The party’s back on in Bangkok, even if the neon lights are still down
Nightlife has resumed in Thailand’s capital after a brief halt following the death of the kingdom’s revered monarch, and tourists still plan on having a good time in the country, as some join in mourning
More than two weeks after the death of Thailand’s king Bhumibol Adulyadej, Bangkok’s nightspots are back in business.
The military government’s call to cease all “joyful events” for a month in the wake of the king’s death on October 13 came just a few weeks before the start of the high season for tourists. The timing couldn’t have been worse for an economy that’s propped up by overseas fun seekers. However, pragmatism has since prevailed.
In Soi Cowboy, a strip of go-go bars in the downtown Sukhumvit area of Bangkok, the bright neon signs that normally cast a warm glow over the street remain switched off, but otherwise it’s just another Saturday night when we visit. Disco music pulses from behind heavy velvet curtains, and young women – in sombre black bikini tops and shorts – entice tourists and expats into dimly lit bars to watch pole dancing and maybe find company.
Jonathan, a long-time Soi Cowboy bar owner, is adamant the international media is distorting the situation in Thailand. Like others, he preferred not to give his real name due to sensitivity over the subject of the long-ruling king’s death. Bangkok’s famed nightlife has not ground to a halt, he insists, although last orders on alcohol sales are now called at midnight, rather than 2am or later.
