Ao Phra Ae Beach

Just south of Klong Dao Beach lies Phra Ae Beach, also known as Long Beach, another long and lonely stretch of sand. The dunes on the inland side slope gently down to meet the warm inviting water which laps against the soft sand. The tides here are very mild and theres rarely any current so this is another great place for a swim, a jog or just lazing around soaking up sunshine. There are quite a few modest resorts along this stretch and a few top end resorts have started to eye the area, which means there are plenty of restaurants and little shops where you can pick up sundries. Restaurants and bars dot the dunes overlooking Long Beach and you can find an array of simple Thai restaurants to pizzerias and resort-style fine dining.

Ko Samui

Ko Samui is located in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 84 kilometers east of Surat Thani Province, or approximately 700 kilometers south of Bangkok. Known as the Coconut Island, Ko Samui is one of the most famous and popular attractions of Thailand. With an area of 247 square kilometers, Ko Samui is the third largest island of Thailand after Phuket and Ko Chang (of Trat Province). The topography of the island is that of a plain with a mountain range in the middle and 7 important streams. In addition, there is a 50-kilometer paved road that encircles the island. Moreover, the area of the island stretches to a group of 48 surrounding islets.

Despite the fast pace of development, Ko Samui has been able to maintain its charm its classical image of a tropical beach resort fringed by coconut trees. Travelers to the island can enjoy a mixed blessing of vibrant day and nightlife along side with tranquility which can easily be found across different parts of Ko Samui as the archipelago is a peaceful home for fishermen and a natural den for seagulls and other rare birds. Hat Chaweng and Hat Lamai are Ko Samuis most beautiful and most popular beaches. Both have a huge selection of accommodations suitable for every budget. Please note that room rates increase during the high season, from December to July, when Samui sparkles. The nightlife of each beach is different: Hat Chaweng is better for couples, women and families, while single men are drawn to the beer bar culture of Hat Lamai. These resorts, as well as Na Thon (Samui's main town), have communications, exchange and car/motorcycle hire facilities. Other beaches include Hat Choeng Mon, Hat Mae Nam in the north and Hat Na Thon, the island's major seafront settlement where shops, restaurants and tour agencies are concentrated.

Apart from its many lovely beaches and tranquil bays, Ko Samui is also noted for its high quality coconuts that grow densely everywhere. The best time to visit Ko Samui is from February to April when the sea is calm. The Southern dialect and the standard Thai language are spoken while English is widely understood in tourist areas.

Patong Beach

Patong Beach, Phuket This is Phuket's central tourist and night time entertainment district. Over the year, Patong has turned from a fishing village into one of the island's two cities. The famous bay and 4 km. beach remain as they were, with development limited to the area back of the beach road. There, however, virtually every kind of entertainment imaginable awaits visitors, with bars catering to every nationality. Live music can be found in many places, and there are also discotheques. Accommodations range from budget to five-star. Shopping opportunities appear to be endless. Whatever one's culinary disposition, a restaurant catering to it will be found. In addition, there are many tour companies waiting to help visitors plan their vacations.

Growing at the speed of light, it will offer a large range of activities during day or night, an amazing choice of hotels and a life style to fit any type of visitors. Since the past ten years, Patong Beach has changed a lot and became a family destination, eventhough all the bar girls are still at the same place (Bangla Road), you will see many couples and family strolling along the many

new streets opened lately.

It offers a beautiful tropical beach ringed with lush green mountains. The bay is a 5 km gently curving crescent of beautiful white sand, suitable for every kind of water sport. It is the most developed of all Phuket’s beaches, almost solidly lined with hotels, bungalow complexes and a concentration of restaurants, shops and night-spots appealing to all tastes. It is not recommended for those in search of tranquillity, but definitely suitable for those looking for a lively holiday.

Ao Phang Nga

Ao Phang Nga National Park is located at the Andaman sea shore of Thailand in Kra Som sub district, Ka Lai sub district, Khlong Khian sub district of Amphoe Ta Gua Tung, Ko Panyi district of Amphoe Muang Phanga and Ko Yao Noi sub district, Ko Yao Yai of Amphue Ko Yao, Phang Nga province.

Ao Phang Nga National Park covers 400 sq km and contains over 40 islands amidst dramatic scenery of sheer limestone cliffs (some as high as 300 metres) tower out of the year round calm green water.Evidence of prehistoric man has been traced back in the park to over 10,000 years ago as evidenced by some of their cave painting, tools and other knick knacks that archeologists have found scattered throughout the area. One assumes it cannot have been too bad place to live back then. Now the increasingly common human life seen in these parts is the boatloads of tourists and the occasional Thai fisherman. Millions of years ago the whole region was one of the world's largest barrier reefs extending thousands of kilometres. However natural forces came into play and the earth's movements created the irregular formations, with erosion smoothing the edges, leaving the geography reminiscent of Yunnan in China but with the water.

The climate experienced in Phangnga Bay is tropical marine, with characteristic high rainfall and year round high temperatures. Thirty year records of Meteological Department of Thailand (1961-1990) collected at Takua Pa weather station indicate that rain is abundant in the south-west monsoon season from May to October. The average annual rainfall is 3,560.5 mm. and the average total rain days is 189 days. The temperature fluctuates between 23 * C and 32 * C. The average relative humidity is 83 %.

More than 80 percent of the Phang Nga Bay National Park is sea which most of sea floor is mud and sand. There are many limestone mountains emerging from the sea throughout Phang Nga bay. These beautiful, distinct and strange mountains consists of small and big islands about 42 islands such as Tao mountain island, Pra Art Tao island, etc. , each island has a different nature and beautiful uniqueness.

Ko Phi Phi Don

Ko Phi Phi Don ("ko" meaning "island" in the Thai language) is the largest of the Phi Phi Islands, in Thailand. It is the only island in the group with permanent inhabitants. Like the other islands in the group, Ko Phi Phi Don is a non-volcanic island largely made of limestone. It is almost separated into two islands, but a strand of flat land connects them. On this strand lies the largest town on the island, as well as most of the resorts. Ko Phi Phi Don is now squarely on the tourist map, and tourists from all over the world (especially Europe, Japan, and the wealthier Southeast Asian countries) flock to the island. Accessible from Phuket and mainland Krabi province, all tourists must arrive by boat.

(The trip from Phuket takes around 90 minutes.) This has essentially turned the island into a rush of day trippers who overpopulate the island from 11AM-3PM. The island still holds much charm that can be enjoyed in the hours that the flocks from Phuket are not there. While in former times, Ko Phi Phi Don was a serene paradise, parts of it (especially the Ton Sai Bay area) have been exploited for tourism. Restaurants, shops, internet cafes, and shanty towns abound.

Phuket Province

Phuket is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga and Krabi, but as Phuket is an island there are no land boundaries. The island is served by Phuket International Airport, located in the north of the island. The ph of "Phuket" is an aspirated "p", so the name is pronounced (roughly) "Poock-get". The name Phuket is apparently derived from the word bukit in Malay which means mountain or hill, as this is what the island appears like from a distance.

Before that its old name was Ta-lang, derived from the old Malay "Telong" which means "Cape". The northern district of the province, which was the location of the old capital, still uses this name.
Phuket city is a city located in the southeast of Phuket Island, Thailand. It is the capital of the Phuket Province, covering all of the island. As of 2006 the city has a population of 74,218 people. It covers the subdistricts (tambon) Talad Yai and Talad Nuea of Mueang Phuket district.

Pattaya

Pattaya (Thai: พัทยา, RTGS: Phatthaya) is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chon Buri. The city of Pattaya is a self governing special municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Kluea and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. It is located in the heavily industrial Eastern Seaboard zone, along with Si Racha, Laem Chabang, and Chon Buri. However, it remains mostly a tourist city, with very light industry. It is one of the largest centers of tourism in Thailand, with some 5.4 million visitors arriving in 2005. The vast majority of tourists that visit Pattaya are male, in groups or on their own, due to the town's world-famous sex industry, in which girls of many ages are available for, by Western standards, very cheap prices. The town also offers many luxury hotels, beautiful beaches, friendly people, excellent shopping, reasonable prices and a wide variety of nearby tourist attractions.

The city had 101,378 registered inhabitants in 2007. This figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya (many come and go for tourism related work) but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors. Including non registered residents, the population numbers around 300,000 at any given time. It covers 22.2 sq km.

Whilst Thailand has some of the world's most beautiful beaches, Pattaya's is not amongst them. Despite recent efforts to improve the beach, it remains in a sorry state. At high tide the beach is, in places, less than a meter wide. Pattaya Beach is situated along the central city in close proximity to shopping, hotels and bars. The over-abundance of jet-skis and speedboats has contributed to the pollution of the water along the beach, as has the practice of dumping sewage in the ocean. The section of beach from Central Road (Pattaya Klang) south to the harbor is adjacent to the core of Pattaya's abundant nightlife area, hence it is less family-oriented than the North Pattaya, Na Klua and Jomtien beaches.

Most sections of the beach are covered by rented deckchairs run by local beverage vendors during daylight hours so finding an available spot of sand is rather difficult and also unadvisable due to the poor condition of the beach. (Visitors are advised to avoid the beach after dark. Although the Beach Road itself is busy and brightly lit, some criminal elements find the unlit beach useful as a cover for their activities and the local police target this area in various ongoing clampdowns.)

Nightlife and Prostitution
Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife, which caters primarily to foreigners. While some of this is unrelated to prostitution, the central Pattaya Beach Area is known as a destination for sex tourism (alongside several districts in Bangkok and Phuket). While prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, it is widely tolerated.

Since the "social order" crackdown of 2004, there are very few sex shows (such as the ping pong shows) although they can sometimes still be found. Depending on the enforcement climate, go go dancers may be seen fully nude, topless or in bikinis on different days or weeks.
Muay Thai (Thai boxing) matches aimed at tourists can be seen at many of the open air beer bar complexes.

The Boyztown, Sunee Plaza, and the Jomtien Complex areas are famous for their many gay nightclubs, cabarets and go-go clubs. Pattaya probably has the largest concentration of establishments catering to the gay community in Thailand. There are literally hundreds of "host" and go-go bars. Many specialize in certain types of hosts (slim, muscular, effeminate), while others have a broad range of men available.