Bar owners / managers from the Nana area were ordered to attend an 8pm meeting at Lumpini police station on Tuesday 3rd March with most, if not all, expecting to hear nothing more than being told to close on Makha Bucha Day.

Being one of Thailand’s major Buddhist holidays and with a history of closures on this date the mood was easy going. Show up, smile, nod when appropriate, go back to work.

All was going as expected until it was announced that for the next two weeks all bars must close by midnight. Bins have to be checked by 11.30pm with all bars cleared and customers out by midnight. No reason was given for the temporary closing order.

I’m waiting on clarification if this includes bars within Nana Plaza and nightclubs or not, however, bar bosses from the Plaza were in attendance at the meeting as were managers and owners from a couple of clubs.

The order and situation is rather vague right now and just how far this early closure net is being cast around Lumpini district is anything but clear. Whilst Nana Plaza did indeed close at midnight on Tuesday 4th, other bars along lower Sukhumvit were open at half past midnight with one manager telling me they’ve had no orders to close early.

Is this just for bars operating in Soi 4? Are all other bars and clubs around the district free to carry on and close at their normal times? One aggregator is reporting this is a city wide crackdown but that is not something mangers and owners outwith this police district have conveyed to me.

With bars not due to reopen until Thursday 5th, there is time for behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing to take place. Lets see what happens at midnight on Thursday.





