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Bangkok to Phuket
Town Phuket Photos
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Phuket Town, Phuket photos, Bangkok to Phuket, Phuket shopping, Phuket City,
Phuket Town
Club, Phuket town shopping, Phuket town hotels, old Phuket
town.
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Phuket has, aside of sun, sea, beach and great scenery another face,
discovered at Phuket Town, here are photos telling more.
Phuket history originate
in the beginning of the 11th century, the first inhabitants of the
island were the sea
gypsy’s today called Moken in Thai language and
Salone in Myanmar or
Burma, actually they are the same. Over time they also have been
named Negrito's. It seems to be that they have been the indigenous
people of South East Asia.
It is difficult to figure that out
exactly since there are no written records of the history of
this people of
the South East Asia has been told only via legends from the older to
newt generation,
some of this legends you can find here.
The first known name of Phuket was Junk Ceylon, name was
written on Portuguese sea navigation maps. One much earlier trace of Junk Ceylon
is in a book written in 157 AD. by Greek philosopher Cladius Ptolemy.
He wrote that by traveling to the Malay peninsula, one will pass a
island whith the name Junk Ceylon. The position of Junk Ceylon
was given as between
the latitudes of 6 N and 8 N which is the position of today Phuket.
Junk Ceylon with its bays offered a
excellent protection against bad weather results. After Phuket become also known as Thalang
which is the area between the airport and the city of today. The
Mon people from the area between Bago and Thaton of southern Myanmar
or Burma were also known as Thalangs, actually there was a
continuous interaction over time due to the proximity.
In 1785 troops from neighboring Burma, today Myanmar tried to invade Phuket. Two
Phuket ladies had the courage to stand up and defend the Island in
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name of the King of
Thailand. The former governor’s widow, Chan, and her sister Muk
organized the defense which lasted nearly a month. Since the Burmese troops
run out of supplies they had to withdraw. The
king of Thailand gave the noble titles of Thao Thep Krasattri and Thao
Si Sunthontitel to the heroic sisters. At present day the two sisters were honored by their very own statue which stands
at the Tha Ruea circle one can see it on the way from Phuket
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Traders,
mainly from Europe choose Phuket as domicile because
of the geographic position it was a ideal place for
trading between Europa and Asia. Between the period
of 1681 and 1685 Phuket was even administered by the French
missionary Renee Charbonneau.

Chinese Temple |
During the 15th
century Phuket Island was a leading tin mining
place, this was mainly done by Chinese immigrants
who worked the tin mines.
One
of the legacies of the Chinese of that time are
the few marvelous villas in the city center with a
splendid Sino - Portuguese architecture. A mixture of Chinese
and Portuguese Style elements. |
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Portuguese adventure
where the first European arriving in Phuket,
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and gave
architectural influence to the area. |
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During the reign of King Rama V through towards the end
of King Rama VI (1868 - 1925) Sino - Portuguese architecture
gained the highest popularity. During this period tin mining
was at his peak and a rapid economic grow was on. Most of
the tin miner were Chinese immigrant who had a prosperous
business.
More interesting buildings are around
Phang Nga road, Yaowarat, Dibuk and Krabi road. |

Sunrise at Chalong Bay a short
distance south of the city.

Phuket
photos bars and nightclubs

Phuket Town Club photos bars and nightclubs show

Motocyc or small motor bikes ride to
the beach. |
Phuket Town
lost a lot of its bustling flair after some huge
shopping malls came up on the western fringe of the
city and the malls are
still rising one after the other.
But in the evening
the city still starts on afterburner
with myriads of restaurants, bars and nightclubs plus sing - song
and karaoke places, called Cafe, plus some coyote go go bars
and discos check Phuket photos for more.
All this places in Phuket Town are mostly frequented by
Thai, there are almost no foreigners around, some more on the
Phuket Nightlife subject here.
The
air is still clean , its much better than in
Penang but the
traffic is increasing
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exponentially and the infrastructure planning in Phuket
could be done somehow more sophisticated.
Myriads of chaotic motocyc (Thaiglish for small motor
bikes and scooter) are
all over Phuket - not giving the others a millimeter
of space and leading to unbelievable accidents.
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House Sino-Portuguese architecture at Phuket City

Villa Sino-Portuguese architecture at Phuket City

House Teak Wood architecture

Loi Kratong Festival at Phuket Town

Songkran or Water Festival

Thai ladies selling souvenirs |
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At
Phuket Town is no beach around, beside it borders the
Andaman sea directly, there is a small harbor mainly for the
ferries
to Phi Phi Island. But the city has for sure all the
marks of a real Asian city with plenty of Chinese
influence, that includes Chinese temples, festivals and Chinese
language sings on the roads.
- The Phuket Tsunami
had no impact on the city since
the Tsunami crashed into the west coast of Phuket Island,
means Patong Beach, Karon Beach, Kata Beach etc. Phuket city is on the east side of Phuket Island. You can find all kind of accommodation, bungalows, guest house,
and hotels.
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Thai Orchid Red |

Thai Orchid Dark Red |
Could be just the right place for your Phuket
holidays on Phuket island.
Plenty of orchid nurseries
are around on Phuket Island.
Phuket is a genuine tropical city with
all the positive and negative sides, there are still
plenty of style elements |

Thai Orchid Yellow |

Thai Orchid |
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visible
from the 19. century. Phuket Town is also
the biggest city in the province and you will find everything here
what you need for your stay on Phuket Island, including the
Thai Immigration for extending visa etc. The city has some great massage parlors,
spa's,
several big, modern hospitals and several clinics for
plastic and cosmetic surgery.
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One of the most important activity in Phuket Town is...go
shopping ! there are lots of small shops full of
art, antiques, fashion,
excellent restaurants - many Chinese, travel
agents and a lot of small roads with old
fashioned houses. Phuket houses sometimes
look a little bit rotten but this is the Phuket Town
tropical style and you can find exiting things there.
From Chinese Antiques to Art Galleries and
sophisticated Thai style restaurants, its
all there, the restaurants are a little bit
more expensive but they offer good food in a
stylish setting, the people around are not
as organized as elsewhere but this the
native aura, everything clear ? Naturally
there are plenty of other shops for a
real exotic shopping experience. Also several
art galleries with paintings in very
special styles and here there is real artist
paintings, not like in Patong.
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Shopping for genuine Chinese
Antique |

Shopping for genuine Chinese
Antique and Furniture |
- The most
fascinating, most strange, most masochistic etc.
festival in Phuket Town is the Vegetarian Festival
in September - October.
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Strange things start
to happen every year on the first day of the
ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar - normally
in late September or the beginning of October - the
bizarre vegetarian festival is on celebrated in
Phuket Town and elsewhere in Thailand. |

Phuket Vegetarian Festival needles in the face

Phuket Vegetarian Festival swords in the mouth

Phuket Vegetarian Festival plastic chain
through the cheeks

Phuket Town Vegetarian Festival a rod through the
cheeks |
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The action is mainly
around Phuket Town and lasts from the first to
the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.
Especially bizarre
considering what kind of materials the devotees
(called “the soldier of god”) push through their
skin on different parts of the body- primarily
around the mouth region, just have a look at the
pictures here.
The festival is up for the first days of the
month of Taoist Lent when devout Chinese don’t
eat meat. |

Celebration is on in a
Chinese temples in Phuket Town |
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Celebrations are held in all Chinese temples in
Phuket. Everyone who like can join the
celebration.
No one really knows
when all this started but some say it was during the
reign of Thalang Governor Jerm in 1825. At that
time many Chinese migrated to Phuket to work in the
newly discovered tin mines and a Chinese drama group
came with them. Some member of the
group turned vegetarian in the hope to immunize
themselves from malaria.
At that time, the custom to pierce
the body and face, walk barefoot over

hot glowing coals, climbing knife-blade ladders,
etc. Everyone can join the festival.
Some assume that
this strange
custom has its origin in Malaysia. The rituals in
Phuket Town are very similar to the Hindu Festival
of Thaipusam and that comes straight from India,
means, hello yogi !
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Phuket Town during vegetarian festival carrying the ghosts

Phuket Vegetarian Festival a big toothpick in the mouth
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Phuket
Sino-Portuguese
architecture |

Pretty
Houses |
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Flower
Shop |

Chinese
Style
Houses |

Phuket
City
Chinese
Restaurant |

Phuket
Town
Villa |

Bank
Building |

Phuket
Town
Antique
Villa |

Pizzeria |

Women Fashion Shop |

On On Hotel |

Phuket Town Restaurant |

Pizza shop |
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Old House made from Teak Wood |

Beauty Shop |

Travel Agent |

Basket Shop |
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Antique Shop |

Antique Shop Statues |

Antiques Shopping |

Phuket Town Antique Shopping Buddha Statue
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Phuket town Antique Shopping Elephant and Warrior |

Phuket Town Antique Shopping Chinese Horse Coach Bronze
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Chinese Temple |

Phuket Vegetarian festival devotee |

Phuket Vegetarian Festival Chinese Temple |
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival fire cracker |
- Some
Phuket
History
and Tin
Mining
In and after about 300 years,
the tin ore resources for mining in
the Phuket area became exhausted.
For Thailand and particularly
Phuket, the tin mining had not only
been the mainstay of the countries
revenue but had enhanced the
technology, politics, education,
foreign affairs and employment.
There
were of course many success stories
and other stories but in general
Phuket and its population of
immigrants and locals greatly
benefited from the advent of the ore
mining industry.
The archives of Nakorn Sri Thamarat,
formerly record "Muang Takua Thalang"
as one of the twelve cities of the
province. This therefore mean
Thalang or Phuket had been a source
of tin mining (then known as Takua)
for hundreds of years. According to available evidence, tin
mining on Phuket began in 1528 A.D.
during the reign of King Ega
Thodsarot of Ayudhya. Not long
before this the Portuguese had
occupied Malacca which was a trade
center for their Asian operation and
in 1583 they opened a tin warehouse
in Thalang.
In
1626 the Dutch had became powerful
in Java and King Sontham agreed that
the Dutch be the sole agents for the
tin trade in Thalang. In 1667 the
people of Thalang rose to fight the
Dutch and subsequently expelled them
from the Island.
In
1745 King Narai the Great allowed
the French to be the sole tin
traders on the island, but this was
overturned by the succeeding king.
King Pedracha who reigned from 1688
to 1703. He cancelled diplomatic
relation with France after ascending
the throne.
In 1772 the British Captain, Francis
Light came to establish a trading
station at Baan Tharua. He became a
good friend of the Thalang Governor.
In 1824 King Rama III of the Chakri
Dynasty ordered the building of a
new city after the second Thalang
battle.
During 1809 tin minerals were found at
Baan Ket-ho or Kathu. (Currently
Baan Thungkha in the Muang
District). In 1825 Thailand signed
the Berney Agreement with England
which was the first trading
agreement Thailand made with a
western country. This directly
affected trading with various
countries and seaports in the Malayu
Cape, namely Penang, Malacca and
Singapore and resulted in the mining
business expansion. More
and more Chinese people migrated to
the area to work in the mining
operations. At that time tin was
panned from the streams using simple
tools but in the Mhuang Lan or
Mhuang Khra area, operators with
greater financial capital used
powered water hoses to break down
the soil and rocks of nearby hills. Additional to the harvesting of ore
by the aforementioned methods there
was other methods of mining. This
was done by digging into the soil
and crumbling rocks plus following
the visible ore pipe.
At
the Mhuang Harb mine were at least
100 workers who worked over a wide
area. Mhuang Jor-Ngun was on flet
ground where there was an exposed
rocky mineral line. In 1861 Phuket
was promoted as a leading city to be
answerable directly to Bangkok and
as a result of the expansion in
mining; Thalang became an important
under the jurisdiction of
Phuket. In
1867 the government began collecting
taxes by means of "Mhao Muang' and
in 1876, Chinese workers were
rioting and united united as "Ung
Yee." They complained about the
shortage of water needed for
separating soil from ore as well as
the decrease in then incomes caused
by "Mhao Muang" tax system and
further worsened by lowering tin
prices.
In 1888 the Mhuang Cheed method was
adopted from Malaya and which needed
greater spaces of forestry and
larger streams. In 1901 the first
Mining Act was written and allowed
Westerners to mine for ore. Some
Westerners and mine owners from
Penang then moved to Phuket,
generally because of the exhausted
tin deposits in Malaya. The English
Chartered Bank moved in to provide
financial services to foreign owned
mine businesses in 1906.
In 1907 when Phraya Radsadanupradit
(Khorsimby Na Ranong) was a regional
dependant of Phuket. Edward Thomas
Miles, an Australian captain
established the Tongkah Harbor
Company. It began to run Mhuang Rua
Khud at Thungkha Bay. It was the
first mining operation in the world
to use marine vessels for dredging
ore from the sea bed and later it
was ingeniously adapted to be used
inland too. Mhuang Rua Khud needed
high capital investment and required
a large open space; its success
eventually attracted other companies
for Mhuang Rua Khud and a new mining
era was born.
In 1930 "Mhuang Chao Fah" was
opened. It was the first Mhuang Soob
in Thailand. It needed a large
plain, equipment and a variety of
vehicles. Dikes and rail tracks for
the movement for mineral ore were
built.
In 1947 Thai International Airways
began their regular flights from
Bangkok to Phuket. The time of the
tourism industry had arrived. In
1963 some Phuket residents began
doing their own version of sea ore
dredging or Mhuang Pae-dood, by
using small boats or bamboo rafts to
dive from, they dug the mineral
mixed with sand and soil from the
sea bed and brought it to the
surface be to washed and separated
on the beach.
By
1981 miners who used iron rafts
retrieved the mineral by using
drills for piercing the ocean floor
and then vacuuming the residue to
the surface, hence reducing the
number of laborers needed.
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In 1967 Temco Company requested
government permission to operate
deep sea mining, but the Phuket
residents protested. In 1973 the
Tourism Authority of Thailand
announced its plans to develop
Phuket into a major center of
Tourism.
In
1975 The government cancelled all
ore mining concessions for Temco
Company and allowed the formation of
the Phuket Tourism Business Club.
In
1988 there was the "Tantalum" case
when most Phuketians protested
strongly against the building of an
Ore Smelting Factory. Th. mining
businesses were closed down and the
tourism industry era began.
In
the middle of the first stage
of the Phuket Mining Museum project
on its 400 rai plot of land at Kathu
district was completed and brought
into service.
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