Patong Beach Nightlife

Patong, once known as the sleazy, red light district of Phuket, has undergone a period of transformation in recent years. The area's once notorious nightlife has been tamed somewhat to make it friendlier to women, couples and families and Patong now has something for everyone. That's not to say that you can't find some wild action anymore - you certainly can - but it does mean that a much wider variety of entertainment options exist to make your nights in Phuket as much fun as your days.

Patong Discos and Dance Clubs

Patong plays host to several nightclubs and discos where those so inclined can let their hair down and get their boogie on. While not featuring top DJs (indeed, most clubs play the exact same music every night, sometimes more than once a night) they do have heaving dance floors and a lot of energy. Most discos in Patong charge a 100 baht admission fee but rather than being a cover charge, this is actually a drink minimum since you get a voucher and most clubs charge 100 baht for almost all drinks.

Tiger Disco is located on Soi Tiger, off of Bangla Road. This place is happening almost every night of the week and is often full of 'freelance' bar girls. Tai Pan is located at the intersection of Bangla and Rat-U-Thit road and has long been a favourite Patong hot spot. Although the laws now force it to close at 02:00 instead of sunset it still gets pumpin' every night.

Next to Tai Pan you'll find Baya Beach, a more mellow place with a tropical theme. On the beach road look for Banana Disco, popular with young people for its two level dance floor and hip lighting. Downstairs is Banana Club, with live music and a weekly Elvis impersonator. Safari Club is located on the hill that overlooks Patong from the south. This is the main late night venue and has an indoor and an outdoor club, both open until dawn. (Read More...)

Go-Go Bars in Patong Beach

This is the reason why many people come to Patong in the first place - sexy young girls barely wearing bikinis swaying seductively to the music. Go-Go bars aren't the raunchy circuses they used to be but they still provide plenty to look at. According to the law, there is no actual nudity anymore but these rules are often bent if not outright ingnored.

Drink prices tend to be higher in Go-Go bars but this is offset by the fact that many of the girls in them are free to come and go as they please, with no bar fine involved. Soi Seadragon has the most go-go bars in Patong, with Playschool, Showgirls, Lolita and The Heights. Next door is Rock Hard Café, above Club Rio, which has (some say) the sexiest dancers around. Dragon Club is also popular, but some think the music is a little on the loud side.

Phuket Beer Bars or (Bar Beers!)

The quintessential Patong entertainment, a beer bar is one of the countless little places that are jam-packed together on the bar streets and sois of Patong. These places uniformally employ numerous pretty hostesses whose job is to lure patrons by various means. The most common tactic is simply to stand out front and repeat "Hello, welcome" like a mantra to anyone who walks by.

Once you're in the bar, expect to be surrounded by these girls who will lavish attention on you like you're Hugh Heffner and entice you to play a game of connect four or hammer-the-nail-into-the-block-of-wood.

Be wary if a girl wants to bet on one of these games; they have little else to do during the day time and spend lots of time practicing. The day you beat a bar girl at connect four you've been in Patong way too long. The games are just a diversion, however as the real entertainment is the girls themselves. For a modest fee you can relieve her of her bar duties for an evening on the town.

If you'd like to spend a little more time with her, that can usually be arranged as well; for that you and your new friend will have to come to your own arrangement. Beer bars are ubiquitous in Patong and there's no shortage, just head to one of the many sois off of Bangla and you'll be hip deep in them. A few of the better ones are The Point, Sharky Bar and Black Cat.

Music Pubs

If you're all about the music then you have plenty of options in Patong. There are quite a few places where the most important thing going is the tunes. For die hard rockers there's Rock City on the beach road, which features AC/DC and Metallica tribute bands. It may not really be Angus Young or James Hetfield, but it's a good substitute.

If you'd rather snap your fingers to some cool jazz, check out Saxophone, a long time Bangkok favourite that has made its way to Phuket. Molly Malone's features Celtic music nightly, Banana Club (below the disco) also features live bands, as does Margaritas, at the Rat-U-Thit/Bangla intersection.. (Read More...)

Upscale Bars/Cocktail Lounges

Its not all girlie bars and go-gos in Patong. There are some more refined places with style and class where you can sip something sexy in trendy surroundings. Club Rio is a cool place to check out some latin jazz and dig the scene on Bangla Road.

The Patong Bay Garden Resort has a lovely and quiet cocktail lounge, located right on the beach, while Joe's Downstairs also features a hip piano bar overlooking the rocky headland at the beach's north end. La Baia has lots of comfortable seating and a sophisticated vibe and The Sofa is filled with plush sofas and armchairs from which to have a martini.

Cabarets & Transvestite Shows

Once upon a time if you wanted to see boys who pretend to be girls (so well that it's hard to tell they're boys - if they still are) then you had one choice: Simon Cabaret. Combining glamour, song, dance, comedy and elaborate staging, this was a one of a kind experience; the sort of thing you could only see in Phuket.

Although Simon Cabaret is the first (and some say still the best), a number of other ladyboy cabarets have sprung up in recent years, such as Sphinx, My Way Cabaret and Moulin Rose. The shows, costumes and performers get more and more extravagant every year as each theatre raises the bar and dares the others to match them, but one thing remains the same: it's the kind of thing you can only see in Thailand. See Paradise Complex

Muay Thai in Phuket

Thai boxing is one of the world's most devastating martial arts and a Muay Thai match is a spectacle not to be missed. Muay Thai fighters train by slamming their shins against progressively harder surfaces until are the nerves are dead and their bones become iron bars. In addition to these punishing kicks, Muay Thai boxers use an arsenal of elbow and knee strikes to punish their opponents.

A dynamic and varied style of combat, it's much more exciting than western boxing. Which sounds better - two weapons or eight? Part of the fun of Thai boxing is immersing yourself in the environment ringside.

The traditional music that rises and falls to match the pace of the fight, bookies circulating through the crowd taking bets, local patrons cheering on their favourite fighters. You can get a taste of Muay Thai at Soi Vegas off of Bangla, which has a small ring set up in the middle where you can watch the action for the price of a beer.

The fights aren't exactly the real deal, though, so if you want to watch some serious action check out Patong Boxing Stadium on Rat-U-Thit Road, which is where the best fighters on the island square off. (Read More...)