South Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Patong Beach 35 years ago. Shows what tourism does! Pretty much the only building in the area. Restaurant in the day, move the tables and chairs and it's a place to sleep at night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boater Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 great photos !, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverdie Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Ahhh, thats how I remember it.....chased my first girlfriend along there and we were the only too on the beach Thanks for the pics, south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 I first went there in 1986 and the development was already established at Patong. Stayed at Karon for a week of bliss. The generators for the electricity went out at 10.00 pm. To make a phone call I had to go into Phuket township and book a call to Bangkok at the telephone exchange. I thought it was paradise then . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cognos Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Ahhh, thats how I remember it.....chased my first girlfriend along there and we were the only too on the beach Thanks for the pics, south. when you were 4 years old?? signed: when turtles ruled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katasyd Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 It's a shame what it has turned into. If only we could go back and start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I first went to Patong in May '85, stayed at Paradise Bungalows, was indeed Paradise back then. Quit going to Patong in '92, too much development for me by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atmos Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 great pics, thanks, interested in the history back then - what roads (unsealed I presume) were there on the island. Karon-Patong? Patong-Kamala? and so on. Airport - or bus from Bkk? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toptuan Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 If only we could go back and start over. Tried to, with the tsunami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 It's a shame what it has turned into.If only we could go back and start over. I never understand this mindset.. So you want an unspoiled beach with no electric and services.. You know how long you need to drive to find this ?? A hour perhaps ?? My buddy runs a resort on Koh Phayam island, no electric, no cars, dirt trails etc.. Just a couple of hours up the coast. If people really dont want any services, stick a pin in a map on the coastline and your more likely to hit a beach like that than one developed.. So go to one like your asking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony77 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I was there in 1963 with a group of 30 divers from The Thailand Sub Aqua Club. We caught 25 large Lobsters (cray fish) around the rocks on the north end of the beach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montrii Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I, too, knew Patong before it became what is now. in 1966 I was in the middle of my Peace Corps tour and it was April, when all the schools closed. A fellow teacher in Phuket invited a bunch of us down to teach a month-long seminar for local English teachers, and what a great time it was . . . on weekends we went out to Patong and Karon, and, yes, thanks for the pictures, that's the way it looked. No one, absolutely no one around on these amazing beaches. The first time I came back was 18 years later, in 1984, and it was still beautiful, but there were some bungalows and even a few beer bars in Patong. At that point I was able to go out in a long-tail boat in Patong Bay and scuba dive in clear water, saw lobsters and all sorts of great wild stuff under there. Coming back for the third time twelve years after that, things had already turned into what they are now, more or less. What a pity . . . can't turn the clock back, tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrichard Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 great pics, thanks, interested in the historyback then - what roads (unsealed I presume) were there on the island. Karon-Patong? Patong-Kamala? and so on. Airport - or bus from Bkk? cheers roads were everywhere EXCEPT Patong to Karon ( whihc was a track for motorcycles in the 80's) Flights in and out to Bangkok, sing, Penang since the 70's I moved here in '84 and its still as close to Paradise ( if u can stay away from Patong) as u can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvallee2 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 lots of these places still exists in dominican republic, lots of expats too. Especialy french. I remember riding my 4 wheeler for over 30mins without seeing a single building or person on a an empty beach (if you dont count the abandoned club med villas where everything was stolen by locals) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvallee2 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 livinlos, if you're friends resort has many dirtbike style activities can you PM me the info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirDougless Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 It's a shame what it has turned into.If only we could go back and start over. I never understand this mindset.. So you want an unspoiled beach with no electric and services.. You know how long you need to drive to find this ?? A hour perhaps ?? My buddy runs a resort on Koh Phayam island, no electric, no cars, dirt trails etc.. Just a couple of hours up the coast. If people really dont want any services, stick a pin in a map on the coastline and your more likely to hit a beach like that than one developed.. So go to one like your asking for. My thoughts too. Still plenty of undeveloped areas in Thailand and SE Asia generally, so no point in complaining. No town/city is perfectly 'developed' as it happens over time and is controlled by different authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 livinlos, if you're friends resort has many dirtbike style activities can you PM me the info? He doesnt yet.. I was actually talking to him about gtting some KLX140's from Kwaker but the police visited the island and told everyone soon all bikes must have papers for the road even if there are no roads.. There ware waves and the like.. Phayam is actually a great break.. Makes a ranong visa run a mini holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 2 posts not related to this Phuket topic have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khundon Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Ahhh, thats how I remember it.....chased my first girlfriend along there and we were the only too on the beach Thanks for the pics, south. Bet you couldn't catch her now Spent my months honeymoon in the Amari Coral beach hotel in 2001. Great place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katasyd Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 It's a shame what it has turned into.If only we could go back and start over. I never understand this mindset.. So you want an unspoiled beach with no electric and services.. You know how long you need to drive to find this ?? A hour perhaps ?? My buddy runs a resort on Koh Phayam island, no electric, no cars, dirt trails etc.. Just a couple of hours up the coast. If people really dont want any services, stick a pin in a map on the coastline and your more likely to hit a beach like that than one developed.. So go to one like your asking for. Look at what it is now. It's a cesspool of greed and filth. I really should have clarified my original post, i was refering to the horrible urban planning or the lack of it over the years. The place could have been magnificent with a little foresight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebike Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I never understand this mindset.. So you want an unspoiled beach with no electric and services.. You know how long you need to drive to find this ?? A hour perhaps ?? My buddy runs a resort on Koh Phayam island, no electric, no cars, dirt trails etc.. Just a couple of hours up the coast. If people really dont want any services, stick a pin in a map on the coastline and your more likely to hit a beach like that than one developed.. So go to one like your asking for. Phayam is a wonderful place for chillaxin' - but its about a 3.5/4 hour drive from Rawai to the pier in Ranong and what, an hour/hour and a half ferry ride? Frig, the last thing Phayam needs is dirt bikes... yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Phayam is a wonderful place for chillaxin' - but its about a 3.5/4 hour drive from Rawai to the pier in Ranong and what, an hour/hour and a half ferry ride? Frig, the last thing Phayam needs is dirt bikes... yikes. Yeah Phayam is 3 hours drive sure.. But as soon as your off the island, the beaches past Kok kloy (??) are empty and deserted just like Phuket 70's.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonsalviz Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I stayed there in 1978. Patong Beach Hotel had been built by then but the beach pretty much looked the same. Much better in those days. Hey I know, lets build another Tesco/Lotus. Thailand has forgotten what tourism is about. Thanks for the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrex Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Bangla Road 1984ish>>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrex Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 roads were everywhere EXCEPT Patong to Karon ( whihc was a track for motorcycles in the 80's) Flights in and out to Bangkok, sing, Penang since the 70's I moved here in '84 and its still as close to Paradise ( if u can stay away from Patong) as u can get. Sorry, Phuket, the whole island, is now a long long way from paradise .... and it will never ever recover its beauty that it once had. Your conception of paradise is a long long way from the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenBravo Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) Sorry, Phuket, the whole island, is now a long long way from paradise Not really.....go off island north, or east about 50 kilometres. I've been to lots of "paradises". Frankly, after a couple of days, they're boring as h3ll. A pity you didn't take a picture of Bang Tao back then. I believe it resembled a moonscape because of the water-cannons due to tin mining. Edited December 31, 2009 by KarenBravo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiwanderer Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Not really.....go off island north, or east about 50 kilometres.I've been to lots of "paradises". Frankly, after a couple of days, they're boring as h3ll. A pity you didn't take a picture of Bang Tao back then. I believe it resembled a moonscape because of the water-cannons due to tin mining. Tin mining in Phuket since 1500's AD - paradise? Though would have been worse if Tantalum industry had been allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cotambear Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) I think the lack of planned development, and the lack of civic society in the form of widespread corruption and the vice grip of local hoods like the tuk tuk cartel, is a real tragedy. I also think the idea of the paradise desert island (first half of The Beach) is a myth, akin to the myth of the rural idyll. You can try it yourself by getting a longtail to abandon you on an uninhabited island. After 6 months on raw cocunut and mussels, covered in mossie bites and with a raging toothache, you`ll get that signal fire going. Edited December 31, 2009 by cotambear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOOHOO Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 roads were everywhere EXCEPT Patong to Karon ( whihc was a track for motorcycles in the 80's) Flights in and out to Bangkok, sing, Penang since the 70's I moved here in '84 and its still as close to Paradise ( if u can stay away from Patong) as u can get. Sorry, Phuket, the whole island, is now a long long way from paradise .... and it will never ever recover its beauty that it once had. Your conception of paradise is a long long way from the norm. The 'norm' according to who? I think it's a bit too subjective for you to decide what the norm is. As people have pointed out, Paradises are only that, because they are an escape from reality, something very different from every day life. When it comes down to it, most people would be dribbling messes if they had to actually live in them for any length of time. How many people would actually want to live in Patong back in the time that photo was taken? Visit yes, live, not many. So sentiment aside, yes Phuket is a still a paradise for me and many others. Today, you have choices that you didn't have back then. You still have plenty of beaches far better than the one in the photo, all the way up to the bustle of Bangla, and everything in between. So to hanker after the Patong in that photo, makes no sense to me, and maybe is a sign that you've reached that age where you say the words 'In my day' and 'I remember when' far more often than is healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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