Phuket Thailand Various photos from our holiday in 2006
Discover thailand with Thailand Discovery
Phuket Thailand Various photos. Phuket Island (pronounced puu gèt) (ภูเก็ต) is Thailand’s largest at 48 km in length and 21 km at its widest. It’s in Southern Thailand on the west-facing Andaman Sea coastline, suspended from the southern tip of Phang Nga Province by a pair of short but substantial road bridges.
Phuket nestles in balmy Andaman Sea waters on Thailand’s Indian Ocean coastline 862 kilometres south of Bangkok. Phuket formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber, and enjoyed a rich and colourful history. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign trader’s ship logs.
The relatively recent name “Phuket” (of which the digraph ph represents an aspirated p) is apparently derived from the word bukit(Jawi: بوكيت) in Malay which means “hill”, as this is what the island appears like from a distance. An alternative suggestion is that the name originates from two Thai words, “phu” (mountain) of “ket” (jewel), and this is said to be recorded in a Thai chronicle.
Phuket was formerly known as Thalang (ถลาง Tha-Laang), derived from the old Malay “telong” (Jawi: تلوڠ) which means “cape”. The northern district of the province, which was the location of the old capital, still uses this name. In Western sources and navigation charts, it was known as Jung Ceylon (a corruption of the Malay Tanjung Salang, i.e., “Cape Salang”)
Discover thailand with Thailand Discovery