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Phuket Information |
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CLIMATE
Phuket has two
major seasons: the Rains Season from May through October, and the Hot
Season from November through April. There are many sunny days
through-out the Rains Season: showers customarily last little more
than 2 or 3 hours. September is the wettest month. The best months are
November through February. Average temperatures range between 22 and
34 degrees Celsius.
CITY ATTRACTIONS
Phuket Town
The compact provincial capital serves mainly as a dormitory and
commercial and shopping centre. Splendid colonial-style residences
built by late 19th-century tin and rubber barons, and shophouses from
the same period, with shaded walkways, provide distinctive character.
Rang Hill
This provides a pleasant view of town while dining, and has
a Fitness Park, a series of hillside sculptural tableaux which enhance
calisthenics.
The Thai Village
Also on Thepkasattri Road, the village serves daily a
typical southern Thai lunch that is followed by a spectacular cultural
show including Thai dances, sword-fight-ing, Thai boxing, southern
customs and elephants. Handicrafts are also on display.
Thalang National Museum
Located near the Two Heroines Monu-ment, this museum contains
permanent exhibition of life in old Phuket, ancient ar-tifacts and
remains discovered on the coast and , materials used during war with
Burma (Myanmar). |
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ISLAND ATTRACTIONS
Phuket's glory
is its magnificent coastline. Beaches range from gentle crescents of
white sand with calm waters to rocky head-lands pounded by raging
surf. Counter-clockwise, from Phuket's northern tip, where the Sarasin
Bridge connects the is-land with the mainland, Phuket's major beaches
(and temples and botanical gar-dens) are as follows:
Mai Khao Beach
(40 kilometres from town) This pine-lined stretch of sand is
Phuket's longest beach. Each year, from November through February,
gigantic sea turtles struggle ashore to lay their eggs on Mai Khao
Beach.
Nai Yang Beach
(30 kilometres from town) This forms part of a national park.
The tranquil surroundings are ideal for relax-ation, picnics, swimming
and snorkelling.
Wat Phra Thong
Inland from Nai Yang Beach, the temple enshrines a famous,
partially buried Bud-dha. Local legends relate how a boy teth-ered his
buffalo to a post protruding from the ground. Subsequently, both boy
and animal fell mysteriously sick. Suspicious villagers uncovered the
post and discov-ered it was the decorative topknot of a buried golden
Buddha. They were able to unearth no more than the upper part of the
image, over which they constructed the present chapel. Burmese
invaders at-tempted to remove the image in 1785 but failed when they
were attacked by vicious hornets.
Ton Sai Waterfall Forest
Park & Khao Phra Thae o Wildlife Park (22 kilometres from
town)
The 22-square-kilometre area teems with various mammals, including
bears, porcu-pines, gibbons and macaques, reptiles and lizards, and
over 100 bird species, in an idyllic setting cooled by sonorous cas-cades.
Pansea Bay, Surin Beach
(24 kilometres from town)
Sing Cape & Kamala Beach
These unfold in rapid succession. Swim-ming is not recommended at
Surin Beach due to powerful surf and a treacherous undertow. The beach
is a favoured spot for witnessing sunsets. The northern end of Kamala
Beach is suitable for swimming.
Patong Beach (15
kilometres from town)
Phuket's most developed beach offers nu-merous leisure, sporting,
shopping and recreational options along its 3-kilometre-long cresent
bay. Windsurfing, snorkelling, sailing, swimming and sunBahting number
among popular daytime activities. Patong is equally well known for its
vibrant nightlife, among which seafood restaurants prominently
feature.
Karon & Kata Beaches
(20 & 17 kilometres from town)
Both beaches are impressively long, rela-tively peaceful and eminently
suitable for swimming, snorkelling, sailing, windsurfing and
sunBahting.
Nai Han Beach
(18 kilometres from town)
The white beach fronts a shallow lagoon between rocky headlands.
Swimming, windsurfing, sailing and sunBahting num-ber among popular
activities.
Phromthep Cape
Adjacent to Nai Han Beach, Phuket's southernmost point is the
perfect place from which to view spectacular sunsets.
Rawai Beach (17
kilometres from town)
The palm-fringed beach is best known for 'sea gypsies', a formerly
nomadic fishing minority believed to be of Melanesian de-scent.
Chalong Bay (11
kilometres from town)
This beach has several restaurants selling some of Phuket's best
seafood.
Wat Chalong
A few kilometres inland from Chalong Beach, this Buddhist
temple enshrines stat-ues of Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang,
Phuket's most revered monks.
Phanwa Cape (10
kilometres from town)
The southernmost tip of this cape is home to a Marine Biological
Research Centre and Phuket's Aquarium where visitors may inspect
several hundred exotic, grotesque and flamboyantly colourful marine
species found mainly in Phuket's teeming waters.
Pearl Farms
Pearl farms are located on islands neigh-bouring Phuket,
including Nakha, Rang Noi, Rang Yai and Bon. Special permission is
needed to visit threm. Details are avail-able from Phuket's TAT
office. |
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SPORTING OPPORTUNITIES
Golf
There are now 4 challenging, 18-hole golf courses in Phuket,
including the Phuket Country Club (Tel: (076) 321-038-40)in Kathu,
Blue Canyon (Tel: (076) 327-440-7) in Thalang district nears the
airport, the Banyan Tree Club (Tel: (076) 324-351-60, 324-358) at
Bangtao beach and the Phuket Century Country Club (Tel: (076) 321-929,
321-933-4) ain Kathu. All courses offer reasonably priced golf club
rentals, green fees and caddy ser-vices.
Horse Riding
Three riding clubs, one on Patak Road, on the way to Kata
Beach, Ban Sai Yuan on the way to Nai Harn Beach, and Laguna Phuket,
Bangtao Beach, offer facilities for beginners and experienced riders
alike.
Windsurfing
This popular sport is enjoyed at most ma-jor beaches. Boards
may be rented by the hour, half-day, full day or week. Expert tu-ition
from Thai teachers is free.
Sailing
Enjoyed mostly at Nai Han, Patong and Kata beaches. Toppers and
dinghies are available at Patong. Catamaran, Hobie Cats and Top Cats
are available at Kata.
Waterskiing
Popular at Patong on a half-hour or hourly basis. Automated
cable water-skiing is available at the Phuket Waterski Cableway behind
the Phuket Century Golf Course in Kathu district.
Deep Sea Fishing
Daily tours are available, making early morning departures and
late afternoon re-turns, mostly to lesser islands to fish for Red
Snappers, Rainbow Runners and other game fish.
Swimming
This can be enjoyed throughout the year, and is mostly safe.
However, undertows can be problematic during the Rains Sea-son. It is
best to seek the advice of local people regarding swimming conditions.
Snorkelling
This can be enjoyed in sheltered bays all around Phuket. It is
particularly enjoyable at easily accessible reefs at Patong, Karon and
Kata beaches. Fins, mask and snorkel can be rented on a daily basis
from shops all over the island.
Scuba Diving
Expeditions regularly leave Phuket for dives around
neighbouring islands, and further afield, most particularly around the
enduringly popular Phi Phi Islands in neighbouring Krabi province,
some 2 hours east of Phuket, and the Similan Islands, in Phangnga
province, some 110 kilometres northwest of Phuket, and the Racha
Islands, 1-3 hours due south of Phuket, depending on the type of boat.
Several dive shops concentrated in the Patong, Kata and Chalong areas
have Asian and European expatriate(s) (spea-king English and several
other languages) and bi-lingual Thai dive instructors who offer
inexpensive beginner's courses. All diving equipment is available for
hire.
Sea Canoeing
This form of eco-tourism is available in sev-eral forms, as
popular one-day tours, or more extended tours involving overnight
camping on island beaches, and occurs prin-cipally in the neighbouring
Phangnga Bay and Krabi province, where mangrove swamps and island
grottoes are accessible only by canoe.
Yacht Services
Yachtsmen visiting Phuket can enjoy a full range of services,
including dry dock fa-cilities and boat repairs, and safe and sec-ure
moorings, principally at Ao Chalong, the Phuket Boat Lagoon Marina and
Laem Prao Marina. Yachts of ever shape and size can be chartered,
either as bareboats or with full crew. Please check with the Phuket
Immigration Office for details re-garding bringing in a yacht, or
leaving by yacht. |
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SPECIAL EVENTS
Chinese Vegetarian Festival
Each year, beginning on the first day of the 9th lunar
month (usually October), Phuket islanders of Chinese ancestry com-mit
themselves to a 9-day vegetarian diet, a form of purification believed
to help make the forthcoming year 'trouble-free'. The festival is
marked by several ascetic dis-plays, including fire-walking and
ascend-ing sharp-bladed ladders.
King's Cup Regatta
Early each December, the Phuket Yacht Club hosts
international yachtsmen, largely from neighbouring countries who
compete in the Nai Han Beach area for royal trophies.
Phuket Triathalon
Each December, the triathalon (a 1,000- metre swim, a
5-kilometre bike race and a 12-kilometre run) attracts world-class
ath-letes from all over the worrld and qualifies winners for the
prestigious Hawaii ironman Triathalon. |
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Information
provided by T.A.T
(Tourism Autority of Thailand) |
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