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Phuket Town Walking Historical Tour Historically speaking, Phuket Town is no Pompeii. But there's little call to compare ancient European historical sites with Phuket Province's capital. For a start , its only a little over 150 yrs old and heavily influenced by turn-of-the-century Chinese taste, but this doesn't mean that the amateur historian won't be charmed by the sights. Quite the opposite. Here's a Quick walking guide through the most interesting downtown streets.
It's best to start at about four o'clock in the afternoon to avoid the heat of day. First stop on your tour should be Krabi Rd. About halfway down on the north side there's a distinctively beautiful house and grounds owned by Khun Pracha. He charges B100 for a tour of his utterly fascinating abode.Rosewood and mother of pearl inlayed furniture,1 00year-old water filters and family portraits abound in his ornatey decorated house. The guest book speaks for it seft gushy entries from people like Oliver Stone and other media types who have filmed in the house.When you've finished there,head east,cross shops,printing,houses,textile emporiums and cafes that Thalang Rd, an extension of Krabi Rd. where a bank faces a police station built to protect it as a result of a Chinese labourer uprising when tin was king on Phuket and tempers ran high. By now, you should have recognized a distinct Chinese architectural influence on these streets. Actually, if truth be told, these buildings display a Chinese-colonial-eclectic influence, even though many travel brochures and magazines gush about the Sino-Portuguese dominance of Phuketian architecture. Up the road is the Quaint and economical On-On Hotel, a backpacker venue famous for having served as the Bangkok flophouse in the movie The Beach. Just before reaching the OnOn, take a left at Mae Porn Restaurant (famous for being, famous) and turn left down busy Rasada Rd. For the culmination of your historical tour, the Thavorn Hotel lobby presents one of the most Quirky and charming collections of turn-of-the-century up to the 1960s memorabilia that you're likely to find any where on the planet. Here you'll find sewihg machines, keyboard, pianos, safes and well, just about anything that anything to do Phukel's tin boom and subsequent growth during the last century. There's also a superb collection of Thavom famiy and WW I I photos (a theme poorly represented elsewhere). As luck would have it, there's also a bar to wet your historical whistle. This is a hugey recommended venue before heading back out into the night to sample the many coffee shops and excellent restaurants that line the roads where you've just taken in the sights.
So there we have it: The Phuket Historical Walking Tour. No touts, almost free of charge, fascinating and rewarding. Remember: go late afternoon or else the experience will be a very hot and sunbaked one.
Historically speaking, Phuket Town is no Pompeii. But there's little call to compare ancient European historical sites with Phuket Province's capital. For a start , its only a little over 150 yrs old and heavily influenced by turn-of-the-century Chinese taste, but this doesn't mean that the amateur historian won't be charmed by the sights. Quite the opposite. Here's a Quick walking guide through the most interesting downtown streets.
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