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Phuket
Pearl
of the Andaman Sea
Phuket,
a large island in the Indian Ocean, is 862 kms from Bangkok. It
is the only island having provincial status, with a rich and colorful
history. Known as the Pearl of the Andaman Sea, it derived much
of its former glory and its enormous wealth from tin production,
which in Phuket dates back 500 years. Today, Phuket is Thailand's
largest tin producer. The surrounding waters contain colorful
marine life, and the town is notable for its old European style
architecture. It is a very attractive island with beautiful beaches,
limestone cliffs, forested hillsides, alternating with basins
and with 39 smaller outlying islands, some are large enough to
sustain fishing communities. Other are little larger than massive
rocks resembling fortresses, riddled with caves containing birds'
nests prized by gourmets. To the south and west lies the Andaman
Sea, and the Krabi Sea to the east.
The
beautiful bays of Phang-Nga and Aoluk, are located at the mouths
of rivers leading into the Gulf of Phuket from Phang-Nga province,
with fantastic limestone islands rising sheer from the blue sea,
some of them 300 metres tall and many containing caves hung with
stalactites.
Our
National Carrier, Thai Airways has many daily flights from Bangkok
to Phuket as well as some of the Asian cities.
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