Phuket Luxury Hotels

Phuket (pronounced 'Poo-ket') is a large island of the Thailand's west coast. The size of the island is close to the size of Singapore and its territory consists mainly of beaches. Phuket is situated 900 kms to the south from Bangkok and is connected to the mainland by a 100 meter-long bridge. Phuket is the sixth among all Thailand provinces as to its population which numbers about 1.6 million people. The province is the second in the country (after Bangkok) and is the richest in Thailand.

The island became prosperous due to presence of great amount of tin there which exploiting and production began over 500 years ago. The situation attracted lots of Europeans such as the Portuguese and British. Many Chinese and Malay workers also decided to come to Phuket as laborers and work in the tin mines. This resulted in a kind of cultural mixture that influenced all spheres of the island's life. The influence of the Chinese and Portuguese nations is still evident in the old town today. There is also a strong Muslim community in Phuket as more than one third of the island's population is Muslims.
Read more: guide to Phuket with maps, photos and weather conditions.

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