| 862 km from Bangkok lies
Phuket, Thailand’s largest island. Overlooking
the Andaman Sea, Phuket known for its fabulous beaches, blue seas and forested hills, is
generally regarded as the country’s top beach resort. In fact, the province of Phuket
is Thailand’s wealthiest province- and most of the wealth comes from tourism. The
capital of Phuket is Muang Phuket (Phuket Town), which lies 42 km south of the Sarasin
Bridge (the link to the Thai mainland). The island, apart from the town, is sparsely
populated but this only makes it a great place to spend a relaxing holiday- all you need
to do is swim, snorkel, soak up the sun, and enjoy yourself. Phuket
is home to races as varied as the Chinese and the Portuguese, both of which had
settlements on this island at some time or the other. The Portuguese set up shop on the
island during their days in Thailand; the Chinese came over during the late 1800s.
It was the Chinese who first started the highly profitable tin-mining in Phuket, (and
carried on marine trade at the same time), making it a rich province. Later, rubber
plantations on the island added to its wealth. Even now, there is a substantial Chinese
population on the island, and remnants of Sino-Portuguese days can be seen in the
island’s architecture.
Today, of course, Phuket is rich not because of rubber, tin or trade, but because of
tourism, and the immense influx of tourists has made it one of Thailand’s biggest
attractions. |
