Phuket Car Search

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.

The island is famous for its beautiful beaches and marine life. It can offer to its visitors scuba diving, yachting, water-skiing, windsurfing, jet-skiing and parasailing. Some other attractions of the island are the Phuket Aquarium, the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park and five golf courses, including the prestigious Blue Canyon Country Club.

Phuket is a good starting point to explore the Andaman region, for example, Phang Nga Bay.

Phuket is not only a city of beaches.

There are also lots of other thing which may attract visitors, for example, its rice and plantations, and the city itself with plethora of shops, flea markets and handicraft stores. In many of the streets there still remained Sino-Portuguese shop houses, a reminder of the island's heritage.

Patong is a noisy nightlife centre of the island with great beaches and facilities across the island from Phuket Town. The most calm and quiet beaches are Kata, Karon and Surin.

The best beaches are along the west side with Nai harn known as the best family beach. It is rather large, thus having plenty of rooms, restaurants and bars. Everything is on the open air with all the pleasures of nature beauties around.

The majority of tourists prefer the beached on the western side of the island of Phuket but the capital of the province is deserves attention.

You can get to City (a small town with interesting architecture in Portuguese Colonial style) from every place of the island either by bus or tuk tuk. If you like to make photos you will have a good chance to do it in Phuket as it is ideal for street photography.

If you happen to be in Phuket do not fail to visit the Thavorn Hotel and have a drink in the cafeteria which is also of some historic importance.

The famous Vegetarian Festival is held in Phuket City every October. It lasts for 9 days and involves lots of vegetarian food and culminates in a procession from Phuket Town's shrines.

If you want to make a cheap day trip, Phuket is the place to choose as it is always possible to lower the price if you talk to the tuk tuk drivers and you will have a chance just to walk around the city and admire the views.
Read further: Phuket city guide

This article about Phuket is written by the orangesmile.com editorial team and is protected by the copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com