2004 tsunami
Beach Road and the immediate surrounding areas were hit hard by the December 2004 tsunami, however the only signs now remaining are the "Tsunami" titles on sale at the VCD/DVD vendors.
Orientation
Patong's three main axes are the aptly named Beach Road Thanon Thawiwong and Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi the last bit means "200 years" and is pronounced song roi bee running parallel a few hundred meters inland, bisected at the midpoint by the world famous Soi Bangla.
Running parallel to the Beach Road and Rat-U-Thit about half a kilometer inland is Nanai Road which is the residential expatriate area and has many cheaper guest houses and hotels. The restaurants on this road tend to be cheaper as well as beers which can be had for B50 a bottle generally.
Between Nanai Road and Rat-U-Thit is the new bypass road which is almost open, suitable for motorbikes at present and braver car owners. This Road runs behind the huge Jungceylon shopping center and past the local fresh fish and vegetable market 'Baanzan', well worth a visit if you are self catering.
Understand
Patong is a party capital of Asia, with a world famous nightlife and a great beach. Mostly made up of hotels, world class restaurants, nightclubs and various tourist attractions, this is a hedonists' heaven of nightlife, with numerous entertainment complexes and countless bars clustered together in and around Bangla Road and the beach road. The town has a very obvious female, transgender and male sex industry to cater to every taste, however to only view it as this is a mistake, it offers so much more, for families and couples too.
Massage parlors of the erotic as well the therapeutic Nuad Thai genre provide less alcohol/drug infested venues for punters and wellness seekers. One can even find masseuses practicing this medical art atop bamboo mats on the beach sands 100 baht and up.
Prices are higher than in Phuket Town, but there's more budget accommodation here than at the more southerly beaches.
This may not be a good destination for the average backpacker, except in the rainy season when prices are far lower. However this is not Patong's stated market, it is fairly and squarely aimed at holidaymakers and does it rather well.
Rooming houses 'mansions' a few blocks inland provide nice, clean a/c rooms and suites as cheaply as 300 baht/day less without a/c, or 3,000-10,000 baht/month. However Patong has every type of accommodation imaginable, from home stays to 5 star palaces.
U.s. navy
Phuket Island in general and Patong Beach in particular are visited about once per year for ships of the United States Navy. The navy sailors are generally well behaved and are policed by their own Shore Patrol. As Phuket is not considered big enough, very large navy ships usually visit Pattaya instead.