Patong Beach, Phuket: PARTY CENTRAL

If you are looking for a quiet beach vacation in Thailand, Patong Beach is NOT for you!  Wow!  Party, party, party.  Patong is busy 24 hours a day.  I did find a quiet spot: the Amari Beach Resort in Patong Beach is off of the main party beach, but close enough to walk.  Not to mention beautiful and service oriented and clean! Perfect.

I jumped off the boat, said goodbye to my Deep Andaman Queen diving buddies, and rode the minibus (it took forever) to my hotel.  Phuket is about the same size as Cozumel Island in Mexico, but here is the difference:  Cozumel has about 80,000 people living there….Phuket has over a million!  After checking in, showering and relaxing, my daughter, Alexandra, arrived from Dallas via Manila and Bangkok.  She had some adventures, which I will feature as a guest blog!  So begins daughter and mommy vacation time.  We have a full itinerary planned!

We spent a relaxing day at the hotel, and the next morning we went off to Phang Nga National Park, where James Bond Island is located.  I didn’t care much about James Bond, but the scenery, canoeing through lagoons and caves, and going to see the Cave of the Reclining Buddha (Monkey Cave) was a draw.  We had an absolutely lovely day.  We were the only Americans on the boat…it is so intriguing, listening to the different languages.  I enjoy meeting people from other cultures.  I will do a photo blog tomorrow or the next day on Phang Nga…it is spectacularly beautiful, and what one thinks of when one hears “Thailand”.  Ally and I had a marvelous time!

We did spend our last day exploring the city of Patong Beach, a massive tourist attraction in itself.  Shopping, shopping and more shopping!  Bar after bar after bar!  Ladyboy shows!  An elephant show we did NOT do, as it is a terrible thing to make elephants perform “tricks” and “play” football. I plan to do a blog specifically on elephants, and the need to do ethical tourism.

Want botox?  200 baht!  7 bucks!  Want your lips puffed up?  They have that too.  There are many, many “massage” businesses, most of which will give you a “happy ending” if you so desire!  I don’t know if they perform this “massage” on women, but it is infamous for men.  There are so many of them…some of the masseuses are katoeys, or ladyboys.  You know, transvestites or transsexuals.  Did you know that Thailand is on the cutting edge of transgender surgery?  Anyway, massage can be pretty exotic here. I had my massage at the hotel, where the happy ending is most definitely NOT an option.  I decided I did not need to do any personal research into the practice!

We especially enjoyed traveling by tuk-tuk!

There are still some pieces of paradise…check out Koh Chang, a blog by Wife With Baggage.