You certainly can't accuse the military-led Thai government of pandering to the tourist industry when it comes to the upcoming national election. The high season runs from November through to April, but the peak, peak season is between December 15 and January 5. So, when do you think they scheduled the election? December 23, that's when. At the absolute height of the season, when Thailand shows off all its finery to millions of tourists.
Now, no-one minds that the Thai people exercise their democratic right, even if it means that many of the workers in the tourist industry will have to take off a day or two to return to their home villages and towns. No, the real worry is that any election in Thailand is accompanied by a ban on the selling of alcohol, the beverage that fuels the country's highly-prized nightlife.
A booze ban on election day would be quite understandable, but it's not that simple. The ban will stretch across two whole weekends. The first dry days will be 14, 15 and 16 December, which are the voting days for those who registered to cast their ballots early. The ban is expected to run from 6pm Friday 14th until midnight at Sunday 16th.The second dry run is for the actual election day, with the ban running from 6pm on 22 December until midnight on 23 December. Expect some old soaks to be propping up the bars when the clock strikes midnight!
But Thailand being Thailand, all is not lost for those in search of a tot or two. Judging by past experiences, many bars will open up for business on the premise that they will only serve softdrinks. But, strangely, an inordinate number of cups of tea seem to be served on these days. A nice porcelain cup does look so innocent, doesn't it?
And, of course, some upholders of the law do have a special relationship with certain bars, which leads them to turn a blind eye to one or two little infringements. Those will be the bars with the loudest music.
You can also often get a bottle of wine and beers in the restaurants of the big hotels, as long as you order a meal. I think it has something to do with whether you are licensed as a restaurant or a bar. But the freedom to serve all does not extend to independent restaurants. Most of them run dry or serve up cups of tea.
The clever locals and visitors will stock up with alcohol in advance and have parties at home. They will buy more booze than they would normally drink in a week - and then discover that it runs out before the deadline! There's nothing to fuel a thirst like a ban, it all tastes so much better! Lucky for them, when the bottles run dry they will always be able to find a little supermarket that has stocked up on supplies for the silly tipplers who can't last without a drink.
Normally I am quite happy to stay without a drink for a week or two, but the excitement of the ban and the dry bars will probably get to me. Inevitably, I will head off to my local for a nice cup of tea. Maybe I'll have two. Oh, damn it, pass me the whole pot.
