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Baseball fans have Cooperstown, art lovers have the
Louvre and party animals have Patong. This is the epicentre of Phuket's
nightlife, ground zero for the legendary party scene and the place
where all your dreams can come true (provided your dreams involve
lots of booze).
That's not to say that there's nothing to do in Patong besides
drink. You don't have to be soused to enjoy the scene, although
it does help. There's all kinds of shopping, lots of good live music
and plenty of entertainment such as cabarets and Thai boxing. Patong
can be as wild or tame as you want it to be, but one thing's for
sure: there's never a dull moment.
Although bars aren't the only entertainment, they are definitely
the most prevalent. Patong's watering holes tend to fall into distinct
categories: beer bars, discos, cocktail lounges, go-go bars, pubs
and music pubs. Within these categories there are endless variations
but not many places veer away from the basic themes. For example,
all go-go bars will have a stage with girls in varying stages of
undress dancing for the entertainment of the customers.
Some places
may have girls in catholic school girl outfits and some places may
have elaborately choreographed shows but the basic elements of girls,
stage and dancing will be present. Sometimes the lines get a little
blurry (actually most things tend to get blurry after a while),
such as when beer bars have dancing poles, but you'll usually have
a good idea of what to expect.
Beer Bars are the little joints packed side by side on the small
arcades known as 'Bar Sois'. There are maybe a dozen of these in
Patong, mostly located off of Bangla Road. Come in for a laugh and
to find some company. Patong has a number of discos where you can
dance the night away.
The music is thumpin', the dance floor is
packed and the atmosphere is fun. If you'd rather leave the dancing
to the ladies then check out a go-go bar. While not the raunchy
shows of yore, go-go bars still offer some fantastic figures on
display.
Patong also has its classy side with a number of snazzy cocktail
lounges where you can relax in a plush seat, sip a martini and enjoy
the vibe. Live music is also popular and places like Saxophone and
Rock City cater to people who like great tunes with their beer.
There are also a few simple pubs where you can just enjoy a drink
without all of the other usual accoutrements of Patong nightlife.
Hours
During the daytime Patong is geared towards shopping, watersports
and family pursuits and the party doesn't really get going until
about 21:00. Early birds will find that some bars offer happy hour
specials. Exactly which hour is happy is the subject of some debate
and it varies wildly from bar to bar.
Clever punters can bar hop
from 17:00 until 21:00, taking advantage of all the specials. By
law the fun gets shut down at 02:00 but that law is often stretched
in practice and is outright ignored in places like Safari, the after-hours
joint on the hill just south of town. |
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