Thai law doesn't say anything about foreigners having to carry passports. It says that EVERYONE -- Thai, foreign, or Martian -- must carry ID. For Thais, it means a Thai ID card. For others, it means the only internationally recognized piece of government-issued identification that shows you are where you are legally: in other words, a passport.
As for closing times, it has always swung back and forth -- even in the "good old days" (whenever those were), and still today -- depending on how much corruption was being allowed (more corruption = later opening times, so I'm not sure that's a good thing to wish for; it would be much better to wish for a change in the law).
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