Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing entertainment venues here in Thailand and recent announcements that looks like they are going to extend the opening hours associated with entertainment venues. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Nighttime venues upbeat. Quoting directly: "Businesses have welcomed the Government's decision to extend opening hours for night spots to 4am in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Phuket from Dec 15. On Friday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul discussed extending nightlife opening hours for a trial period with the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Royal Thai Police and the four provincial Governors." 

So a couple of things. It looks like this is going to be coming online starting December 15th; it also looks like, again we haven't seen finalized rules promulgated, but it looks like this is also going to be sort of a temporary pilot program that is going to be put in place for sort of going into the New Year and sort of the heart of the high season over here in Thailand, the high tourist season. I am hoping this will be extended thereafter because I think, in my opinion I think this is a good idea; now one man's opinion, take it for what it's worth. But yeah that extra 2 hours, Thai people especially, I don’t really; I love Thailand because it is so insulated, it is very much in its own world and so Thai people think "well foreigners, they are not going to want to drink much past 2am. It kind of reminds me of Kansas a little bit; I am originally from Kansas and that would be sort of the thinking in Kansas. "Yeah bars can be open till 2am. You don't need to be out much past two. Well in Thailand it is a little different because we have got a lot of people especially during high season, tourists who are coming in at all hours of the day or night and they are on a totally different time schedule too. So people that might be up at 1am, for an American that might feel like one in the afternoon to them. So for this reason, I think especially in entertainment zones, this is a really good idea. I think it will be very good especially for places that cater to tourists. Now as noted, as I will note right now, there are some other publications out there that are saying "well this needs to be reviewed", although I have noticed December 15th keeps coming up and I think it is prudent to think that we will probably see these rule changes affected probably by that point; we are sitting here in early November right now. I think, whenever they sort of throw dates out there from official sources that is usually a pretty good indicator; again I am speculating to one degree or another. 

Another thing that is interesting, in one publication I was reading, and in fact I would urge those are watching this video go check out that article I cited, but they talked about the fact that apparently Koh Samui sort of was not part of the plans. It will be interesting to see when this finally comes down exactly what it looks like and exactly what venues are going to be able to enjoy these extended opening hours. 

Now that said, for tourists I think it is just a general benefit because at the end of the day, it is going to mean more time to be able to have fun in the nightlife. For nightlife vendors, I think it's overall a good thing because they have got an extra two hours to make some more money. So exactly how this plays out remains to be seen. We will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.