The party resumes

When the tanks rolled up to Government House and news of the coup spread, Bangkok residents began to think the worst. In worried phone calls and frantic text messages to friends, we wondered how the sudden imposition of military rule would affect our lives. Would there be curfews confining us to our homes at night, and throwing a wet blanket of fear and paranoia over the city?

It hasn't turned out like that at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Bangkok's pubs and clubs are thriving, and many operators are celebrating the end of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's regime by returning to the late closing hours that the city was once famous for.

Under the so-called 'social order policy', instituted by the now-exiled ex-prime minister and policed by his grim-faced interior minister, Purachai Piumsomboon, nightlife venues were ordered to close their doors by 1am. That drew howls of outrage from those in the industry. The nightlife hotspots of Patpong and Ratchada were declared 'entertainment zones' and allowed an extra hour's grace. But establishments in other areas, including busy, tourist-thronged Sukhumvit Road, suddenly found their most lucrative business hours cruelly snatched away.

Party animals decamped in droves for more accommodating climes, heading off for wild weekends in Hong Kong, Manila or Singapore. The latter cannily cashed in by allowing clubs to open around the clock.

Meantime, the 'war on drugs' was also raging in Thailand. A trip to a popular nightspot could often turn into a lengthy ordeal as Mr Thaksin's storm troopers burst in, turned up the lights and ordered everyone to line up and provide a urine sample for drug tests.

Now, as Mr Thaksin gets used to his new digs in London and the Democratic Reform Council ponders who will be the next leader, a strange kind of optimism has settled over the city, and people appear to be in a party mood. There's even talk of the 'City of Angels' reclaiming its mantle as the region's good-times capital.