A few weeks ago my colleague wrote about the potential opening up of Thamel 24/7. As the time approaches for the powers that be to give a decision on this, let’s look again at what this means for the party animals among us! Firstly, didn’t they try this whole 24/7 opening of Thamel a couple of years ago? If my memory serves me correctly this was the same year or the following year of the earthquake. Which might have been the reason behind this being an enormous fail. Of course the timing of this potential 24/7 opening fits nicely with the tourist off-season; just like remak­ing the roads in Thamel began to coincide nicely with the start of the tourist season this year.

 

Is there really enough to keep us occupied for 24 hours in Thamel? I read one young person saying it would be great if they could stay up in bars, restaurants, clubs all night because they cannot go home at 2am and expect someone to unlock the door. Nor do they want to pay for a hotel room. Two things here—locks work both ways (gates can also be unlocked from both sides with the right kind of lock: amazing right? But then we all know it’s not really the lock that’s the problem; it’s the parents), and if you cannot pay for a hotel room, shared between the four or five friends you always hang out with, are you going to the con­tributing to the economy sitting over one beer between the hours of 9pm and 6am?

 

There are a few clubs that have a special license that enables them to stay open until 2 or 3am. And recently the Marriott Hotel started a late night buffet available from 11pm till 3am. But I guess right now there is nowhere to go from 3am until public transport starts running around 6 in the morning.

 

From the tourists’ perspec­tive—few are coming to Nepal, even Kathmandu, for the night­life. Better nightlife can be had in their own cities and in other part of Asia. On the whole they are com­ing, as we all know, for trekking, climbing, and to experience nature, wildlife, and culture. While they certainly enjoy eating and drinking until late evening, after an exhaust­ing trek do you think they really want, or are able, to stay up all night? Again, after being out in the mountains, or jungle, or experienc­ing the spirituality of Pashupati or Boudha, do you think they really want to listen to cover bands for 12 hours? And personally I wouldn’t really want to do my souvenir shop­ping at 1am.

 

Having lived in Edinburgh a cou­ple of decades ago, I do remember wishing there was somewhere to go for coffee after coming out of the pub at 1 or 2am. Of course now there are plenty of places open in Scotland’s capital serving coffee throughout the night, but in those days, apart from clubs, there was not a lot open after 1am. Aside from needing a coffee fix, I wasn’t heart­broken I couldn’t party until it was time to go to the office. I survived with partying within the given time!

 

While many business owners might be attracted to the idea that they can make money all night long, they will also have to employ more staff to cover the extra opening hours. They might want to sit down and do the maths.

And let’s not forget, 24/7 means open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Not just on Fridays when Thamel is at its busiest. Of course venues can choose their own timings. No one is going to force them to open 24 hours a day for 12 months a year… or are they? Will we now see police at 3am, on seeing someone pull­ing down the shutters, telling them “Open up! Right now!” Stranger things have happened!