operators who demanded more legal transparency and consistency in applying the law.
The new informal agreement between Pattaya City Hall and Region 2 police will alleviate that, at least until Interior Ministry officials in Bangkok object to the extra-judicial arrangement. But Chonburi Provincial Police deputy commander Theerapol Jindaluang quickly made it known that with the legal concession came stricter enforcement of the new closing times.
To prove his point, Theerapol led police through Walking Street at 3 a.m. sharp Nov. 26 closing all bars and discos. More than 100 uniformed and plain-clothed officers made sure all bar owners knew anyone who didn’t hold up their end of the bargain would be arrested and fined.
The officers also reminded operators of existing laws that prohibit minors, illegal drugs and weapons inside entertainment venues.
