No Full Moon Parties on Buddhist Holidays

alcohol

As Thailand is mainly a Buddhist nation, every time there is a Buddhist celebration, the sale of alcohol is forbidden. Offenders face 6 months in prison and/or 10,000 Baht fine. Supermarkets and convenience stores that have electronic tills are very strict about this as you can see by this picture taken at Tesco Lotus. I doubt the cashier will be able to scan the barcode on this day, and if they do, the receipt will have evidence (name of item and time and date) that alcohol was sold. This includes bars. However, international hotels are allowed to sell alcohol to their foreign guests. You can also find alcohol being sold at many mom & pop stores. Though they might not sell to you if they don’t know you. Foreigners are sometimes used by the police to catch perpetrators.

The following are the main Buddhist holidays in Thailand:

  • 25th February 2013: Makha Bucha Day (23-25 February is the holiday)
  • 24th May 2013: Wisakha Bucha Day (24-26 May is the holiday)
  • 22nd July 2013: Asarnha Bucha Day (20-23 July is the holiday)

As the Buddhist holidays fall on full moons, not only does the date change every year, but also they coincide with the popular Full Moon Parties. So, as the sale of alcohol is forbidden on these days, the Full Moon Party has to be postponed as follows:

  • 25th February 2013 moved to 26th February
  • 24th May 2013 moved to 25th May
  • 22nd July 2013 moved to 24th July

The other Full Moon Party dates are on the full moon night.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *