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Phuket Island has a long recorded history, and remains
dating back to A.D. 1025 indicate that the island's present day name derives
in meaning from the Tamil manikram, or crystal mountain. For most of history,
however, it was known as Junk Ceylon, which, with variations, is the name
found on old maps.
The name
is thought to have its roots in Ptolemy's Geographia, written by the Alexandrian
geographer in the Third Century A.D. He mentioned that in making a trip
from Suwannapum to the Malay Peninsula it was necessary to pass the cape
of Jang Si Lang.
Phuket
was a way station on the route between India and China where seafarers stopped
to shelter. The island appears to have been part of the Shivite empire (called
in Thai the Tam Porn Ling) that established itself on the Malay Peninsula
during the first Millenium A.D. Later, as Muang Takua - Talang, it was part
of the Srivichai and Siri Tahm empires. Governed as the eleventh in a constellation
of twelve cities, Phuket's emblem, by which it was known to others in those
largely pre-literate times, was the dog.
During the Sukothai Period Phuket was associated with Takua Pah in what
is now Phang-nga Province, another area with vast tin reserves. The Dutch
established a trading post during the Ayuthaya Period in the 16th Cent.
The island's northern and central regions then were governed by the Thais,
and the southern and western parts were given over to the tin trade, a concession
in the hands of foreigners. After Ayuthaya was sacked by the Burmese in
1767 there was a short interregnum in Thailand, ended by King Taksin, who
drove out the Burmese and re-unified the country. The Burmese, however,
were anxious to return to the offensive. They outfitted a fleet to raid
the southern provinces, and carry off the populations to slavery in Burma.
This led to Phuket's most memorable historic event. A passing sea captain,
Francis Light, sent word that the Burmese were en route to attack. Forces
in Phuket were assembled led by the two heroines, Kunying Jan, wife of Phuket's
recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook. After a month's siege the
Burmese were forced to depart on 13 March, 1785. Kunying Jan and her sister
were credited with the successful defense. In recognition King Rama I bestowed
upon Kunying Jan the honorific Thao Thep Kasatri, a little of nobility usually
reserved for royalty, by which she is known today. Her sister became Thao
Sri Suntorn.
During the Nineteenth Century Chinese immigrants arrived in such numbers
to work the tin mines that the ethnic character of the island's interior
became predominantly Chinese, while the coastal settlements remained populated
chiefly by Muslim fishermen. In Rama V's reign, Phuket became the administration
center of a group of tin mining provinces called Monton Phuket, and in 1933,
with the change in government from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary
system, the island was established as a province by itself.
Travel
By car : Take Routh 4 from
Bangkok south. Along the way pass the provinces of Nakorn Pathom, Ratchburi,
Petchburi, Prajuab- Kirikan, and at Chumporn go right to Ranong, From Ranong,
go south through Kraburi and Kah-Perr districts to Phang-nga Province. In
Phang-nga the road passes through Kuraburi, Takua Pa, and Takua Tung districts
before reaching the town of Kok Kloy, just beyond which is the Tao Thep
Krasatri Bridge and Phuket. Distance is 867 kilometers.
By Coach : Both air-conditioned
and non-air-conditioned buses leave the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok
daily. For details call the individual bus companies : Borisat Kohn Sohng
Jumkat Phuket Transport Co, Ltd., in Bangkok tel. (02) 4351200, or in Phuket
(076) 211 480; Borisat Phuket Central Tour, in Bangkok tel. (02) 434 3233,
or in Phuket (076) 213 615, 214 335; Phuket Travel Service, in Bangkok tel.
(02) 435 5018, 435 5034, or in Phuket (076) 222 107-9
By Air : Details about flights to and from Phuket International
Airport can be obtained from Thai Airways, in Bangkok Tel. (02) 280 0070,
280 0080, or in Phuket (076) 211 195, 212 499, 212 946, or from travel agents
around the world. There are also many regular and chartered flights from
other airlines
By Sea :The
Deep Sea Port (Port of Phuket) at Phuket is visited by both cargo and cruise
ships from Thailand and from abroad. Contact your travel agent for information
about the many different ships that stop at Phuket.
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