Patong – sex city or family friendly?

There are mixed comments when you hear about Patong on the island of Phuket.
Some will tell you its the sex city of Thailand and that any desire can be met. It’s where lady-boys and ping pong shows are on almost every corner.

Well for us, its simply the opposite.

Coming here in the daytime one might be excused in thinking that this side of Patong is put away until the evening, as is the case with the other notorious streets of Patpong in the countries capital of Bangkok.
We decided that we would check out Patong in both day and evening to see what its all about
There is two distinct areas in Patong to visit

By the beach.
Here you’ll git a good mix of shopping, massage places that you can take the kids and generally feel safe to wander around.
There are plenty of taxis, some are more like mobile boom boxes, but that’s the fun of Patong. The beach is crowded, so our advice…swim somewhere else if you want peace and quiet.
There are a few bars here and life music after 10pm every evening.
We only noticed in the area we explored one Disco. We didn’t venture in as the cover charge would have blown our daily budget and we imagined that it would be full of younger people (not saying that over 35 is old!)
One thing you have to buy while walking along the beach front is a banana crepe from the street vendors, for 40THB they are simply divine.

You will get the usual sales pitches here more than Old Phuket, thats why we love the quiet side of the Island.

From pirate CD’s, fake Ray-ban sunglasses and T-shirts its all here.
The pick up trucks cruse down the streets crowded with cars , motorbikes and taxis
“Tonight….tonight……tonight….Bangala Boxing Stadium……World Champion fight……he’s the best of the best….you see Mu Thai, you see Thailand”
With small stages set atop the boxers show their belts and display their moves.

Don’t expect to see the seedy side of Patong by the beach, its not here. This is a place you can shop in the evening with the kids in tow.
Bangala Rd
Bars, bars, bars…. That’s Bangala Rd.
This is the place more likely to have the seedy element, however its only there if you go looking for it.
Patong Bar Girls Here’s how its works as I discovered from an owner mate of mine who has an Aussie Bar in Karon.

You buy a girl a drink at a rate that way higher than the cost normally, this gets you th girls attention for the evening. Now if you want to take her away from the establishment then you’ll have to pay the bar owner a bar fine for taking a worker away from the bar (yeah like she was really working). Anything else is then between you and your new found friend.

All sounds like another name for Pimps and Prostitutes if you ask me.

To be honest Patong is not really for us, it’s too hyped up and from all that we read and were expecting we were a little disappointing, but I guess that’s because we had enjoyed so much of what Phuket as a whole has to offer and Bars and Night Clubs are not our thing.

So to sum it up
Patong – Family friendly by the beach and a good place to come and people watch. If your looking for the usual Tourist bargain hunt you’ll probably find it here. We are glad we came here to give ourselves the view of all the places in Phuket.

Contact Us

	While we are traveling, we may be off the grid for weeks at a time. We will do our best to respond as quickly as possible. Please be clear on the subject as well as any requests you may have. For our followers, feel free to send a note and say hello. We love hearing … Continue reading