Patong beach
Patong is the most commercialised beach in Phuket. The beach itself is broad and spacious and all the regular beach side distractions such as jet skis and paragliding are readily available.
Thawiwong Road runs along side the beach and on the other side of this and this is packed with all manner of souvenir and clothing shops as well as a wide variety of places to eat and drink.
There are a huge number of diving operations that cater both to the experienced diver and complete beginner. These, and a plethora of other activities, can be organised from just about anywhere since almost everyone in Patong seems to be a booking agent.
Right in the middle of Patong is Soi Bangla, the epicentre of Phuket nightlife. The one way street runs in from the beach. It is not a busy road but even so it is closed to traffic in the evening. There are numerous bars on the right as you walk away from the beach. Places with names like The Shipwreck and Happy House are usually open and ready to start serving customers shortly after breakfast.
But the real action is on a series of sois and alleyways to the left after Scruffy Murphy’s. These soi are filled with beer bars many of which have platforms for dancers. Many of the them also have ago-go bars on either side.
They don’t really get going until around nine o’clock in the evening but each one seems to have its own character. One of the most popular is Soi Crocodile. A large ladyboy disco at the far end of the soi had been burned down a few days before my last visit but the dancing pole at the top of the soi was still attracting crowds of on lookers.
Here, a few ladyboys get up to dance and generally ham it up for the benefit of tourists. As soon as the cameras start to flash the collection plate comes out. If that fills up nicely then the ladyboys start to flash.
Soi Tiger has been decorated to look like you are in a cave. Sharkeys, at the top of the soi is one of the few places where the dancers wear a uniform rather than regular clothes. In this case it is a school uniform.
If you enjoy having your bottom pinched take a stroll along Soi Sea Dragon.
The lady drinks in Phuket are more expensive than elsewhere but not by a huge margin. There is however one feature that I have not noticed anywhere else. Each bar has a bell. This in itself is not uncommon, normally if a person rings it he has to buy a drink for everyone in the pub. In Phuket you pay a flat fee of 1,000 baht which buys all the girls a drink.
Of course anyone ringing the bell becomes an instant hero and all the girls come over and tell you that you “have big heart”.
At the very top of Soi Bangla on the corner of Rat-U-Thit Songroi Pi Road is the Bangla Boxing Stadium where Muay Thai fights are held nightly
Restaurants
Patong has a full complement of restaurants from around the world however one should not miss out on the excellent and wonderfully fresh seafood.
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