Patong Beach: Why I will Never Go Back

I love Thailand. From the people, to the food. It really is a beautiful place. But, there are a few reasons to why I will never go back to Patong Beach in Phuket.

We had a great time in Thailand (my partner and I that is). With so many beautiful places to visit, surrounded by great food and lovely people, it comes to no surprise why tourists flock to Thailand in the hundreds every year for their preferred holiday destination. Especially here in Australia, where Thailand is literally a hop, skip and jump away.

But, there are a few reasons to why I will never go to Patong Beach again.

Intoxicated with the hustle and bustle of any city, Patong has been converted into a mini Bangkok by the sea. Heavily polluted, the beaches which were once a deep blue have turned a murky green, as a result of the increased population to the once sleepy town of Patong.

I’m probably showing my age here, but many many years ago when I was 6, I went to Phuket for a holiday with my family and fell in love with the place, even as a child. Small in size, it was the perfect tropical holiday destination, with barely a car in sight, nothing but farmers and fisherman selling their goods on the street and a few luxury hotels dotted along the white sandy beaches and deep blue coloured waters of the sea.

So, it came to an absolute shock to visit Patong Beach in Phuket 28-years later.

Yes, yes, I can hear you all saying it. 28-years ago! Of course Patong has changed. I understand that nothing stays the same, like so many places around the world, population increases, the demand for more facilities needs to be met and slowly a place converts from a sleepy little village to a trashed up city of tourists and locals alike.

But unlike other Asian tropical destinations, like Bali. To me, Patong has become the sin city of the east. Filled with clubs of erotic dancers, grinding against poles, with some girls looking like they were as young as 12 years old.

I did not enjoy wandering the streets at night in Patong at all. In-fact I felt ashamed to be white. Especially when I saw the amount of white people hording themselves to the clubs promoting such horrible actions, as though they were condoning the use of such young girls to act the way they did.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy my holiday, or dislike the Thai people in anyway. On the days where we went on tours away from Patong and the evenings we chose to stay in the hotel and chill with room service, or dine on the rooftop restaurant, we had an incredibly relaxing and wonderful time.

But all in all, Patong itself is dirty, you can’t swim at the beach or sunbake without getting covered in a layer of pollution. And at night, you can’t even enjoy a balmy walk throughout the small city, without being haggled by a sleazy old man, trying to get you into a club to watch a girl pop a ping pong ball from her… you know what. These were the experiences which made our trip unpleasant.

If I had a chance to do it all again, I would not have stayed at Patong Beach, especially when there are so many other beautiful placed in Phuket to stay. Instead it would have been best to take a day trip to Patong to go shopping or check out some sites.

And this is why I will never go back to Patong Beach.