A Standard Day

6 Jan

As with most resort based vacations it didn’t take long to settle into a daily routine. Outside planned activities, most days consisted of a morning beach walk, a reasonably healthy breakfast, a morning pool session, a wander into town for lunch which usually resulted in some unnecessary shopping, then another afternoon pool session of reading and napping. By then “happy hour” would commence and cocktails ordered by the pool with some random consideration put into what to do that evening and when to have dinner. It was hard maintaining such a tough regime every day.

But of course Patong and greater Phuket offers every traveller something different, and if shopping, food or nightlife is your cup of tea, then Patong Central is the place to be.

The Promenade

From the Marriott it was an easy walk along Thawi Wong Road paralleling the beach to the main part of town. All manner of restaurants and bars could be found along the way scattered between tourist booths, weed bars, street vendors, masseuses and souvenir shops. Every place was amazing and nothing bad could be said of any of them. Some were fancy, others more low key, all though were pretty cheap for the position and view they afforded with many visited more than once.

Most notably the chilli fish at the Chino Yard Markets was amazing along with the discovery of simply the greatest cocktail Fatpap has ever had. The Whiskey Blossom at the Hern Bistro was a flavour bombshell topped with fresh cream that should never have been so delicious. Between night and day there was very little change to the street front vibe. Probably given the high rents and heavy foot traffic, every establishment was opened all day and fun to be around.

The Town

Leaving the Marriott through the main entrance the same adventure could be had but his time via Rat Uthit 200 Pi Road, yep that’s the name of the road. Along both sides of the more heavily trafficked road were larger, more flamboyant establishments even cheaper than those visited on the beach front. The restaurants were bigger and the souvenir shops massive. Most formed part of an “arcade” running through to the next street and filled with cheap sportswear knock offs, handbags and everything else imaginable. There was a Hard Rock Cafe and open aired pool bars filled at most hours with blokes wearing Shinga Beer singlets chatting up ageing Thai prostitutes and winning in life.

Youth Hostels and dental surgeries blended with hawkers selling sunglasses and Bluetooth speakers before coming across Patong Central Shopping Centre, which you can image, wasn’t visited. However a “Bucket of Margarita” was enjoyed in the front courtyard for a reason now not fully remembered. One day Fatpap even got himself a massage to alleviate the enormous stresses of the holiday thus far.

Scattered along this route were sobering reminders of the tsunami dangers in the area with signage and evacuation points highlighted in unmissable blue signs. In 2004 this road was at one point under 20 foot of seawater according to the memorial markers.

Both roads, beach front or through the town, led to the same destination albeit opposite ends. Bang La Rd, the epicentre of Patong nightlife could be reached by either journey and while not intentional, visited most nights “just to see what was happening.”

Bang La Road

Every city has one, most are famous, and Bang La Road is exactly that for Patong. By day the strip is vehicle accessible and when walking its length not much is open or available to see. Come night fall thought the entrances are blocked off, patrolled by security guards, and the 400 metre strip turns into Las Vegas. Bars, clubs, go-go bars and most probably houses of ill-repute thickly line both sides of the road. There are restaurants too but nothing of note. Mostly fast-food or quick and easy eating to soak up whatever consumption preceded the thought of eating. Street vendors hawked bracelets, toys or jewellery while all manner of “menus” were placed under the passer-by’s nose.

The place is definitely lively and exciting but in honesty about 30yrs past Fatpap’s interest. Constant invites to “live shows” and offers of “free drinks” fall flat on an old man with people watching and lounge sitting of greater appeal. The Chill Bar particularly was a fantastic location and according to the bank statement, the most frequented and generously patronised.

Rain or shine the place was awash with lights, sounds and movement bringing excitement regardless of the morality.

Situated at the eastern end of Bang La Road an unnamed thoroughfare ran flanked either side by endless food stalls selling everything imaginable, most notably though seafood. It was, to say the least, chaotic holding no semblance of organisation at all. Running down the centre were rows and rows of communal tables brimming with diners from all over the world. One only need find an empty seat, wait 3 seconds to be bombarded by spruikers fanning menus of endless options then place an order accordingly. Now, what happened after that is unknown. The food arrives, you eat it, they hover over you for additional service then when ready give you a bill and the process would continue. It was tumultuous but worked. How the servers knew who had what and when and how much to charge was beyond comprehension. Lobster was the visual and financial pick with a 1.5kg crustacean costing less than AUS $40, but between pork ribs, chilli prawns, traditional Thai dishes and everything else, two visits were needed over different nights to savour them all.

The Beach

Patong Beach might not be the prettiest in the world but it definitely must be one of the most active. Running 3km along the west coast of Phuket it closes out Patong Bay offering the perfect backdrop to the many restaurants and bars only metres away. From early morning to late night something was always happening along this famous resort stretch. And no matter what happened the night before, by sunrise it was again clean and tidy ready for the tourists.

In the early hours vendors spent their time setting up for the day. Row upon row of lounge chairs and umbrellas were aligned for rental at only a few baht per hour, and watercraft brought down in the cover of darkness to set up operations. Jet skiing, catamaraning, parasailing and those inflatable banana boat things spent the entire day zooming across the bay until well past sunset. Having never been on a jet ski before, Fatpap indulged for half an hour and similarly zoomed across the bay with the others.

New Year saw the arrival of a cruise ship in the bay for only 24hrs before disappearing as quickly as it came. It was actually interesting to see and not at all out of the ordinary given the calamity. For a few Australian dollars Fatpap joined the thousands of others and set loose a flying “wish” lantern made of rice paper on a bamboo frame. A small candle fuelled it aloft with warm air and every night the sky was dotted with hundreds of little orange glows travelling south on the gentle breeze.

As the natural focal point of any resort, Patong Beach and the immediate surrounds were always crowded with people doing whatever people do and was both a hive of activity and crucible for relaxation. Every day usually started with an early morning walk along its shores and finished with a beach walk back to the hotel enjoying an ice cream.

The Pool

It would be remiss not to mention the hotel a little more or the amazing grounds on which it is found. With just about every facility wanted in a 4-star resort like bars, restaurants, kids clubs and day spa, it was expected the pools, along with the swim-up bars would see the most of Fatpap during his stay. Booking the indulgent poolside room was a master stroke bringing a private pool literally to the doorstep. Better still, an island deck littered with sun lounges and swim-up bar were only metres away. Be it morning or night, this area of the Marriott was naturally greatly utilised.

A little more public was the larger pool situated right in the middle of the resort. In fact it was actually 2 pools separated by The Pool Deck offering a selection of light bites and drinks on an elevated wooden platform. Umbrellas and sun lounges rimmed both pools, but if more shade was required there were plenty of tropical gardens to hide oneself in to steal a nap. Another swim-up bar could be found here, as could Fatpap if after 12:00pm. Ok, in more truth, 10:00am. The grounds were absolutely fantastic and immaculately maintained and all service staff attentive and friendly. The Marriott was the perfect respite from the hustle and bustle of Patong street life but perfectly placed along the strip to be within walking distance of it all.

Peter Lee