Was in the resort town of Patong Beach for 3 nights. My last visit to this place was 25 years ago and it's fair to say that it has changed dramatically in that time.
From a punting perspective, my trip was a washout....a waste of time, only 1 punt in 3 nights.
Firstly, when compared with Pattaya, it's much more expensive (in my experience although the others may not agree).
In Pattaya, I normally pay the lady 1000bt for short time and 300 bar fine, 150 lady drink (£30) In Phuket the girls were asking (and not negotiable) 2000-3000 ST plus 1000 bar fine!
1000bt = £19 in 2015
1000bt = £21.11 in JANUARY 2017
1000bt = £22.80 @ current rate
So, short time = 4000bt plus lady drink @300bt. Approx £90 in Phuket.
Even at the lower end of the scale, in beer bars, I was faced with;
500 bar fine
300 lady drink
2000 ST
= £64.00
On my 1st night, it was very quiet down Bangla Road and I eventually managed to get a girl of around 27 to agree to 1500 BT but I had to buy around 6 lady drinks costing 300 each (£40) before she agreed.
Not much to report other than the scary fact that I realised during the punt that she was offering both holes to me with no condom in sight and it dawned on me that she was in fact happy for me to bareback her
In summary, Phuket appears to have been spoiled by tourist willing to pay the 1st asking price.
In general though, Brits are not helped by the £ going down the toilet - the exchange rate against the BT and the US $ is the worst I've ever known.
Back in Pattaya in July.
