Has Phuket gave up on Patong beach?

[Henderson]

As a resident of Patong, I can't get used to the fact that I haven't swim in Patong beach over 3 years due to the water's terrible condition.

 

I've heard great number of tourist say that Patong beach is dirty and they wouldn't swim there, if they knew the beach was not really swimable before they booked their hotel, they would have stayed elsewhere on the island (and they will in the next time they'll come to Thailand)

I don't understand how one of Thailand's most important tourist spots is not taken care of ??!?, the combination of the best nightlife area in Phuket+beautiful beach will only make it more profitable for all local businesses and the city itself, how much does it cost to fix this situation, surely the city has these funds.

I've attached a photo of Patong beach in the 80's, the photo was not taken by me but I thought it was important to attach it, see what we have lost.

such a wonderful beach got destroyed, CAN be recovered but nothing is done about it

[phuketrichard]

and this is Patong in 2004 after the tsunami hit, (just about from same spot)

Patong had a chance to make itself a world class resort and F#@ked it up...

[Old Croc]

Most won't take responsibility for anything.

Most won't do any more than is necessary to help themselves. 

Most are incapable of thinking ahead beyond immediate self enrichment.

Most in charge don't care about anything but themselves

Most are incapable of taking action on important matters without time wasting exercises like convening meetings and seeking funds for the attendees.

Most don't understand the meaning of urgency nor priority. 

Very few know how to think outside the box they are trained and schooled to stay in.

[Psimbo]

I lasted 7 years in Patong, it just wore me down in the end. Filthy, crowded and the sort of people I didn't want to mix with (I was living at the south end of Nanai above the 'charming' 'french Arab' types who have taken over down there).

 

Bangla has changed completely. I have had one night out there in the 7 years since I moved and couldn't wait to get away. The town is a victim of its own 'success'. 

[csabo]

Funny thing is I saw a recent review of the area saying how blue the water was. Don't underestimate the lack of standards of the average traveler. They still take photos with drugged tigers, they will still support the jetski mafia and parasailing beach thieves and they still leave their garbage all over the beach and they think swimming in sewage is normal. And they will all be back next year. 

[zaZa9]

I lasted 2 years after arriving  in Patong 10 years back , before moving somewhere else on the island.

My gripes were perpetual building ( like pulling down 3 year old  3 storey shop houses to make 6 storey flats very near ) , the lack of parking/driving space , being treated as a ' blow in'  by blow in Thais straight from the farm , and worst of all , sewerage.

When they  put in septic tanks for the new flats opposite  , then cut a trench in the night from that side of the road to in front of my place , then  channeled  the septic  overflow pipes to the storm water gutter ( which increasingly  overflowed with less and less  rain ) on my side , I'd had enough.

It isnt just development , its wanton rape.

The creek that used to run down near the cop shop has been totally filled and  built on - now the creek IS the road , and Soi San Sabaii is a raging torrent in heavy rain ( never was originally ) . Now the klong on the South is so polluted nobody wants to stay in the resorts down there - and recently they placed barriers across the beach warning swimmers to stay at least 300 metres from it !

My end was the once clean north end. Now there is some sort of plant under the footpath where the massive "Welcome to Patong "  LED was placed , impeding sea views and sputtered out of order a month after being turned on. Grey smelly water and soggy 'stuff' oozes from a pipe there...

But as Csabo says , the place is full of excited newcomers , many of whom are Kuta refugees , and actually think its clean by comparison !

Its a basket case , and Kata ( smell the klong there !! )  and Kamala are next...

 

[Franko666]

6 hours ago, Psimbo said:

I lasted 7 years in Patong, it just wore me down in the end. Filthy, crowded and the sort of people I didn't want to mix with (I was living at the south end of Nanai above the 'charming' 'french Arab' types who have taken over down there).

 

Bangla has changed completely. I have had one night out there in the 7 years since I moved and couldn't wait to get away. The town is a victim of its own 'success'. 

Yes, the sea water is sewage, Bangla is a plastic version of the real Bangla, and  its a ripoff town now. Also it seems the muslim mafia is taking over too especially to the North of Patong so I'm not sure how that will workout with the other mafia. A great place prior to the tsunami and when the tuk tuts were really tuk tuts, not noddy cars.

[bearpolar]

expats in patong: here for sex or were here for sex.. usually from a poor/low class environment.. brown water is alright for them.

chinese in patong: brown water still better than chinese water.

aussies in patong: chavs and sex tourists, they don't care about brown water, if they wanted a nice beach they would have traveled in australia.

bodybuilders in patong: busy roiding up

thais in patong: they don't live there

 

what's the point of fixing it up when almost everyone using that city has no interest in clean water?

 

[Lokie]

Yesterday morning I seen a lifeguard climb on his brand new mini quad bike complete with Lifeguard/Patong beach Patrol decals and start to ride out down the beach towards south end, I thought its the first real improvement I have seen in 11 years... the rest of it is just plain Grotty... The whole length of beach promenade is getting that it is in dire need of jet washing from all the dark staining left by vendors and the leaking trash bags piled up every morning... Seems authorities are too busy erecting dolphins with GPS Nav bearings on them and the crappy looking Smoke areas... No seems onone is really bothered bar expats who live here and tourists who seem to say they wont be bothering next year...

[LALes]

I gave up on Patong 10 years ago.  Swam in a purple liquid and swore I'd never be back.

I'm sure its gotten worse since then.

[eezergood]

20 hours ago, Psimbo said:

I lasted 7 years in Patong, it just wore me down in the end. Filthy, crowded and the sort of people I didn't want to mix with (I was living at the south end of Nanai above the 'charming' 'french Arab' types who have taken over down there).

 

Bangla has changed completely. I have had one night out there in the 7 years since I moved and couldn't wait to get away. The town is a victim of its own 'success'. 

This mini Marseille is a disaster - EVERY time I pass by or need to stop there I see some kind of trouble

[irishken]

To hear Patong beach been talked about like this has really put me off possibly returning next year for a holiday. 

I haven't been since 2012 and it wasn't that bad then. 

 

I know some always disliked Patong because of the tuk tuks and how busy it was and that stuff never really bothered me but it really seems to have gone to the dogs.

 

I've just returned from Thailand after 3 weeks and  i spent 11 nights in Patts and this might shock people, but the beach area has been hugely improved up there.

The sand was cleaned, especially for the amount of tourists on it everyday. Lots of palm trees on the pavement  and they close the beach on Wednesdays with no vendors or chairs allowed and it helps to keep it clean. Okay the water wasn't great but i actually got an eye infection from chlorine in the swimming pool in a very nice hotel i stayed in, thinking it was better to stay out of the sea water.

 

Travelling with 2 small kids has limited my travels in Thailand as i also have to go up to Isaan, so Patts was always the easiest option but now they are getting a bit bigger i was thinking Phuket would be an option next year as i think ill give Isaan a miss next time. 

 

Maybe Krabi or Samui will have to do instead. 

[bearpolar]

Maybe if you stopped hanging around crappy areas you wouldnt have to be worried about visiting large areas of a country?

 

Phuket is great.. Just stay clear of the sex/budget tourist area.   It's not really hard to travel in Thailand, avoid patong, avoid pattaya and avoid surat thani and lower(except krabi).

[Old Croc]

Well said bearpolar.

It constantly amazes me how many people, even those who live elsewhere in Thailand, think that Patong is Phuket and vice versa.

If you are looking for wicked nightlife and the pleasures of the flesh, by all means stay in Patong, but don't complain about the seediness and ripoffs that are these places.

If you want a family holiday and good beaches the province of Phuket has scores of great places to stay and visit. There's over 30 beaches on the Island, you don't have to swim in Patong Bay.

http://www.phuket.com/island/beaches.htm#  

[Old Croc]

11 hours ago, irishken said:

To hear Patong beach been talked about like this has really put me off possibly returning next year for a holiday. 

I haven't been since 2012 and it wasn't that bad then. 

 

I know some always disliked Patong because of the tuk tuks and how busy it was and that stuff never really bothered me but it really seems to have gone to the dogs.

 

I've just returned from Thailand after 3 weeks and  i spent 11 nights in Patts and this might shock people, but the beach area has been hugely improved up there.

The sand was cleaned, especially for the amount of tourists on it everyday. Lots of palm trees on the pavement  and they close the beach on Wednesdays with no vendors or chairs allowed and it helps to keep it clean. Okay the water wasn't great but i actually got an eye infection from chlorine in the swimming pool in a very nice hotel i stayed in, thinking it was better to stay out of the sea water.

 

Travelling with 2 small kids has limited my travels in Thailand as i also have to go up to Isaan, so Patts was always the easiest option but now they are getting a bit bigger i was thinking Phuket would be an option next year as i think ill give Isaan a miss next time. 

 

Maybe Krabi or Samui will have to do instead. 

You don't have to take the kids to Patong. (Why would you want to?)

Here's a webcam  pic taken a few minutes ago of Karon Beach.

Note the clean sand and water.

It's still early, but a lot of families enjoy that beach when the sun gets up 

[madmitch]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

You don't have to take the kids to Patong. (Why would you want to?)

Here's a webcam  pic taken a few minutes ago of Karon Beach.

Note the clean sand and water.

It's still early, but a lot of families enjoy that beach when the sun gets up 

Great picture and, yes, Karon Beach would look like that before 9am. It gets very busy right now but what was more annoying for me, and something that a picture can't demonstrate, was the smell of oil coming from the numerous boats that was evident during my walk along the beach there a couple of evenings ago.

 

But, compared to Patong, it's a paradise! 

[Old Croc]

Many people seem to have great expectations about pollution and air quality when they come to live or visit in Asian countries.

Asia is the most populated, and arguably most polluted, continent on Earth. Wherever you go it's very likely that at times there will be haze, smoke and  diesel fumes. There will be dust, dirt, rubbish, open canals and dodgy street dogs.

If your olfactory canals can't adapt you really should be planning to go elsewhere for your travels. 

With a very strict, and heavily enforced, regime of anti pollution laws, Australia's beaches are so pristine you can see the Great Whites coming from many metres away.

[irishken]

9 hours ago, bearpolar said:

Maybe if you stopped hanging around crappy areas you wouldnt have to be worried about visiting large areas of a country?

 

Phuket is great.. Just stay clear of the sex/budget tourist area.   It's not really hard to travel in Thailand, avoid patong, avoid pattaya and avoid surat thani and lower(except krabi).

Have you tried travelling from Europe with young kids and then travel around Thailand? If you  haven't,then you've no idea what you are talking about with regards to my post.

Believe me, it isn't easy. I've probably been coming to Thailand longer than you and i've been to all those amazing islands around Krabi and on the opposite side of Thailand  long before they were discovered by the Russians and Chinese. 

I know the whole island of Phuket and i know how beautiful it is. I've been countless times and spent 6 consecutive months there in 2006. 

 

Yes travel in Thailand is easy but with young kids its a completely different story. 

 

The difference is that when you have kids, simply bringing them to a nice beach all day doesn't work anymore. Perhaps 40 years ago when kids had nothing to play with other than a stick and a wheel it  was enough but kids expect different things these days.

[irishken]

6 hours ago, Old Croc said:

You don't have to take the kids to Patong. (Why would you want to?)

Here's a webcam  pic taken a few minutes ago of Karon Beach.

Note the clean sand and water.

It's still early, but a lot of families enjoy that beach when the sun gets up 

Nice photo. When it was just me and the misses, we drove up there everyday when going to the beach but as i pointed out in my post below, Karon really doesn't have much else there for Children. 

[steelepulse]

irishken, at Kata Beach next to Club Med there's a new park with a childrens play area, as well as they have the flow rider right there.  I'd take Kata over Patong any day with kids.

[Jai Dee]

Topic closed pending moderation.

 

/Closed.

 

/Edit: Topic re-opened for continued discussion.

 

Several flame and troll posts (and replies) have been removed from this thread.

[thaibutty]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:13 PM, irishken said:

To hear Patong beach been talked about like this has really put me off possibly returning next year for a holiday. 

I haven't been since 2012 and it wasn't that bad then. 

It was already a crappy place in 2012 for my taste. Don't see it any better or worse than it was back than to be honest.

[thaibutty]

23 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Many people seem to have great expectations about pollution and air quality when they come to live or visit in Asian countries.

Asia is the most populated, and arguably most polluted, continent on Earth. Wherever you go it's very likely that at times there will be haze, smoke and  diesel fumes. There will be dust, dirt, rubbish, open canals and dodgy street dogs.

If your olfactory canals can't adapt you really should be planning to go elsewhere for your travels. 

With a very strict, and heavily enforced, regime of anti pollution laws, Australia's beaches are so pristine you can see the Great Whites coming from many metres away.

Personally, I did not have any expectations when I first came here in 2004. But I liked it so I stayed.
But over the years I seem to like it less and less. Especially, since instead of improving all of the points regarding pollution are getting worse from year to year.

[LivinginKata]

The water quality is for sure getting worse at most of the popular beaches. ie have too many hotels discharging waste water. Yesterday I was talking to a guy who has been a full time resident in Patong for almost 20 years. He likes to swim in the sea every day.  He always has stayed well away from the south end of Patong beach but now he tells me he the north end is getting bad.

[irishken]

5 hours ago, thaibutty said:

It was already a crappy place in 2012 for my taste. Don't see it any better or worse than it was back than to be honest.

And that was kind of the point i was getting at. 

Why fly to Patong when its just got worse over the years when i can get a taxi Patts,which seems to me to have improved or fly to Samui albeit with huge prices for the flights.

 

I've just been to Pattaya which yes, for the most part is a shithole but my Kids never seen any of the dodgy soi's or Walking street. The beach has improved a lot from the first time i was there in 2005 and it really has some great days out for families, Nong Nooch, Sanctuary of Truth ect ect and a couple of world class water parks which are much better than the one in Phuket. 

We done something everyday and then went to the beach in the late afternoon for food and drink. 

Plus, road users seem to be obeying traffic lights now, well most of them anyway.

 

If i was  to go back, i would more than likely choose Karon or Kata. 

[Old Croc]

I was chatting with a friend last night, someone who's been a resident for nearly forty years. He's very firmly entrenched here with an extended family and a big flash house, but little mobile assets.

He's suddenly come to the realization that he can no longer stand Thailand and what it has become. When he first  arrived on the Island it was a true paradise, but now, for him, a polluted, shabby over populated mess. Even the sight of dilapidated, rusty tin shacks now affront him, even when I point out it's always been like that, and was perhaps once considered part of the charm.

He's just had it with the whole place, but at his age and circumstances cannot reasonable go elsewhere.  I gave him the paradise lost speech about how everywhere special gets overrun and changes forever, leaving just memories. The only solutions are to accept and adapt, keep following the sun, or establish your own off the grid piece of paradise away from the hoards.

I hope he can get past his current depression and embrace the good things in his life.

[xylophone]

54 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

I was chatting with a friend last night, someone who's been a resident for nearly forty years. He's very firmly entrenched here with an extended family and a big flash house, but little mobile assets.

He's suddenly come to the realization that he can no longer stand Thailand and what it has become. When he first  arrived on the Island it was a true paradise, but now, for him, a polluted, shabby over populated mess. Even the sight of dilapidated, rusty tin shacks now affront him, even when I point out it's always been like that, and was perhaps once considered part of the charm.

He's just had it with the whole place, but at his age and circumstances cannot reasonable go elsewhere.  I gave him the paradise lost speech about how everywhere special gets overrun and changes forever, leaving just memories. The only solutions are to accept and adapt, keep following the sun, or establish your own off the grid piece of paradise away from the hoards.

I hope he can get past his current depression and embrace the good things in his life.

Interesting post, esp from my part because I can see some of myself in it!

 

I've not been here 40 years, but did make my 1st journey here in 2004, then staying for a couple of months at a time until I retired here fully in 2006/2007.

 

I too get totally fed up with the greed, corruption and stupidity here and I have to admit that there have been a few times over the past year or so that I wonder if this is really the place I want to be.

 

However I don't get too depressed about it because I then try and focus on the things I like here and those, to a certain extent, that I can influence and control. For instance I have made some good friends here (and that is always comforting when you are in your 70s) and can enjoy an occasional meal or night out with them, and I do enjoy the restaurants and coffee shops, where I meet some other friends and chat away about everything and nothing.

 

I manage to help friends with odd jobs around the place, mainly electrical, and that keeps the grey matter a little active; the couple who own the apartment in which I live are great and there is a care and respect between us which I do value (I took the husband to hospital in the early hours of the morning when he was having difficulty breathing, and months later his wife offered to take me to hospital because I was feeling very poorly indeed). Again a very comforting situation which gets more appealing as one gets older.

 

I enjoy driving around Patong on my motorbike (dangerous though it can be) and especially like driving my little car to Phuket town or down to Chalong just to get out of the place and to give the car a run, not to mention doing some shopping.

 

Then there is the joy I derive from sponsoring/taking care of my ex-girlfriend's daughter who now lives next to her school in Phuket town, and when we meet up for the occasional lunch I am always overjoyed, even more so when she phones me a few times during the week to see how I am. I'm also keen to put her through university and see her come out the other end with a good qualification, and would just love to be there when she receives her diploma in whatever it is she studies.

 

I too think that no one is looking after the welfare of Patong or its inhabitants, but are just looking for ways to skim off much-needed public funds to fill their coffers.

 

In summary, yes I do despair about the place and what it has become and may well become in the future, however thinking about the good things, as mentioned above, keeps me sane and functioning, so I guess here is where I will be staying, for better or for worse, until I depart this mortal coil!

[GarryP]

13 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Interesting post, esp from my part because I can see some of myself in it!

 

I've not been here 40 years, but did make my 1st journey here in 2004, then staying for a couple of months at a time until I retired here fully in 2006/2007.

 

I too get totally fed up with the greed, corruption and stupidity here and I have to admit that there have been a few times over the past year or so that I wonder if this is really the place I want to be.

 

However I don't get too depressed about it because I then try and focus on the things I like here and those, to a certain extent, that I can influence and control. For instance I have made some good friends here (and that is always comforting when you are in your 70s) and can enjoy an occasional meal or night out with them, and I do enjoy the restaurants and coffee shops, where I meet some other friends and chat away about everything and nothing.

 

I manage to help friends with odd jobs around the place, mainly electrical, and that keeps the grey matter a little active; the couple who own the apartment in which I live are great and there is a care and respect between us which I do value (I took the husband to hospital in the early hours of the morning when he was having difficulty breathing, and months later his wife offered to take me to hospital because I was feeling very poorly indeed). Again a very comforting situation which gets more appealing as one gets older.

 

I enjoy driving around Patong on my motorbike (dangerous though it can be) and especially like driving my little car to Phuket town or down to Chalong just to get out of the place and to give the car a run, not to mention doing some shopping.

 

Then there is the joy I derive from sponsoring/taking care of my ex-girlfriend's daughter who now lives next to her school in Phuket town, and when we meet up for the occasional lunch I am always overjoyed, even more so when she phones me a few times during the week to see how I am. I'm also keen to put her through university and see her come out the other end with a good qualification, and would just love to be there when she receives her diploma in whatever it is she studies.

 

I too think that no one is looking after the welfare of Patong or its inhabitants, but are just looking for ways to skim off much-needed public funds to fill their coffers.

 

In summary, yes I do despair about the place and what it has become and may well become in the future, however thinking about the good things, as mentioned above, keeps me sane and functioning, so I guess here is where I will be staying, for better or for worse, until I depart this mortal coil!

With such a great attitude as yours, I think you could be happy anywhere. Great post.

[phuketrichard]

Quote

Why fly to Patong when its just got worse over the years when i can get a taxi Patts

wow, been living on the Island 32 years+ never knew patong had an airport

If patong is so bad why than is it the ONLY place on the island busy12 months of the year

[soihok]

Will be in Kata next week.

Been about 14 years since I was there.