October of 2016 and this October of 2017, the 1 year memorial of the King of Thailand’s death, have been very somber months for the people of Thailand. This month of October is significant because it is the 1st year memorial of the death of His Majesty The Honorable King Of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej. I have never seen the love for a King by his people as I have witnessed in Thailand. Honestly, I have a lot of compassion and feeling for him myself. The images of him serving the Thai people are so touching. Love for His Majesty is infectious and it’s obvious that everyone loves the King. His mourning and his death are still being sincerely felt by everyone here.
What does the 1 year memorial mean for tourists that have come to Thailand at this time?
It means that you can do everything that tourists do like shopping and sightseeing. But any activities that can be viewed as a celebration are frowned upon by the government. That means that the nightlife of Pattaya and Thailand has been toned way way down. There isn’t any loud music in the streets. The party party vibe of Pattaya will not be in full swing until after the period of mourning for the King. That date, from what I’ve been told, will be November 1st.
There will be a complete shutdown of government and bars for a period of days at the time of the actual funeral ceremony, towards the end of this month, maybe 3 to 5 days. Its hasn’t been officially declared what will happen to the nightlife. Last year many venues suffered financial losses that they were not able to recover from and went out of business. There is a sense that they government may be sensitive to that issue this year and allow those venues, such as bars and pubs to operate but without the loud music. This is still yet to be determined officially.
Pattaya Undercover will update this article as soon as more information is available. Thailand will always be a great place to vacation. But this October may not be the best time to come here for the nightlife.
I’ve just received information that October 26,2017, will be declared a National Holiday. Banks, Government agencies, movie theaters, and malls will be closed, as well as the major supermarket chains including Tesco Lotus And Big C. All Bars and entertainment venues will be closed on this day and possibly another day as well.