Phuket Reports

[El Frances]

Phuket Patong Beach FAQ (Bangla Road centered)

The new season is beginning, so a Phuket FAQ may be usefull to Phuket newbies. It is focused on the core mongering location: Patong Beach, and especially around Bangla Road. An home-made map of main places is also attached.

Where to stay?
Rule number one: rent a motorbike or stay near Bangla Road in Patong Beach. Tuk Tuk and similar transportation are very expensive in Phuket. You will pay 100 THB in Phuket for a Tuk Tuk ride which would cost you 40 THB in an aircon cab in Bangkok.
The heart of mongering life in Phuket holiday spots is Patong Beach, and the heart of nightlife in Patong Beach is Bangla Road. Girls are also available in Karon Beach or Kata Beach but the choice will be very limited. If you stay there you will have to spend around 150 THB one way to go enjoy nightlife in Patong. If you stay in Patong Beach but far from Bangla road, the price/quality ratio of accommodation will be much better but you will bear relatively high transportation cost, unless you rent a motorbike.

Which hotel?
Rule number two: if you don’t know for sure the hotel you booked doesn’t charge you extra when you bring girls to your room, don’t pay your hotel in advance. What they call “joiner fee” can be up to 1000 THB per night! In case of doubt, you can fax or email to ask if they charge a joiner fee before booking (no reason to be shy about asking). In general, cheap hotels and guesthouses don’t charge joiner fees, and more expensive hotels targeting families may do. Avoid, for example, Patong Bay Garden resort (joiner fee: 1000 THB).

Girls. How are they? What can you expect? How much?
Girls in Phuket are usually only moderately beautiful. You will not meet stunners in Phuket and about only 10 to 20% of the girls are of acceptable quality. The quality level will not exceed 7 by asian standards. The good side is that they often behave in a more relaxed way in Phuket than in Bangkok. Girls come from other parts of Thailand and don’t stay with their family, so they may be ready to spend time with you if they like you. Another good side is that the customer to girl rate is about one customer to ten girls, so prices remain rather low.

Price category (THB) ST LT
Cheap Charley Price* 500 1000
Fair price for pretty girls** 1000 1500
Price for newbie customers*** 1500 2000
Price for supposed s….**** above above
Table 1: Prices in Bars and Discos in Patong Beach
*After 2 am, it’s not a cheap Charley price any more, especially for LT
** I always found pretty girls for this price, even at peak season
*** Never tell them you are a newbie
**** No comment

For Bars and Discos (excluding GoGos),the standard rate for the 10 to 20% pretty enough girls is 1000 THB short time and 1500 THB long time (plus 200 to 300 THB Bar fine if you take them from a Bar). If you are short of money, you can get them cheaper, but you will have more limited choice. It’s easy to get cheaper price late at night, or during off-peak season. Girls will first ask you if it is the first time you stay to Phuket. If you answer YES, the rate will be 1500 ST/2000 LT. If they think you are a sucker, it will be something like 2000 ST/3000 LT.
Rule number three: NEVER SAY IT’S THE FIRST TIME YOU STAY IN PHUKET! Answer: “it’s the third time I come here” or “I’ve been there last year with my Italian friends”. Never let them know you are a newbie in Phuket or in Thailand. Maybe they will find out later that you were lying, but who cares? Anyway, never ask them how much they want! Tell them how much you pay them if they ask you. Of course, as ever in Thailand: be nice, kind, polite, respectful, don’t get angry and you will be rewarded. But if you feel the girl is trying to take advantage of you, just switch to another one.
If you get them early at night, some of them may stick to ST, because they hope to get an extra LT later with someone else. Sometimes they even say yes for LT and then ask one friend to phone them and say “Oh my friend called me, there is a problem! I cannot stay with you more time. I have to go!”.
If you take them late at night in discos or in the street (or at low season), prices can easily go down to 500 ST/1000 LT.
The attitude may vary greatly depending on the girls. Some are very kind and care-taking and others only see you as a sucker for money, so…
Rule number four: if the girl is too pushy for money or for time (i.e. “let’s go now to you hotel, not later!”), run away! You will find a better girl somewhere else, there are plenty of them.

Bars
There are numerous bars in Bangla road and in the roads at both ends of Bangla road on the right side when facing the see. It’s useless recommending a specific bar as girls and even owners may change several times a year. Barfine may vary between 200 and 400 THB. Lady drinks can be rather expensive, around 120 THB, so be careful or you may end up spending more for drinks than for the girl. Bars right on Bangla road tend to be much more crowded than the ones on the side alleys, so…
Rule number five: avoid the most crowded bars right on Bangla road. If you go to these bars the more beautiful girls will be already busy with other customers, and you will also increase the probability to get overpriced. Go down the alleys on the side of Bangla Road, girls are not uglier and will be very happy to meet you!
There is also a bar complex in Rat-U-Thit…Rd, it’s not very crowded but very convenient on rainy days because it is indoor.

Discos
There are three main discos in Patong within easy reach. As a general rule, beautiful girls don’t show up before 12pm/1am in these places. You can meet there different types of girls: regular freelancers, occasional freelancers, girls who have finished their work in Bars and got no customers to take them, and girls who have already finished with an early short time customer and are looking for second customer. The rate of Thai girls not going there to find a customer is around 1%. The standard price is the same as in Bars (1000 ST/1500 LT) but you don’t need to pay a barfine, and it’s easier to negotiate prices down when it gets late. Some girls don’t even ask you how much you will give them and apparently just take what you give them.

Taipan (nearly in front of Bangla road)
Taipan is famous for the launch of free FBI and CIA T-Shirts, and has a band playing at the beginning of the night until around 12. It is the best place to start the night if you want a quiet start. Admission is free and no girl will bother you asking you to buy her a ladydrink. Girls who come there early are older and/or not beautiful as they hope to catch a man before the more pretty girls arrive. From 12pm/1am it becomes more crowded, hot and full of cigarette smoke so I usually switch to Tiger Disco

Tiger Disco (Bangla road) is the largest disco and only gets busy from 1am. It is more dance-oriented than the other places and can be very crazy sometimes. Entry fee (for farang only) include two drinks, at a cheaper price than if you buy drinks at the bars inside (strange, isnt’it?). As the disco is big with a high roof, it tends to be less hot and smoked than the other two.

Banana Disco is a small disco on the Beach road left of Bangla road. It seems to be somehow less mongering oriented than the other two discos. Various types of girls: girls who come there for fun with their friends, girls who come to sell their body, and girls pretending they don’t come there to sell their body so that they can get more money from naive customers. Entry fee includes two drinks and it only gets crowded from 12am/1pm as the other discos. As the disco is small it gets then very hot and full of smoke. I tend to go to this place when I’m very thirsty and I drink quickly my two beers before going to another place.
Seduction. It’s a rather new one. I avoided it last season because I thought it was a ladyboy place and heard recently that it was not. It should not be overcrowded but it may change with the new season.

Gogo Bars
There are a few GoGo bars in Bangla. Price for girls should be more expensive. Nothing very interesting: no funny shows as in Bangkok Patong, and no beautiful girls compeared to places such as Mandarin in Bangkok. They attract you with cheap drink prices, and then ask tip for show, for the girl who talked with you during 5 minutes, etc…I would rather avoid these places.

Massage Parlor (Christine’s)
Avoid this place unless your wife is staying with you in hotel or if you are in a hurry (service can be quick as I experienced!). Only the most expensive category of girls is acceptable. At 2500 THB, you get the same girls you get for 1800 THB in Bangkok, but not the same service.
Rule number six: don’t go there!

In the streets (Bangla road and around)
Most of them are ladyboys, so be careful! It can be very good late at night when the girls who don’t have customers are eating soup after disco and you can get them very cheap. But be careful, at that time you will be presumably drunk and may not be able to distinguish girls from ladyboys!

Food and expresso coffee:
Expresso Coffee: If you need (like me) good strong and dark expresso coffee in order to be able to survive, there’s nothing better than Starbucks. You will find one at the shopping mall in the same street as Taipan (turn right when coming from Bangla Road), and one on the Beach Road on the left of Bangla Road but about 5/10 mn walk.
Sandwich: BeachWay in front of Savoy. Better than Subway next door, but more limited choice.
Cheap (but good)Thai food: there is a small alley with food stalls in Bangla Road, left when facing the sea. It’s not easy to find because it is hidden between shops. A tasty dish of rice with some meat or fish will cost you 40 THB. This is traditional Thai food, home made style. Try also the food in the streets: chicken leg for 20/30 THB, fish for 30/50 THB, and sticky rice for 5 THB. If you have a good stomach, try the green papaya salad. Be careful with the meat skewers sold late at night, meat may be rotten!
And of course, nothing’s better after disco than a good soup, for not more than 40 THB. There are plenty of street restaurants in the street of Taipan (Rat-U-Thit…), walking left from Bangla Road.
Expensive (but good) Thai Food: Papaya on the beach road left of Bangla road.
Fresh (not too expensive) Seafood: Go to the street of Taipan, left of Bangla Road and walk 5 mn (Rat-U-Thit..). You will see plenty of seafood restaurants (don’t go to the first row of seafood restaurants in the alley very near to Bangla road, wait for the next series of large terraces after the next Bar complex for rainy days). You can choose your seafood and prices will be about 2/3 of the prices charged by the restaurants located on the Beach Road. Make sure they really understand the way you want your seafood cooked (don’t trust their nodding heads)!

Enjoy!

[Asianatic]

Tiger Disco was not very crowded on a Saturday evening at 11 pm. The entry fees is THB 240 which seemed like a wasted donation. The FBI club was also deserted

Every Disco in Patong is deserted before 11pm. Check again at 12.30 -1.00 am and you'll hardly find a space to stand.

5 more weeks to go and we're back - watch out for the three musketeers !

[Yahoo 1]

I was in Phuket from Nov 2 thru Nov 5. I stayed at Lawan residence. This small hotel is owned by a gentleman known as Gary from Las Vegas. He has done a lot to this hotel in the last three months. He is a very nice guy and goes out of his way to help you. It probably helps that we speak the same language and carry passports issued by the same country. The hotel is very convenient to Soi bangla, the main entertainment district here at Patong Beach area. There is no joiner fees and the hotel is very girl friendly. Now here are my other comments about Phuket in general.

I was disappointed by the quality of girls of available at Phuket. I would rate these girls in the 3 to 5 category. Bangkok has much better selection. They all wanted THB 1000 for short time but would not come below 700. This amount is ok and is mentioned here for information only.

I went to Cristine for a traditional thai massage. By the way, Cristine also has a soapy massage for which they are very well known at Phuket but which was very expensive at THB 2500. Back to the Traditional Thai Massage. It was THB 500 for two hours which is an ok price. But the quality of the massage was in no way any better than what your girlfriend can provide you at home. Normally the traditional thai massage is done to massage the various pressure points in the body and stretch various muscles for a completely refreshing experience. I also heard two other people in the neighboring small areas who knew each other and had the same complaints which they were discussing among themselves in English. So avoid this place.

One thing that you do not want to miss is the show put up by the ladyboys at the intersection of Soi Bangla and Soi Crocodile. I am not fond of ladyboys, yet I enjoyed their swaying of the hips and making funny gestures at the audience. There was always a crowd gathered there to watch these characters. Also, there were two very friendly locals who had actual live crocodiles (small ones) that you could touch and feel and have your picture taken for a small donation. I was surprised to see quite a few couples strolling at Soi Bangla and taking in the views. Tiger Disco was not very crowded on a Saturday evening at 11 pm. The entry fees is THB 240 which seemed like a wasted donation. The FBI club was also deserted. By the way, if you get a chance, buy some boiled peanuts from a street vendor for 10 THB. They tasted very good. Also, do not miss going to the beach and watch these small plastic bags being heated up by a wax like substance and float upwards towards the sky. They had a carnival happening there and there were literally thousands of these “hot air balloons” floating in the sky on Saturday night.

I had a wonderful experience at a traditional thai massage place about two blocks away from my hotel. They were offering a traditional massage for THB 180 for one hour. A very beautiful girl from this place approached me and was very insistent so I decided to take her up on it. It turned out that she was very new to Phuket. She took me upstairs and within 5 minutes of starting the massage, I knew that she did not know how to do any real massage. I then tried to get her to switch to other things which she very quickly agreed to without speaking any words. I had her bra and top removed in no time and as soon as I touched her boobs, she really became excited and started to French kiss me like I have never been before. I was enjoying it and it was beyond my wildest imagination. To make a long story short, she ended up giving me an excellent BBBJ and then finished off the hour massage. I gave her THB 500 tip in addition to the regular price of the massage.

If you are missing and craving American style food, go to Jung Ceylon, a shopping center within a block of Soi Bangla and you will not be disappointed. There is Starbucks, Burger King and at least three more American name restaurants.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please Click Here for more information.

[ThaiLearner]

Madnomad,

You sure they have a pool?

Because on their web site I do not read or see it!

No pool. but has use of one near it.

[Rudy2]

Check out Summer Breeze...no joiner fee.. has a pool

Madnomad,

You sure they have a pool?

Because on their web site I do not read or see it!

[Rudy2]

Check out Summer Breeze...its affordable..no joiner fee..right on Bangla, has a pool, and the staff is awsome. Did I mention they have hands down the best breakfast you can buy for 100 baht.[/QUOTE]MadNomad,

Thanks

[MadNomad]

now I have to look for another hotel.

Check out Summer Breeze...its affordable..no joiner fee..right on Bangla, has a pool, and the staff is awsome. Did I mention they have hands down the best breakfast you can buy for 100 baht.

[M P Lurker]

<cut>
Got to my resort in Kata (way south of the Island, 10 min south of Patong) and after checking in to this really good resort (Serena resort): 2 pools, great big rooms, very helpful staff, free breakfast, 1 free diner and 5 min from the beach, that I got on the internet for 1060b/night for 10 nights. I went for a well deserved legit oil massage.
<cut>

Its amazing what discount you can get for staying in a Hotel for a long period in low season. I believe this one would be significantly higher if just 1 night, and way higher in the high season.

Watch out for others mongers trying to find your girl. Every one will think they can get a freebie.
Your girl was certainly one fast worker.

[Champs1000]

i flew thai asia air to phuket. it’s a small discount airline but for 87$ round trip i can’t complain. i got there and back on time, just that the weight maximum is 15 kilo for luggage. not much, i was at 16 kilo but she let me slide (must be the eyebrows thing lol).

got to my resort in kata (way south of the island, 10 min south of patong) and after checking in to this really good resort (serena resort): 2 pools, great big rooms, very helpful staff, free breakfast, 1 free diner and 5 min from the beach, that i got on the internet for 1060b/night for 10 nights. i went for a well deserved legit oil massage.

now i did the cardinal sin of mongering and fell head over heals for my massage therapist. she is just a gorgeous stunner with top notch massage skills. i think it clicked with her too because when i arrived at the massage place the lady at the reception was insisting that there was "only massage no special massage ok? " but after the flip this girl started to kiss me on the lips and gave me her number to call her tonight because she could not do anything "special" here.

now i know what you are thinking. what a sucker fell for it like the newbie he is. ok i am a newbie but i had this forum to guide me so i was not falling for it at the time. she was, as i said, a real stunner so i called her up at 7pm like previously discussed and she was so happy that i called. we went to diner and then back to my room for some mind blowing sex. next day, since we did not discuss money, i asked her if 1500b was ok for the night (it was a good night). she looked at me with these sad and disappointed eyes. "no money, me no bar lady, i stay with you no money for all time in kata. ok? ". what. heeeuuuu. . what. what is the catch. i told her ok but what about her job? she told me it was low season and her boss would not mind since not enough customers. her boss would take all her customers and make more money so no problem.

so 10 days of sex and scuba diving was to follow. now, it was not 100% free, i paid for her meals, bought her some clothes and gifts but all and all it came to about 5000b for the 10 days specifically spent on her. not bad i think.

i went to bangla road in patong 1 time only. apart from the being careful not take one of the ladyboys home, not much to say about mongering in phuket. sorry

tips for newbie’s:

1-transportation is really expensive in phuket. if you are there for mongering it is worth to pay 100b a night for a hotel near the action. it will be less expensive in the long run that way.

2-kata is a much better beach then patong. clean and the water is beautiful.

3-go to "mom tri" restaurant in kata. a bit on the expensive side but great food, exceptional service and the beach view from your dining table is too die for. i brought my girl there and a- she did not know this place existed b-she was so happy to go there and afterwards she showed me how much when we got back to the room.

4-if your plans are to come to thailand to do the mongering thing only than save you money and go to pattaya or stay on bangkok but if you want a beautiful beach, clean water, good looking babes and you are not on a tight budget. then phuket is you place.

i am off to pattaya, solo, my girls was great, she came with me to the airport to say goodbye and there was some tears. i tried to give her money but she flatly refused it and said that she wanted to be with me, that i was a good man with a good heart (i treated her like i would my girlfriend at home) and she hoped i would e-mail her and come back to see her soon. i insisted that she take the 3000b and explained to her that this money was not because she slept with me but for lost wages only (what can i say i am a good guy). then she said "ok take money but no sex money". what can i say i love this place.

hey these things do happen to people. wow. who knew. .

next part in the mongering capital of the world pattaya.

have a good one.

champs1000

editor's note: i certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the reports of distinction thread. please click here for more information.

[TheNoop]

Hello Gents,
I see all the reports of hotels that charge joiner fees and such. I was in Patong in April starting on Thai new year (the big water fight). I stayed at the Salathai Hotel. It is a nice small hotel just a short walk from the Bangala circus. There are no joiner fees. The rates are reasonable and they treated me and my catch of the day like family. The one night I didn't bring one back (don't ask) the reception asked me why I was alone! There is a good Ausi run bar just down the street with no girls if you need a break run by some great Austies. The rooms are nice with a safe big enough for your laptop and a nice pool. I will stay there again!
Good hunting!
Thenoop

[Beige]

Hi,

I will bes taying at Katavilla on Karon beach and want to know if anyone knows:

1. Is it a good place and decent bar/woman action from there?

2. Is it fairly accessible to Patong? If so, how long to Patong and the cost of a taxi? Should I just forget about the girls in Karon and go to Patong?

Thanks

Karon is certainly nothing like Patong for women as its quite a quiet family orientated resort. Although there are still plenty of bars with bar girls- just simply not as many and quieter. its only about 10-15mins in a tuk tuk to Patong though.

[Rudy2]

I stayed at Baipho recently and Rudy told me that the policy of chargon joiner fees might frequently change in different Hotels in Phuket (He does not charge nor does he plan to). It is best to always call and ask before booking.

Ok, thank you very much.

I will later check on the internet about hotel Baipho.

[Tiger 888]

Have stayed at the Tropica Bungalow many times over the past 5 years. Was always girl friendly. As I checked in last week, I noticed an annoucment taped above the reception desk that a joiner fee of 500 baht would be in effect beginning November 1. I was only paying 1, 000 baht for a double now. Won't' be staying there any more.

I stayed at Baipho recently and Rudy told me that the policy of charging joiner fees might frequently change in different Hotels in Phuket (He does not charge nor does he plan to). It is best to always call and ask before booking.

[Redfield10]

Hi,

I will bes taying at Katavilla on Karon beach and want to know if anyone knows:

1. Is it a good place and decent bar/woman action from there?

2. Is it fairly accessible to Patong? If so, how long to Patong and the cost of a taxi? Should I just forget about the girls in Karon and go to Patong?

Thanks

[Rudy2]

Have stayed at the Tropica Bungalow many times over the past 5 years. Was always girl friendly. As I checked in last week, I noticed an annoucment taped above the reception desk that a joiner fee of 500 baht would be in effect beginning November 1. I was only paying 1, 000 baht for a double now. Won't' be staying there any more.[/QUOTE]I have stayed there in July 2007, was very nice and good hotel also very good was: girlfriendly but 500 baht for bringing somebody inside the hotel that is too much next year, 2008, I was planning to go in July there again now I have to look for another hotel.