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Phuket is one of the major gateways to Southeast Asia and some of the more popular Thai islands, such as Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Phi Phi. We stayed for 4 nights in Patong Beach which is located on the west side of the island. This area is known for more of its nightlife culture so we spent a lot of our nights checking out the bar and club scene, saw one of the most popular shows in Thailand, went to the zoo, and relaxed by the beach.

Getting Here

We arrive via ferry from Koh Phi Phi, which took about 3 hours and cost around $10. From there we took a tuk-tuk into Patong Beach which took about 45 minutes.

Location: Patong Beach

We stayed for 4 nights in Patong Beach which is located on the west side of the island. It definitely has more of a city vibe than island culture but it’s still located along the beach so you can take it the relaxing culture. However, Patong is known for its nightlife and party culture so you won’t miss out on seeing people roam the streets of the city in the late night. Bangalore Road is the most popular and a place I consider to be the Vegas of Phuket. Definitely worth checking out!

Accommodation: Bodega Hostel

Our hostel had a superb location, right in the heart of it all. Steps from ample amounts of restaurants and only a couple of blocks from Bangalore Road. Since it was in the midst of the city the hostel layout was a bit odd with the check-in, common area, and bar all in one building on one floor with the rooms across the street in another building. But it was super modern and cute, with massive rooms with plenty of space for putting your bags and very comfy beds! The manager of the hostel absolutely made this place. He’s from Seattle and just exudes happy energy. He takes everyone out to some of his favorite spots and also took us to one of the ping-pong shows which was an experience in itself!

• Cost per night: $15

Activities

Patong Beach

I am going to be honest and say compared to all of the other beaches in Thailand, especially the island, this one is so so. However after a long night of drinking its the perfect place for a swim, cool off, and relax! There are also tons of beach activities you can do right off the beach, just be weary of scammers.

Zoo

I will be honest and say this is the worst zoo I have ever seen. I am actually in shock its still open and operating but I suppose this is Southeast Asia. My boyfriend completely hyped it up for its shows, which I do have to say were pretty cool, but the rest of the zoo was literally falling a part and parts of it looked as if it was completely abandoned (Strike 1 for Josh).

The highlights were definitely the elephant show where they shoot basketball hoops and dance to music, but you can see how run down and empty their area is where they keep them and sort of takes away from it all. The ultimate was the crocodile show. These crazy men, literally I think they are crazy, taunt these crocodiles to the point where they are pretty agitated but get them onto the stage to then put their heads inside their mouths. It’s pretty incredible to actually see human beings do this in person, but also very stupid. I think it’s the only reason why people actually go to this zoo.

• Cost: 500baht

FantaSea

This is the #1 rated show in Thailand, and the production of it seemed something very extraordinary. My boyfriend Josh actually convinced us to go since he had always wanted to but since he always came to Phuket with the boys none of them wanted to see it. So us girls were definitely down. The price was pretty high but we thought we’d treat ourselves. Strike 2 Joshie! It definitely was an experience but absolutely not worth the money. This place was like Disneyland but for Thailand. They had several different themed buildings and areas you could explore, but more shopping than anything. The coolest area was probably seeing the white tigers, snakes, and peacocks. The architecture and buildings were pretty awesome and there are just elephants walking around the area. It was all a bit strange to be honest.

Once it came time to the show I was pretty excited. And maybe I was hyping it up too much in my head or maybe it’s because I kept comparing it to Cirque de Soleil but the show was terrible. I totally didn’t get the story line, the choreography was awful and the dancers were not in sync. It didn’t help that we were surrounded by noisy kids and families who just did not give a crap about the people around them. The only amazing part of the show was the elephants. They were really talented.

• Cost: 1500baht (included transportation)

Massages

This was my first time receiving a traditional Thai massage and unfortunately I had a really bad experience, but it makes for a pretty funny story now. Josh and I went together and it was the funniest thing when we both came together at the end with how we felt and he was on cloud 9 while I was in a fury! And I shouldn’t complain since the massages are so damn cheap but I want my hours worth of what I paid for and leaving periodically throughout the massage for minutes is unnacceptable. I have no idea where she went since she never came back with new lotions or oils. On top of that all she could do was laugh at me. Every new part of my body she’d focus on she would just point and laugh at because I was so small. She even got other girls in the salon to come into our area for her to show them. Which I never understood because Thai people are small too. So there was that…

I did get plenty of Thai massages after that to redeem that experience and I have to say that they aren’t my favorite massage. Its the perfect massage if you want to be stretched and twisted, but if you are looking for more focus on the muscles with their hands or something more relaxing then avoid the traditional Thai massage.

• Average cost: 300baht

Nightlife

Bangalore Road

As mentioned previously, Patong Beach is known for its nightlife, mainly the strip of bars and restaurants on Bangalore Road. It’s like the Las Vegas Strip of Thailand. No cars or vehicles are allowed on this strip so its a big free for all of people of all sorts, except you will see tons of old white men with young Thai girls (or boys). You won’t run out of entertainment on this strip and will find something for pretty much anyone who is down for a good time.

Something that Thailand is notoriously known for is its ping-pong shows. I’ve heard about them, but even more so as I have met other travelers. Their stories are pretty unbelievable but hey its Asia right? Dane, our hostel manager, took us all out one night to see one and I have never been to a strip club before so I was definitely in for a show. Luckily I was pretty tipsy upon arrival which made the experience all the much better, but its exactly how I imagined it. A bunch of girls on a stage dancing on some poles but I guess here made it more interesting since we all were debating which ones were actually girls or not. The actual show was pretty ridiculous, the things that come out of these girls, razor blades, smoking cigarettes, ping pong balls, and darts?! Like cmon.

• Cost: 500baht (includes 1 drink)