Thailand Goes Pure

It’s the beautiful season in the Kingdom again. Cooler nights and beer gardens swarming with happily laughing people. People fall in love this season, less suicides do occur.

It is so nice outside, you may even have a walk under the bright sun – and you’re not even sweating! Welcome to Thailand in December.

But this December is somehow worse than ever. It is a very dry December – at two weekends it is to say: Thailand has to go dry.

Because of our sort-of-elections. During two weekends all alcohol is prohibited.

No lights. No music. No alcohol. No girls. No fun. No nothing. A list that is eternal.

At least the happy people of Thailand are allowed to drink & drive.

Not that the wise people of beautiful Thailand could not have the intelligence to stock up booze in the days ahead and tumble totally wasted into the voting booth.

But it’s the restaurants, bars, night clubs, tourists, locals, farmers, working classes and expats that suffer.

Suffer so much, that our dear Dave the Rave, Bangkok’s Go-Go Guru, modestly headlines: “Thailand Tourism Turmoil”.

People, especially foreigners, are in upheaval. A question of life and death, it seems.

Punters who hit the bars regularly are in complete despair.

There is talk of emigration to another country.

Clearly: There is not even a word for the absurdity of the ban. Absolute madness is still too mild of an expression.

Or do foreigners not understand that a drink and clear thinking don’t mix together?

Or does “a drink” not exist in Thailand? Is drinking mainly about getting completely sloshed?

Imagine an election in the West with no drinks allowed. Those politicians responsible for it would be castigated publicly and exiled for life. But it’s the purists and hypocrites that have the say in current Thailand.

And they obviously have no bit of trust in the decision-making ability of their own people.

Poor Abhisit and Democrats – the quiet could-be-profiteers of the junta. How many millions of votes they will loose because of no beer and no whiskey and no girls and no fun at the elections.

If the Democrats go down, it is because of no beer.

Wein, Weib & Gesang – wine, women and song, as the jolly people of Germany say. Now that would be a win-win-formula for any politician.

But pretending to be clean and pure only attracts the opposite. The tit-for-tat response is a given.

May there be lots of booze poured out behind closed counters.

One would imagine that the junta as well wishes to allow everything that can prevent the return of Thaksinomics. According action is – even as an act of civil disobedience – a political imperative for the kind and gifted people of Thailand.

Or do you want soberness to be another nail in the coffin of the last remaining liberal, educated and democratically minded people around here?

If you’re still not frustrated enough: The forum of ThaiVisa has a whole encyclopedia on the subject.

The Lost Boy is as emotional about it as the not always sober The Farang Speaks 2 Much.