Patong Beach

Patong beach is the most popular beach area of Phuket. Most of the travelers that spend their holiday on Phuket Island in Thailand will end up staying at a resort or hotel which is located in Patong beach. We would like explain why Patong beach is so popular compared to other Phuket beach resort areas such as Kamala beach, Karon beach, Kata beach and Surin beach.

Patong beach is where the largest variety of activities, restaurants, nightlife venues and tourism infrastructure can be found. Travelers can also select from an overwhelming range of hotels and resorts in Patong beach. Tourists who enjoy shopping will also most certainly enjoy spending their holiday in Patong beach as there are a number of excellent shopping venues such as the Jungceylon shopping mall and the Bangla Ocean Plaza.

Attractions
There are plenty of fun and interesting tourist attractions for travelers to choose from in Patong beach. Obviously there is the beautiful white sandy beach of Patong and all the water sport activities which are organized there. Another very popular Patong beach attraction is Simons Cabaret. This Thai ladyboy cabaret show is one of the most popular attractions of Phuket and their shows are suitable for visitors of all ages. Another popular attraction in Patong is the elephant rides which are organized opposite the Phuket Safari Club.

Hotels
There are plenty of excellent Patong beach hotels and resorts for travelers to choose from. Patong is also home to a large variety of guesthouses which are an interesting option for those tourists who are traveling on a budget. The main differences between a guesthouse and regular hotel or resort lies in the amount of facilities offered at each type of Patong beach accommodation. Guesthouses generally offer spacious guest rooms however do not have facilities such as swimming pools and fitness areas.

Nightlife
The nightlife of Phuket is well known around the globe and Patong beach is where travelers can find the best that the nightlife of Phuket has to offer. There are a number of really great discos in Phuket and these include the Tiger Disco, Safari Club, Phuket Seduction Discotheque and the Banana Disco. Other popular Patong beach nightlife venues include the many beer bars found along Bangla Road as well as the Go Go bars found in Soi Sea Dragon.

Restaurants
There are hundreds of restaurants in Patong beach and you can basically find food from all corners of the world. As Patong is such as popular place for expats to live and for tourists to visit, many foreigners wishing to live in Patong have opened a restaurant serving food from their home countries. If you enjoy fresh seafood then you will also be more than happy in Patong beach as some of the finest seafood restaurants of Thailand are located in Patong beach.

Nude Beach Etiquette at Florida's Naturist Beaches

he first things one thinks of when someone says Florida is sunshine. Florida has a mild climate for most of the year and this makes it the ideal place to get out and have some fun in the sun. The best place to soak up some rays is at the beach and with over 1,000 miles of coastline Florida is the perfect place to grab a beach towel, some sunscreen and hit the sand. So you go to the beach and get your tan, but what about all those pesky tan lines? Well, good news, should you choose to go 'au naturel' at the beach here are a few things you should know.

Nude tanning is really 'taking off', pardon the pun, in Florida according to James Thorner of the St. Petersburg Times, one Florida county is gaining "status as the North American Capital of Nudism." That county – Pasco – just north of Tampa does have more than its share of residents and visitors willing expose themselves. Another popular place on the east coast is Playalinda Beach it is in the Cape Canaveral National Seashore and is a federally owned beach. Whether by word of mouth or force of habit, this remote stretch of beach is commonly to be a nude beach. Feel free to visit but be warned, according to FloridaNaturist.org, "inappropriate" dress is a crime in Brevard County due to a swimwear ordinance. As a matter of fact, at the out-of-the-way, but traditionally nude Federal Beach, a South American tourist was arrested for wearing a French-cut bikini. Yet, along the same coastline two hundred miles to the south, Miami-Dade County operates a legal clothing-optional beach, where any given weekend, a thousand or more totally nude men and women frolic in the surf and sun.

So what's a body to do? While there is no Federal law against nudity it is not a guaranteed right. This means that state, county and local laws can take precedence.

That still begs the question: Is it legal to sunbathe in the nude at Florida beaches? Like many legal questions, the answer is "it depends", in this case it depends on where you are, so your best bet is to check the local laws and be sure you know what they are, both county and local.

Ok, you've decided to go, you've decided to get a tan without tan lines here are a few tips, especially if you've never been to a nudist beach before, here are some commmon guidelines:

• Gawking is impolite. If you want to go to the nudist beach for a thrill, do everyone a favor and buy a magazine instead.
• Ask for people's consent before taking their photograph nude, or simply leave your camera at home.
• If you're sunbathing nude in a secluded area, leave a bathing suit on a rock to let others know they are approaching an unclothed person. If you're uncomfortable having your suit out of reach, bring a spare.
• On a wide open beach, position yourself in the open so you can see people coming and put something on before they get there if you need to.
• Get dressed before you leave the nudist beach.
• Be friendly, but respect others' rights to privacy.
• Avoid sexual activity. It's illegal and offensive.
• Advances of an unwelcome or unwanted nature are not acceptable anywhere, and especially at a nudist beach.
• Be Prepared. Sometimes, the nudist beach doesn't have any amenities. Bring water, food, towel, sunscreen and anything else you need.
• Keep the nudist beach clean. If you carried it in, carry it back out.


So if you're still in the mood for goin' nude here are some places around Florida you might ant to check out:


• Air Force Beach, Palm Beach County
• Apollo Beach, Volusia County
• Haulover Beach
• Sunny Isles, Miami-Dade County
• Hobe Sound
• Jupiter Island, Martin County
• Blind Creek Beach
• Hutchinson Island, Martin County
• South Beach Miami
• Playalinda Beach, Brevard County
• St. Lucie Inlet
• St. Lucie State Reserve, Martin County

Hanging out at the beach is a great way to enjoy summer and beat the heat. If you head to Florida and its beaches this summer, you can enjoy many of the popular activities like skim boarding, beach volleyball, surfing or just working on your tan. When you go, don't forget to bring your camera for taking pictures of Florida to record your adventures for all your friends back home.