Phuket

Phuket is Thailand's largest island, a idyllic site for the country's premier international beach resort. Much of the island's charm is that the ocean facing west coast is lined with a series of bays where white sand beaches span between two rocky points. This makes for a series of relatively intimate places rather than one big unbroken stretch of sand lined with high rise hotels and packed with people. See the Phuket beaches page for an overall map to the main beaches and towns of the island.

Phuket (formerly known as Tha-Laang or Talang) 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 might not have the historical sites that Bangkok and Chiang Mai have, but it does have a few. Most visitors spend their time at the beaches and in the bars. The most heavily-hyped attraction is the Phuket Fantasea show at Kamala Beach, a self-proclaimed "cultural theme park", but comparisons to Disneyland are exaggerated at best.

Of course, we can't talk about Phuket without mentioning the tsunami which affected a wide area of the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. The big wave affected different beaches to varying degrees. Karon, which has a rather steep beach, was relatively unaffected, while Patong's long gentle slope allowed the water to flow several blocks inland and well past the second floor of the buildings nearer the beach. Many businesses in Patong were effectively destroyed.

As befits a mature international resort destination, Phuket has a large variety of sun and surf activities so there's something for just about everyone. Some would argue that Phuket's development as an international destination has made it a little less exotic. While this is certainly true of some places, there's still a lot of local color to be found for those willing to step away from the beach and look for it.