Welcome to Phuket and Patong Beach.
(update 12 November 2008)
Upcoming events:
15-20 December, 2008
This year's Phuket Carnival will take place from December 15 to 20 at Patong Beach,
December 15: Fireworks performance after dusk
December16: Beach cleanup and a longtail boat competition off Loma Park, 9 am;
December 17: Adventure Competition, Loma Park, 9 am;
December 20: Fancy Parade along the beach road at 5 pm, finishing at Loma Park.
TAT news
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the number of tourist arrivals to Phuket almost doubled to 4.7 million in 2007 from 2.4 million in 2005. Total foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand in 2007 were 14.5 million, of whom one-fifth or 3.1 million went to Phuket
In its 4 March 2006 update, the TAT reported that Phuket has 532 establishments offering 31,778 hotel rooms, half of which are three star accommodations.
Infrastructural improvements have also helped to fuel demand for property. Phuket now has three existing marinas, with another three slated to be completed in the near future. The island’s six golf courses comprise 135 holes and include The Blue Canyon Country Club, the three-time host of the Johnnie Walker Classic. Also factors in buyers’ decisions to invest are the major retail facilities, multiple international schools and top-quality hospitals in Phuket.
Patong
Patong Beach is the most popular and well-developed beach on Phuket Island. Long recognized as one of the world's Top 10 diving sites, Phuket is now Thailand's most important tourist destination, offering a variety of beaches, attractions and exciting night life.
Phuket Island
Phuket Island has 17 sandy beaches.
This photo is from Patong Beach. Take a look in our photo gallery for more beach photos.
Koh Phuket is Thailand's largest Island. It is 50 km long north to south and 21 km wide and joined to the mainland by Sarasin bridge.
Phuket has been inhabited since the early days of mankind by ancient tribes and this still keeps archaeologists occupied to find out the history from the early days.
On the ancient maps of the region around Thailand's South West coast, the name Junk Ceylon can be seen describing a way station on the route between India and China where seafarers stopped to shelter. This Island is today known as Phuket.
Phuket Island was assumed by geologists to be once part of the mainland in the form of a cape sticking out into the Andaman Sea but millions of years later the cape was gradually eroded by natural forces and finally detached from the main land.
One of the first known traces of Phuket is from a book written around the year 157 by Claudius Ptolemy, a famous Greek philosopher, that to travel to Malay Peninsula by ship, the travelers had to pass a cape known as Junk Ceylon. Located between latitudes 6 N and 8 N (which is the present site of Phuket Island), Junk Ceylon was at that time visited by merchants of several nations including India, Persia, and Arabia. The island offered a bay that protected its harbor from the wind and monsoon, making it a good stopover. Moreover, it had plenty of tin ore deposits that fetched high prices at that time.
A memorable moment in Phuket history was when a passing sea captain, Francis Light, sent word that the Burmese were en route to attack. Forces in Phuket were assembled led by the two heroines, Kunying Jan, Thao Thep Krasattri, wife of Phuket's recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook, Thao Si Sunthon. There was a shortage of men so she allegedly ordered 500 women to dress as soldiers with coconut palms daubed in soot to look like weapons. This tactic seemed to delay a full-on Burmese attack. After a month's siege the Burmese were forced to depart on 13 March, 1785. Kunying Jan and her sister were credited with the successful defense.
The Burmese attacked Phuket three more times between 1809-12 but armed forces from Bangkok arrived in time to repel further Burmese onslaughts. With Burma's capitulation to the British, ensured that there would be no more Burmese invasions of Thailand.
During the Nineteenth Century Chinese immigrants arrived in such numbers to work for the tin mines that the ethnic character of the island's interior became predominantly Chinese, while the coastal settlements remained populated essentially by Muslim fishermen.
In Rama V's reign, Phuket became the administrative center of a group of tin mining provinces called Monton Phuket, and in 1933, with the change in government from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary system, the island was established as a province by itself.
It was not until 1967 that Sarasin Bridge was built to connect the main land with Phuket.
Tin mining industry has played a specially important role in the economic development of the island province but it has declined especially after 1985 when the price of tin fell by half. Other important products of Phuket are marine products, latex, rubber, fuel oil and frozen fish.
With the opening of an international airport in 1976, Phuket effectively became a tourist economy. Over 4 million tourists arrived to Phuket in year 2002 and they spent about 72 billion baht on the island.
The permanent Island Population consists of a total of 292,245 (end 2005) with 140,703 males and 151,542 females. They consist of Thai-Buddhist, 71%; Muslim 25%; and Chao Le (Sea Gypsy) 4%. The majority of population live in Phuket town and at Patong Beach.
Thalang National Museum
If you want to learn more about the history of Phuket we recommend a visit to the Thalang National Museum. This museum was established in 1985 in Thalang just 200 meters from the Heroines Monument. Built in a southern architectural style, the museum exhibits the Battle of Thalang, the way of life, culture and history of Phuket and the South.
Patong Beach is a beach on Phuket's west coast. It is the main tourist resort in Phuket and contains the centre of Phuket's nightlife and cheap shopping on the island. The beach became popular with western tourists, especially Europeans, in the late 1980s. Numerous large hotels and chain hotels are located in Paton
Patong Beach is maybe more famous for its nightlife than the 2-kilometer beach that runs the entire length of Patong. Nightlife is centered on two main areas Bangla Road and Paradise Complex, with Bangla Road being predominantly straight and Paradise Complex being predominantly gay. Much mixing of the two scenes occurs due to Phuket Island's tolerant nature.
On December 26, 2004, Patong Beach along with many other areas along the western coast of Phuket and Thailand were struck by a tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The wave caused a great deal of destruction to the waterfront of the beach although the destruction was not nearly as bad as nearby in Khao Lak. It took probably less than 6 months to rebuild 80% of what was destroyed and 1 year after you could hardly not see any traces of destruction caused by the Tsunami.
Patong Beach - History
Official permanent population is 14797 (2006) persons but the real number is probably as high as 60,000 in high season.
1827 Baan Kathu and Baan Patong are small villages without convenient transportation
1898 The Island is organized into five grades of local administration.
1947 The government approves 60,000 THB for a basic road over the hill to Patong
1969 Patong is upgraded to a "sanitation district" and taxes of 20,000 THB a year are collected.
1976 A sealed road is built to Patong.
1979 Electricity arrives
1994 Patong sanitation district is upgraded to a municipally
2004 Patong was hit by the Asian Tsunami 26 December
2005 Recovery year, tourism back to 80% at end of the year. Opening of Patong OTOP Shopping Paradise, Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200P (south end).
2006 Jungceylon, Patong's first full-fledged modern air-con shopping mall, complete with 200 shops, integrated hotel, etc. Still under construction and the opening has been postponed several times, but will probably launch some time in end of 2006
Of Phuket's highly developed beaches (Kata, Karon and Patong), Kata 17 km from Phuket town, is probably the quietest. The beach is split in two with Kata Noi to the south and the much longer Kata Yai to the north. Kata Yai is the home of Club Med, and Kata Noi has a number of very up-market places as well. Both the beaches are nice and the water crystal clear. You have many restaurants to chose from and some entertainment. A couple of Phukets most exclusive restaurants, the Boat house and Gallery grill are also found here. More quiet than Patong and Karon.
North the coastline after Ka Lim is a beautiful small beach without bungalows or hotels, only a few small restaurants huts. You can go here by boat from Patong or climb down from the road on the hill top if you are going by motorbike or car. This is the most beautiful beach on Phuket yet very near to Patong, only 15 minutes by tuk-tuk or motorbike. The name means Lion's Point but so far I have never seen any lions here.
Phuket FantaSea entertainment complex Phuket FantaSea's attractions combines Thai culture with high-tech special effects in culture shows, magical illusions, circus acts, indoor pyrotechnics and four-dimensional in-theatre effects. The construction of FantaSea World on Kamala Beach begun with a 1.6 Billion Baht budget. The opening was targeted for December 1997 but the economic downturn and weakened Baht boosted the cost to at least 3.3 Billion Baht. The grand opening of Phuket FantaSea was held in January 1999. The tourism industry hopes "Amazing Thailand" will attract 3.5 million foreign visitors to Phuket and that 2.4 million of them will visit FantaSea. Kamala beach itself is 2 km long with soft white sand.
This very nice beach is worthwhile a day trip from Kama or Patong as the beach has a number of good restaurants to choose from and the water is very clear. You are also allowed to camp on the beach for free. On Sundays a lot of Thai locals go here for a picnic on the beach.
Naithon Beach is 400 meters long and usually safe to swim at even during monsoon. White and clean sand and only a few trees where you can search for shade from the sun. All buildings are separated from the beach by the road. Very quiet, No shopping, No entertainment only a few restaurants and only one resort. Next to Nai Thong are three beautiful, secluded beaches. This is one alternative if you are looking for a quiet and secluded holiday.
Upcoming events:
Sep 29- Oct 7, 2008
Phuket Vegetarian Festival
1-3 November, 2008
Phuket Carnival in Patong marks the start of the official high season in Phuket.
12 November, 2008
Loy Kratong festival
Phuket's busiest resort area, Patong has the greatest concentration of bars, restaurant and shops on the island.
Patong has suffered from a lot of negative publicity in recent years for being over-developed and its hedonistic party scene. However, the majority of visitors to Phuket still choose to spend their time in Patong and for good reason. 
Activities
Patong is the busiest beach on the island and you will never be short of something to do here. If you like watersports, then this is the place. There's jet-skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing, or parasailing. You can snorkel on the reef at the southern end of the bay or take a longtail boat round to Freedom beach for better coral viewing.
Further inland you can try bungee jumping, go bowling or cross over the hill into Kathu for a spot of go-karting.
If you are feeling more sedate, rent a sun lounger for the day, slap on plenty of sun screen and watch the show while you soak up the rays. The sea is generally calm all year round and the seabed shelves gently making it quite safe to swim in. For even more relaxation, there are usually plenty of masseuses nearby who give massages right on the beach.
Dining
There is a huge variety of restaurants in Patong. Cuisines you can choose from include Thai, seafood, Italian, Scandinavian, Japanese, French and British pub food to name but a few. Some restaurants offer menus with a combination of different cuisines, usually a selection of European and Thai. There are also plenty of hawker stalls, where if you are brave, you can sample authentic Thai cuisine and eat like the locals do. If you aren't staying in Patong, it is definitely worth the effort to spend a few evenings eating out here.
Nightlife
Patong's lively nightlife scene is what draws many people to the island. All the action is centred around Bangla road. There are also many places where you can enjoy a quiet drink, listen to live bands or go dancing with friends. Banana Disco on the beach road is a Phuket institution and is usually packed late into the night.
Shopping
There are stalls all the way along the beach road (Thaweewong road). Stalls operate during the day but it is in the evening that it really gets going. You can buy all kinds of clothes, souvenirs, sunglasses, CDs and much more. Always haggle at the roadside stalls. As a very rough guide, try and get the price down to about 50% of the quoted price.
Situated on Rat-U-Thit road nearly opposite Bangla road is the newly opened Jungceylon. Officially opened on 20th Dec 2006, this large complex houses a hotel, Robinsons department store, Carrefour, a SFX cinema, bowling alley and a wide variety of shops and restaurants. At the time of opening, not all shops and facilities were open but quite a few such as Carrefour and a number of dining outlets had opened for business.
Patong also has two Ocean department stores, one towards the Rat-U-Thit road end of Bangla road, Ocean Bangla and the other along the beach road, just past the Holiday Inn. Although quite small, they have a good selection of clothes.
Topography: Thailand is divided into 4 natural regions:
The mountainous North, with its profusion of multi-coloured orchids, fascinating native handicrafts and winter temperatures are sufficiently cool to permit cultivation of temperate fruits such as strawberries and peaches;
The high Northeast Plateau, which still jealously guards its many archaeological and anthropological mysteries;
The Central Plain, one of the world's most fertile rice and fruit-growing areas with colourful traditional culture and way of life as well as the sandy beaches of the East Coast and vibrant cosmopolitan Bangkok;
The peninsular South where the unspoiled beaches and idyllic islands complement economically vital tin mining, rubber cultivation and fishing.
People: Thai (80%), Chinese (10%), Malay (3%), and the rest are minorities (Mons, Khmers, hill tribes) Ethnic Thais form the majority, though the area has historically been a migratory crossroads, and has thus produced a degree of ethnic diversity. Integration is such, however, that culturally and socially there is enormous unity.
Language: Spoken and written Thai is largely incomprehensible to the casual visitor. However, English is widely understood, particularly in Bangkok where it is almost the major commercial language. English and some European Languages are spoken in most hotels, shops and restaurants in major tourist destinations, and Thai-English road and street signs are found nationwide.
This region extends southward along a narrow peninsula lying between the Andaman Sea its west side and the South China Sea on the east. It is a rich land in terms of the abundance of its natural resources, the fertility of its soil, the diversity of its people and its commercial viability.
The east coast on the Gulf of Thailand always seems to be more relaxed, with long, wide bays and calm seas; the Andaman Sea coast tends to be more rugged and exhilarating, with its strange limestone rock formations and cliffs.
The coastline attracts most tourists, though Samui island in the Gulf of Thailand is growing in popularity as a laid-back holiday spot with first class diving opportunities nearby on Tao and Pha-ngan islands.
The Andaman Sea coast offers more sophisticated choices in the island province of Phuket , Thailand’s premier holiday resort. However, the fascinating rock formations and offshore islands at Phang-nga, Krabi , Patong , koh phi phi and Trang are extremely popular for the diving and sailing opportunities they offer.
