Phuket Town

Phuket Town or Muang Phuket in Thai is the largest town in Phuket Province. It has a population of 63,000 and is the economic hub of the island. For the most part just an ordinary, scruffy provincial Thai town, it's hardly a major tourist attraction, but the Chinatown area is worth a quick look and there are some great Thai-style shopping opportunities too. Overall, accommodation and food in the town is cheaper than near the beaches, and can provide a refreshing change of pace.

Phuket Town as merely a travel hub before heading to the beach. Phuket Town is a travel destination in its own right.

For starters, Phuket Town has history. The island was an important stopover on the route from India to East Asia for more than a thousand years, and everyone from the Burmese to the Portuguese have tried to lay claim to it. More recently, Phuket Town was the centre of the area's tin mining boom and attracted immigrants from China who brought with them their distinctive architecture, cuisine, and culture. Today a historical district exists to showcase the restored shop houses, Chinese temples, and beautiful Sino-Colonial mansions, if you won't be travelling off the island, Phuket Town offers a better slice of the real Thailand than any of the beach towns.