Nightlife in Patong, Phuket – Where to Go
The Thai Island has it's Own Red-Light Area – Patong on the Sea
Aug 11, 2009
The Patong bar areas disturb some people, especially couples with families whose first experience of "the girlie scene" this may be. Often these bars are filled with underage working girls and boys in pursuit of a new life, money, or even hope. The noise is deafening as each bar has its own sound system, and the girls, or boys, sit outside trying to attract the tourists inside to buy drinks. The whole area has a seedy atmosphere covered up by strings of coloured lights and the din of pop songs. Walk down the same streets during the day to see just how woebegone a place it can be. In many people’s eyes it is much worse than Patpong in Bangkok, on a similar stand to that of Pattaya.
Bars in Patong Worth Visiting
Scruffy Murphy’s, Bangla Road, Patong. As the name implies, this is an Irish pub catering to mostly UK visitors and young Australians. Apart from the drinking and the camaraderie, they mostly come here for the games on the big screen. There is usually one every night.
Seduction Disco (off Bangla) has really good DJs and most of the dancers who go there perform like professionals.
Junk Ceylon Mall on Rat-U-Thit Road, is an enormous mall offering lots of pubs, restaurants and entertainment options.
Cabaret and Entertainment Shows
Apart from the bars, Fantasea is the main attraction. Set in a theme park surrounded by shops, it’s just outside Patong at Kamala Beach. The show takes place in the Palace of the Elephants and is quite entertaining if a trifle touristy. The sight of the magnificent elephants having to do tricks after the show as they pose for tourists in the exterior courtyard, can be disturbing. Entrance to the show 1,000 Baht.
For a good Dinner and Show combination, there’s only one place to go and that is Sphinx. Set right in the heart of Patong it has female dancers as well as transsexuals offering two, sometimes three, shows a night. Options to suite all tastes - set menus and cocktails, or drinks only.
Simon Cabaret is an established transsexual extravaganza offering two shows nightly. The cabaret lies on the Patong-Karon Road and is usually packed with tourists. This transsexual show features scantily clad men who lip-sync to popular Asian and Western pop songs. Think Danny La Rue rather than sleaze, it's high camp, great fun, the sets and the choreography are excellent, and its full of grandmotherly types. Around 500 baht (rumour has it the price is about to rise).
Bars Just Outside Patong
There are plenty of easy-going bars in Phuket Town, simple enough to find but for something slightly more selective and “different” you could do worse than check out Phukana Wine and Music in Mealuan Road. This has a live dance band playing in an intimate club atmosphere.
For a family-friendly restaurant/bar with some entertainment, Joe Kool’s at the Ramada Resort at Karon Beach gets a lot of votes.
One thing is sure, Patong isn’t the place to go if you are doing the 12-step programme, if you don’t like noise or if the sight of young girls trying to entice punters into the bars is unsettling. All other things being equal, Patong can be fun – in small doses!
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