Tourists who do not participate in elections in Thailand will still “fall victim” to local pre-election rules. The fact is that a dry law will be introduced in Thailand – albeit for a very short period – for two weekends in a row.
More precisely, it will not be possible to buy alcohol from 18:00 on May 6 to 18:00 on May 7, as well as from 18:00 on May 13 to 18:00 on May 14. These are two sober weekends, they are the day of early voting and the day of elections in the country.
At the same time, the Thai media published a separate warning for tourists: the ban on alcohol applies to everyone who is currently in the country. The sale or distribution of alcohol is prohibited everywhere: in shops, bars, and even at parties and weddings. Anyone who violates the ban, including a tourist, can be sentenced to six months in prison and/or fined up to 10,000 baht.
By the way, it is also forbidden to sell alcohol in Thailand during some Buddhist holidays. There are at least five of them, which is unfortunate for tourists – they are celebrated according to the lunar calendar, that is, their dates change every year. Thai media refer to the following holidays as Maha Bucha Day, Vishakha Bucha Day, Asahna Bucha, Wan Khao Phansan, and Awk Phansa.
However, Thailand has other funny laws related to alcohol. For example, as early as 1972, when the country was under a military junta, a law was introduced – and it is still in force today – according to which vendors cannot sell alcoholic beverages between 14:00 and 17:00. Advertising of alcohol is also prohibited in Thailand – under a fine of hundreds of thousands of baht, or even in prison, you can even go to prison for publishing a photo and a review of craft beer… However, fortunately, only local citizens take such a risk – foreigners are still this law does not apply.