The places most frequently visited by tourists :
Old buildings in the Sino-Portuguese style, mixed with modern constructions from the unique identity of the town of Phuket. An excellent place to view the beautiful scence of the town is the top
of Khao Rang, a low hill behind the towm centre, especially on the full-moon night.
Tonsai Waterfall, 22 km. from the northern of town, a small lovely cascade outside the town.
The Marine Biological Research Centre; pearl farms and tin mines, some of with are open to pubic.
Crocodile World & Sea Aquarium; Si-re Islan where sea people reside.
Nakha Island, 24 km. from the northern of town, with unspoilt natural beauty and a pearl farm on it and other small islets around Phuket, such as Ko He, Ko Dokmai, Ko Lone and Ko Kaeo Phitsadan, with offer a fantastic world under the sea for snorkeling and fishing.
For sports-lovers, Phuket is an ideal place to spend your leisure time with a wide selection of sports activities including golf, driving, etc. All necessary equipment and accessories are provided to facititate visitors.
In addition to the natural scenic sports afore-mentioned, there are also several attractive venues worth a visits including the Centre of Handicrafts, the Garden of Butterflies and Aqarium of Phuket where tropical butterflies, insects, fishes, and coral are collected and preserved in their natural environments.
The National Museum of Talang, Thai Village and Orchid Garden of Phuket, and the National Park of Phra Trew where some wild animals are kept, are all also worth a visit during your vacation.
Off-shore visits to other islets are also very popular, such as
Ko Kaew at the south of Cape of Promthep which can be reached by boat only 15 minutes from Rawai Beach. The larger Ko Loan islet at the south of Chalong Bay takes 20 minutes by boat. Ko Hay where the Department of Fishery keeps preserved species of plants and animals is also accessible to visitors and can be reached by boat
Rawai Beach or Chalong Bay. The Raja group of islands, consisting of the Bigger Raja and Lesser Raja, can be visited by taking the boat from the Bay of Chalong taking two hours to reach destination.
Transportation
Airport to Town. There is a taxi service as well as a limousine.
In Town and to Beaches. There are mini-bus services between the town and all tourist beaches.
A tip for travelers to the southern islands of Phuket, Phi Phi and Phang Nga is to take a bus or train.
Buses leave from the South/Southeast Bus Terminal, located in Thonburi (across the Chao Phraya River). Airconditioned and non-airconditioned buses leave every hour between 6 am and 10 pm. The journey takes between 10 and 12 hours at a cost, for the air-con bus.
The southbound train to Surat Thani leaves from either Hua Lamphong or Thonburi Stations nearly every hour between 6 am and 10 pm. After the 11-hour train ride, travelers must go into Surat Thani township to take a bus for the additional 150-kilometer trip to Phuket.
Festival and Celebrations Manual in Phuket
Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
Phuket islands of Chinese ancestry commit themselves to a vegetarian diet for nine days.
The festival falls in september - october every year
The first day of this festival features a parade of white-clothed devotees and several ascetic displays, such as walking on a fire, self-inflicted piercing of flesh with sharp objects, etc.
For most of the year, vegetarians heading for Thailand usually miss out on some of the nation's best food dishes. They're the big winners, however, if they arrive during the vegetarian festival that strats in early October and runs for about 9 days. Look out for yellow flags decorating the fronts of restaurants and street vendors's carts.
These flags indicate they serve vegetarian food in honor of the festival, a time of purifications for Buddhists.
For all the yummy dishes on the menu in Phuket, food is not the main attraction. What draw the crowds every year are demonstrations by those who belive that by walking on fiery coals, climbing ladders of swords, and piercing their cheeks with skewers, they will achieve spiritual purification. None of the devoted bleed and the wounds seem to heal quickly.
The arts, accompanying Buddhist processions, are performed in competitions between temples.
Excursions
Phang-nga Bay ; Because of its fascinating seascape and its short distance ( 75 km. by road or 3 hrs. by boat) from Phuket, Phang-nga Bay is usually visited by tourists of Phuket.
The Bay is attractive for its numerous weird limestone outcrops and cliffed islets rising from the clear turquoise sea. This place was made more famous when the Jame Bond adventure, "The Man with the Golden Gun", was partly filmed here.
Phi Phi Island ; Phi Phi is a part of Krabi province, 3 hrs. by boat from Rawai Beach or 3.30 hrs. from Chalong Bay. It is composed of 2 rocky, tree-covered islets. One is Phi Phi Don where several long white powdery beaches lure visitors
to sun-bathe and swim, and the other is high rocky Phi Phi Le where thousands of seagulls nest inside the Viking Cave on the islet. With its emerald crystal sea, secluded beaches, wooded cliffed moumtains and colourful coral reefs and undersea lives, Phi Phi becomes a rising star in the Andaman. Visitors to Phuket should not miss it if the schedule is not too tight.
Similan Island ; The new nationnal-park-on-sea in Phang-nga, Similan is famous among tourist, both domestic and foreign, for its uncontaminated water and abundant marine lives for fishing and scuba diving. It can be reached in about
10 hrs. by boat from Phuket or 4 hrs. from Thap Lamu Port or Takua Pa in Phang-nga.
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Information
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: Tourism Authority of Thailand, 4 Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10100, THAILAND.
Tel. : (66 2) 281-0422 (20 Lines), E-mail : tat@cs.ait.ac.th
: Tourist Service Center (TAT and Tourist Police), Tel. 1155
: Tourism Authority of Thailand Tourist Service Center
: TAT Southern Office : Region 4 (Temporary Office)
73-75 Rd., Phuket Rd., Amphoe Muang, Phuket 83000
Tel.: (66 76) 211-036, 212-213, 217-138; Fax: (66 76) 213-582
Area of Responsibility : Phuket, Phangnga and Krabi
: Hotel & Resort in Phuket
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