Few party animals for bars as high season builds
GENERAL
I have been told that getting seats on flights on and off the island is getting more difficult as most flights are full. The second half of December is predicted to be one of the busiest for years and most big hotels are fully booked for Christmas and New Years.
The main beaches are crowded every day but at night things are still a little on the quiet side. It is not that the bars are not doing business but that they are not doing enough business. There are a lot more family groups here now and they are not all party animals and tend to go out for dinner and a few drinks in a bar not a gogo.. There has been an noticeable increase in young Aussie back packer types but they don't splash their money around either. Most of them can be seen staggering around in their cheap flip flops clutching 50 Baht beers bought from street side vendors.
While Soi Bangla entertainment zone is enjoying late night opening the police have been carrying out a clamp down on premises on Nanai Road that have been staying open past their legal licence hours. Several bars were busted and the owners had to put up a bond of 30,000 Baht and had to attend a court hearing. The bars were fined 6,000 Baht each and given a warning.
Two major international sporting events attracted a lot of publicity and TV coverage showing off Phuket at its best. Both events brought is a lot of additional sports people and all their support teams.
THE PORT OUTDOOR MUSIC VENUE
The pavement area in front of the Banthai Hotel has always been used as an outdoor restaurant with live bands providing the music. This season they have two very good Philippino bands that do alternate sessions playing out all the old and new pop tunes. The place is packed every night with tourists enjoying the outdoor scene.
ROCK CITY
I know I should not have considered it but a couple of friends talked me into going to Rock City with them. It is everything it states in the advertisements. The place definitely ROCKS!! The the music was so loud I thought the fillings in my teeth were coming loose. You have to be a real heavy metal fan to appreciate the scene but for my poor old ears I need something a bit more mellow. Rock City have visiting tribute bands that play every night and has become very popular over the last year. I found I can comfortably sit at the outside bar, still hear the music, and watch the world go by on the beach.
MOLLY MALONES
Molly Malone's Irish Pub on the Beach Road went into overdrive for the Christmas month with a range of happy hour prices. They are offering afternoon (4pm til 7pm) pints of draught beer at only 75 Baht per pint. There is also a Happy Hour Cocktail from 6pm til 8pm that offers buy one get one free. Their full menu is available all day and a special Sunday Roast Carvery from noon to 4pm weighs in at 349 Baht.
SCRUFFY MURPHY'S IRISH PUB
Not to be outdone Scruffy Murphy's on Soi Bangla is also making several good offers. Their Early Bird Breakfast for only 99 Baht is available from 10am to 2pm. Their Happy Hour draught beer is on offer at 60 Baht. I find it surprising that these pubs come from the same stable but are running different special offers.
THE BOTTOMS UP CLUB
This attempt at an A Go Go opened last high season but only lasted a few months. It has reopened again for this high season and has not improved. On stage were six lonely looking lasses making a half hearted attempt at entertaining the few customers that were in. Their drinks list stated beers were 130 Baht but when I got my bill it was for 150 Baht. This was because my choice of beer fell outside the "normal" beers listed on the menu. Another swindle. The place is Thai run and it shows. It would be more at home in an Issan village. The mamasan spoke good English but could not understand why I was pointing out that right next door Suzie Wong's Go Go only charged 120 Baht for the same brand of beer. Needless to say I moved on.
MAJOR SPORTS EVENTS
King's Cup Regatta
This years event was well attended and there were many visiting yachts from all over. Kata Beach was the focal point for most of the on shore events and the place was busy. This year the event was blessed with good winds and gentle weather.
Phuket Laguna Triathlon
This annual event was held on 2nd December with over 900 athletes taking part. It was a great success and images of Phuket televised around the world. The race is part of the world ranking triathlon series and attracted some of the big names in the sport.
TIGER COMPLEX
I have had various E mails from disgruntled punters commenting on the ridiculous price of lady drinks charged by some of the bars in the ground floor of Tiger complex. One bar named by my source was alleged as charging 240 Baht for a shooter glass of orange mix. I have replied with my normal advice - vote with your feet.
BAR CLOSING
It looks like my hopes of common sense have been dashed. It has been announced that ALL bars will be closed for the election period. This may mean closing on the evening of 22nd December and not opening until after midnight on 23rd. A forward thinking government (oxymoron) in this case might have made exemptions for the tourist zones. After all - how many times has a drunken Farang staggered into a Thai polling station and tried to hijack the election?
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