Just a reminder, if you are getting all ready to go out on the town in Thailand tonight, there are no alcohol sales allowed anywhere in the country as it’s Makha Bucha Day, a Buddhist holy day, so you are out of luck if you want to do a bit of drinking.
The alcohol sales ban in Thailand went into effect at 12:01am this morning and will be in effect until midnight tonight.
The fine for selling alcohol illegally this year is between 3,000 and 5,000 baht, so you’ll find a lot of the smaller sellers especially won’t chance selling it. They can’t afford the fine.
There is no word whether hotels are exempt though, as they often are on Thai Buddhist holidays like Makha Bucha Day, due to the many tourists and other visitors in Thailand. But you’ll no doubt discover whether yours is or not when you get to the hotel bar.
By the way, just to show how odd Thailand’s no alcohol laws often are, as the alcohol ban expires at midnight, you can get a few drinks in then, if you don’t mind hanging around a bit parched until the clock strikes twelve.
However, as most bars and many clubs in Thailand are required to close by 1am, you had better drink fast.