Patong ( th, ป่าตอง , ) refers to the beach and town on Phuket's west coast. It is the main tourist resort on the island of Phuket, and is the centre of Phuket's nightlife and shopping. The beach became popular with Western tourists, especially Europeans, in the late-1980s. It has numerous hotels and the area has expanded into a tourist place.

History

Patong Beach, Phuket Thailand - panoramio

Patong Beach is known for its nightlife and 2850-metre (1.77 mile) beach that runs the entire length of Patong's west side. Nightlife is centered in two main areas, Bangla Road and the "Paradise Complex", with Bangla Road being predominantly straight and Paradise Complex gay. Both are lined with many bars, discotheques, and go go bars. Prostitution in Thailand is illegal, but tolerated, as is the case in Patong. On 26 December 2004, Patong Beach along with many other areas along the west coast of Phuket and Thailand were struck by a tsunami caused by the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. The wave caused a great deal of destruction to the waterfront of the beach and immediately inland and only one woman was killed in a basement seafront grocery store. Patong was one of the worst affected areas of Phuket, although the destruction was not as bad as nearby

Khao Lak Khao Lak ( th, เขาหลัก, ) is a series of villages, now tourist-oriented, mainly in the Takua Pa District and partly in the Thai Mueang District of Phang Nga Province, Thailand. The name "Khao Lak" literally translated means 'Mai ...

. Patong has largely recovered since the tsunami.

Environment

the waters off Patong Beach exceeded Thai Pollution Control Department standards for

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of gr ...

bacteria (FCB) and enterococci bacteria. To avoid paying the municipal wastewater treatment fee of five baht per cubic meter, many households discharge their wastewater untreated into canals and the sea. Patong also has limited capacity to treat wastewater. The municipal wastewater treatment plant is nearing its capacity of 28,000 m³ a day. An upgrade be operational in 2018 which will increase capacity by an extra 9,000 m³ per day.

Nightlife

Bang-la is considered as the most popular walking street in Phuket. Along the street is full of beer bars and go-go bars, which makes tourists stay there longer or in a whole night. Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand Panorama

Gallery

File:Вид с вертолета на Патонг (март 2013) - panoramio (1).jpg, Aerial view of Patong File:Patong Beach Phuket November 2012.jpg, Patong Beach File:PhuketStreet.jpg,

Songthaew A songthaew ( th, สองแถว, , two rows, , ; lo, ສອງແຖວ, ; ms, dua baris) is a passenger vehicle in Thailand and Laos adapted from a pick-up or a larger truck and used as a share taxi or bus. Overview The songthaew take ...

s, Thawiwong Rd, Patong Beach File:PatongBeach.jpg, Patong Beach from Thanon Thawiwong File:Thanon Thawewong Patong Phuket.jpg, Traffic in Patong's streets File:Jungceylon Patong Thajsko 2018 1.jpg, Jungceylon Shopping Mall File:Night market Patong Thajsko 2018 1.jpg, Patong Night Market

References

External links

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Patong videosPatong Beach video guide
{{Prostitution in Thailand Populated places in Phuket province Beaches of Phuket Province Red-light districts in Thailand