Love it or hate it – Patong is Phuket’s playground. People flock to Patong for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s the beach – although the beach in Patong is definitely nothing to get excited about. For others, it’s the nightlife, which is definitely something worth getting excited about. Patong is overdeveloped, it’s noisy and it’s full of people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great time there.

Without wanting to make too many sweeping generalizations, Patong is the favored destination of single, Western males. Some travel alone while others might go with friends. Remember: Patong is a playground. The nightlife in Patong is about as interesting as you will find on the island. However, the scene is developing.

For a long time, if you mentioned nightlife in Patong to most people, they’d have immediately thought of go-go bars and bar girls. All of that still exists, but the nightlife scene in Patong is now a lot more diverse than it used to be.

Patong now has dance clubs and salsa bars, jazz clubs and trendy hangouts. There is, though, still no escaping the fact that Patong has far too many beer bars. If having Thai bar girls flaunt themselves in front of you is what you’re after then Soi Bangla will be like a little slice of heaven.

With regards to the beach in Patong, it may have been a scenic area before, but it’s now full of parasols and sun loungers and people trying to get you to rent jet-skis. Other annoyances include people selling ice creams, people offering massages and people trying to draw henna tattoos while you’re sunbathing.

If you’re a foodie then Patong will provide you with a few surprises. Although the food can be expensive, just take a walk along the street and you’ll see just how many great restaurants there are in the area. All tastes are catered to, although there are perhaps a few too many Italian restaurants.

One gripe about Patong is the tuk-tuk drivers. Half of them are honest folk just trying to make a living, but the other half are scoundrels who should be given a wide berth. There have been numerous cases of tuk-tuk drivers becoming very aggressive with people who park in “tuk-tuk zones”, which really don’t exist. The tuk-tuk drivers in Patong have a monopoly over public transport because every time the authorities try and do something about the situation, the tuk-tuk drivers block the streets with their vehicles.

Overall, Patong is a great party destination with an average beach and lots of beautiful Thai women. Heaven or hell? You decide.

Shopping in Singapore is almost second nature to tourists visiting the city, yet the consumer indulgence definitely climaxes during the Great Singapore Sale that is held annually, usually during the summer months. Singapore’s famous shopping malls and department stores and effervescent shopping districts participate with much gusto, they will extend their shopping hours till midnight and beyond on selected weekends. During this period, special privileges will be available that are created for tourists to enjoy the range of exclusive lifestyle promotions, including gourmet dining, wellness experience, nightlife & entertainment options.

Certain stores offer discounts up to 70 percent and special promotions for credit card holders and loyalty programs also get underway. For tourists that obtain the special Tourist Privilege card enjoy a host of benefits such as discounts at fashion boutiques and on various consumer items such as watches, jewellery, electronics and cosmetics. The card also avails you to discounts when visiting local attractions such as the Singapore Zoo and when getting guided tours such as the Singapore Duck tour or the DHL balloon.

It would be worth checking out the different shopping districts of Singapore during this 8 week shopping marathon. Orchard Road is definitely the Mecca of shopping in the city and has number of big names plying their wares in the numerous boutiques in the area. Designer brands like Prada, Gucci or Versace have their outlets in this trendy shopping district while more mainstream brands are also found. A number of food courts, restaurants, clubs and chic cafes can be found located in this area thereby providing the complete Singapore experience. Marina Bay is a mixture of big shopping malls and small boutiques, practically everything you would want to buy can be found here. It also houses the arts hub of Singapore: the Esplanade. Ethnically flavored areas such as Little India and Arab quarter also rise to the occasion during the Great Singapore Sale. Wonderful restaurants dishing out Indian or Middle East cuisine and boutiques that sell great souvenirs can be found here as well.

One word of advice for tourists planning to enjoy this festival of shopping is to pack light and take a comfortable pair of shoes. For you are bound to return with your bags heavier and undertake a fair bit of walking through the numerous shopping districts of the city. Visitors can easily find accommodation in the many Singapore hotels that range from budget to luxury to hotels. A luxury hotel in Singapore will be on par with the best in the world, thus travelers need not worry about the comfort of their stay.

A few quick facts about Swansea Neath-Port Talbot shows a city that has a rich past and which resides in the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan. Over 270,000 people call the area in and around Swansea — which is also its own county — home. Port Talbot, or Neath Port Talbot — is actually a county borough, though anybody living in the area really doesn’t seem to mind what is placed where.

It actually can be a bit confusing to figure out just what Swansea Neath-Port Talbot, Swansea or Swansea Neath really means or if there’s really anything to become all that concerned about, because there are several different variations on the Welsh city, county and county borough along with the wider urban area. For sure, though; there’s much to get out and see in the region.

The city itself lies along Wales’southwestern coast along a stretch of fairly sandy coastline. It is also ranks behind Cardiff in Wales in terms of cities with the most population. In the 19th century, the town was known as ‘Copperopolis’ for the metalworking industries that held sway in the area and which made it a worldwide player in copper at one time.

Historically, humans seem to have been in the area through all of the major ages, including the Bronze Age and the Iron Age as well as the Stone Age. The Romans visited the region on occasion when they held sway in Britannia and the Vikings are the people who gave the town its name, being that Swansea is a variation of an Old Norse name for the town.

As a Viking seaport and as a port throughout its history, the city saw much industry evolve, shipping wool and wines out of its port as well as coal in later centuries. It gained worldwide renown for its copper-working workforce and most industrial scholars would say that the 1700s and 1800s were probably the time of the city’s most important prosperity.

Swansea made sure that it was fully involved in the progress gained during the Industrial Revolution, not only from coal mining but several other heavy industries and the work done around its port. The 20th century hit Swansea hard on several occasions and it was in a period of general decline throughout the entire time, it seems. Nowadays, the city is undergoing an extensive renaissance, though.

The county borough of Neath Port Talbot shouldn’t be confused with Port Talbot or any other of several different variations on the name of the region that has lived extremely close-in with Swansea. Both are a big part of the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan, it has to be said, and both are quite emblematic of the history and sweep of Wales and its part in the United Kingdom.