Phuket City Profile

Phuket Province is stunningly beautiful. Its incredibly diverse geography offers enough in the way of beaches, scuba diving, hiking, and idyllic rural communities to keep a traveler busy for weeks. Local seafood is exquisite, and though its beauty has made this island a popular and relatively expensive destination for foreign tourists, there still are a few inexpensive places to stay and hang out.

Phuket City also is very interesting. Its architecture and culture reflect a history of co-mingling between native people, Portuguese colonists, and Chinese immigrants. Thirty-five percent of the residents are Muslim. Phuket is also known for its Vegetarian Festival, which takes place at the end of Buddhist “lent” in late September or early October. The province is the wealthiest in Thailand, per capita.

Although the employment opportunities for teachers are limited in this part of Thailand, most teachers spend at least some time here. Since there are so many tourists and international business opportunities in Phuket, teachers may be able find students to tutor individually or in small groups.

Population

600,000 in the province

Location

Phuket is the name of the city and the island province on which it is located. The island lies off the west coast of the Malay Peninsula in the Andaman Sea. It is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

Weather

Like other places in Southern Thailand, Phuket is hit by both the southwest and northeast monsoons, and it rains more than ten inches per month from May to October. Temperatures do not vary much throughout the year, and average about 82°F/28°C.

Transportation

You can get to Phuket by both air and bus from other locations in the country. From southern cities, you can hire a “share taxi,” which is a regular car that takes you for about twice the bus fare. On the island, songtaews and motorcycle taxis can be hired very inexpensively.

Places of Interest

Beaches are the best reason for visiting Phuket, and the island is ringed by them. You will find many opportunities to dive or snorkel around the island. Rates are lower if you swim off of the beach yourself.

For typical Phuket-style food, visit the Raan Jee Nguat restaurant. You may see non-dubbed foreign films in the sound room of the Pearl Cinema.

Other activities include visiting Ko Sire island, with its sea-gypsy village, or visiting Khao Phra Taew National Park, twelve miles to the north. At the tip of Ao Chalong Bay are the Phuket Aquarium and Marine Biological Research Center.

Safety

Wherever you have a large number of foreigners you will find more theft from hotel rooms and homes. There have been a few isolated cases of assault and druggings of tourists in southern Thailand in the last ten years. Be careful about taking “gift” drinks, cigarettes, or candy from strangers on buses.