Phuket Island (Part 1)

This page tries to give you some impression of the Island of Phuket.
It is a very touristic island, as you will see. Nevertheless it has some quiet and interesting spots. Please judge for yourself!

Many visitors to Phuket do not go at all to Phuket City. This is a pity, because this old town, with its many colonial style buildings, is certainly worth a visit!
Above are two views from a hotel room in the old part of Phuket City.

This is probably one of the most photographed buildings in Phuket City. It is an old colonial style villa with a large beautiful garden.

To get the best view of Phuket City, climb Phuket Hill. It will take you less than half an hour on foot to climb it and the view from the top is breathtaking. Either on your way up or on your way down, you should stop to see the large Buddha Image that is shown on the right hand side picture above, near the foot of the hill. Going up, it is near the first sharp corner in the road. Look through the trees to find it.

To get another good -if not magnificent- view over Phuket Island, go just outside Phuket City to the small island Koh Sireh. There is a Temple on the hill there which has a large declining Buddha. Visit the temple and enjoy the view!

On the same small Island Koh Sireh you will find the village of the "Sea Gipsies". They do not like to be photographed, so better don't make pictures. It is being told that they sometimes even get aggressive towards tourists that see them as a tourist attraction. So if you want to go there, go in a closed car and drive slowly, but better don't stop.

As soon as you go outside Phuket City or one of the other villages on the island, you will see rubber plantations -like the one shown right above this text- everywhere around you. In the past the rubber industry was one of the major means of income on Phuket. Now, sadly, this honor has been taken over by the tourism industry.
Another old source of income in the past was pearl fishing. This has (almost?) completely disappeared. The few pearls that are still being fished out of the seas around Phuket are sent to Japan for selection and further processing.

With tourists Phuket is most famous for its beaches. On the pictures above two different beaches on Phuket Island are shown. On the left hand side you see Kamala Beach and on the right hand side is a picture of Karon Beach. I can recommend both beaches as being quiet, compared to European or American beaches. Patong Beach, however, is much more famous, but much more touristic too...

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