Thailand » Introduction of Phuket

Phuket formerly known as Tha-Laang or Talang is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga and Krabi, but as Phuket is an island there are no land boundaries. The island is served by Phuket International Airport, located in the north of the island. The ph of "Phuket" is an aspirated hard "p", not a soft "f", so the name is pronounced (roughly) "Poo-get".

Phuket, a large island in the Indian Ocean, is 867 kms from Bangkok. It is the only island having provincial status, and was a regional headquarters as well, with a rich and colourful history. Known as the Pearl of the Andaman, it derived much of its former glory and its enormous wealth from tin production, which in Phuket dates back over 500 years.

The name Phuket is apparently derived from the word Bukit in Malay which means mountain or hill, as this is what the island appears like from a distance. Before that its old name was Ta-lang (in Thai): The word is derived from the old Malay "Telong" which means "Cape", which is still in used for one of the main districts in the Phuket area.