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Phuket is an island in the Indian Ocean, 867 kilometers from Bangkok. The island is connected to the mainland of Thailand by the Sarasin bridges. This small island has a rich and colorful history and is known as the Pearl of the Andaman or Pearl of the South, much of the islands former glory and enormous wealth came from tin production. Today, Phuket is one of Thailand's major tourist attractions. The surrounding waters contain beautiful marine life with some of the world’s best diving sites and Phuket town is notable for its Sino-Portuguese architecture. The island of Phuket is a perfect holiday destination for all ages with great sightseeing, stunning beaches and lush green forests and mountains.
Phuket is always warm and humid due to the monsoons that blow year round. The wet season is from May until October when the monsoon blows from the southwest. The dry season is from November until April when the monsoon comes from the northeast, coolest temperatures are during January and the highest temperatures are normally during March. Since the 1980’s tourism has been one of Phuket's main sources of income. Hotels, restaurants, tour operators, markets and shops are everywhere on the west coast. However tourism is not the islands only activity. Agriculture is very important to a large number of people and the main crops are coconuts, rubber, pineapples and cashews. Prawn farming is also in abundance on the south and east coasts, while pearl farming and fishing are also very important. The best way to see Phuket is to hire a car and do some of the fantastic drives around and off the island.
We have been to Phuket nine times now and our last trip (June, July, August, September 2009) was for 4 months. We will be heading back again in June 2010 for another 4 month stay so obviously we love the place! There is just so much to see and do, the food is great, the people are so friendly and it doesn’t matter when you come, wet or dry season, you will have a fantastic time. It will take awhile to update my pages after our most recent trip so have a look as well at the link below it has all our photos from the 2009 trip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/CathyandGary
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