Patong Beach (Thai หาดป่าตอง) refers to the beach and town on Phuket's west coast. It is the main tourist resort in Phuket. It contains an important center of Phuket's nightlife and is the center of inexpensive 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 there and the area has expanded into a large tourist mecca.
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Patong Beach is famous for its nightlife and 3.5-kilometer beach that runs the entire length of Patong’s western side. Nightlife is centered on two main areas Bangla Road and 'Paradise Complex', with Bangla Road being predominantly straight and Paradise Complex being predominantly gay. Both roads are lined with many themed bars, discotheques and go go bars. Prostitution in Thailand is illegal but tolerated as is the case with Patong Beach, especially on Bangla Road where there are many older Western men drinking with young Thai women and transvestites. Most discos in Patong charge a 100 baht admission fee but rather than being a cover charge, this is actually a drink minimum since you get a voucher and most clubs charge 100 baht for almost all drinks.
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 and immediately inland and many people were killed. Patong was one of the worst affected areas of Phuket, although the destruction was not nearly as bad as nearby in Khao Lak. Patong has largely recovered since the tsunami.
The island of Phuket has a tropical climate with a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. Average temperatures are consistent year-round. Average highs range from 29 °C (84 °F) to 33 °C (91 °F); average lows range from 23 °C (73 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F).
| Climate data for Phuket (1961—1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.8 (89.2) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.5 (92.3) |
33.4 (92.1) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.0 (87.8) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.8 (89.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.9 (82.2) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.3 (84.7) |
29.5 (85.1) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.3 (82.9) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.3 (75.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.1 (75.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 29.8 (1.173) |
20.9 (0.823) |
49.1 (1.933) |
121.9 (4.799) |
319.4 (12.575) |
268.9 (10.587) |
290.5 (11.437) |
272.6 (10.732) |
399.0 (15.709) |
309.6 (12.189) |
175.7 (6.917) |
59.4 (2.339) |
2,316.8 (91.213) |
| Avg. rainy days | 4 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 170 |
| Source no. 1: Thai Meteorological Department[1] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Hong Kong Observatory [2] | |||||||||||||
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