BANGKOK, 27 February 2018: Visitors to Thailand will face a dry spell this Thursday due to a day-long ban on the sale of booze comes into effect as the country celebrates the Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha day.
All government offices will be closed 1 March including Immigration Bureau offices handling visa extensions.
Bank branches in shopping malls will remain open and post offices for limited hours.
Bars and nightclubs will also close.
The national holiday is observed in neighbouring Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia as well as parts of India and Sri Lanka.
Thai Buddhists will attend ceremonies at local temples and the sale of alcohol is prohibited until the following day.
Makha Bucha is a Buddhist holiday, which takes place annually on the night of the full moon during the third lunar month of the year.
The holy day marks the anniversary of the Buddha’s first major sermon. On the full moon of the third lunar month, seven months after the Lord Buddha began his teachings and in the presence of 1,250 monks, he ordained monks and revealed the principles of Buddhism to his followers.
