Phuket town:
Thai antiques and shopping guide
General Information
Phuket town was founded a little over a century ago by
Chinese and Malaysian merchants to service the nearby tin mines, and the
harbor near Phuket was better suited to handle larger ships than the traditional
capital city of Thalang. It spite of growing pains that come with being
a boom town and a major fire that destroyed much of the city Phuket town
grew and prospered to become the commercial, social, and political center
of the island.
The beginning of the 20th century was a period of positive
growth for Phuket. Tin mining boomed, and the very capable and benevolent
governor Rasada Korsimbi helped diversify the island’s economy and
the capital city of Phuket began its modern expansion. The town of Phuket
grew rapidly, its streets lined with handsome buildings, and ships from
all over the world called at its bustling port.
Today the main attractions are the old Sino-Portuguese
buildings, the elaborate Chinese and Thai temples, and the public markets.
Most of the buildings in Phuket’s city center were constructed nearly
a hundred years ago, during the period of the first great tin boom. These
building show mixed Chinese and western influences in their architecture
called Sino-Portuguese. It is a style common to all coastal tin-mining
settlements on the Malay Peninsula. The buildings are characteristically
much longer than they are wide, and the entry ways have fancy latticework.
Many lovely examples can be found on Dibuk Road, if you take the town
walk-a-about you will pass many of the more important of these buildings.
Phuket’s  Town
Hall, Provincial Court, and Nakorn Luang Bank are also good examples of
this style of architecture. Phuket’s Town’s oldest public structure,
Government House, is a wonderful example of architecture from earlier
this century. Moviegoers may recognize it as the ‘American Embassy’
in Phnom Phen in The Killing Fields.
The last few years Phuket has experienced a significant
growth but has managed to retain a lot of its original flavor derived
from its multicultural roots. The best way to appreciate the full layout
of Phuket is to hike up Rang Hill, just to the town’s north.
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 Take
a walk through Phuket’s colorful streets. You will visit Chinese
and Thai temples, and walk past the old colonial mansions. You will stroll
through the Chinese quarter, stop to browse for unusual gifts in some
truly unique shops, or eat at any one or more of the dozens of places
that you will encounter on this walk. Remember, many of the places along
this tour are not routine tourist destinations. Many of the people, particularly
in the small food and fruit stalls, will only understand you if
you speak Thai, so just smile a lot. If you wish to purchase something,
politely point to it and they will show you three fingers for 30 baht,
or five fingers for 50 baht, etc.
From the Songthaew (Bus) stop on Ranong Road. Begin the
tour by taking a minute or so to watch the hustle and bustle as the Thais
shop, bargain, exchange gossip, and cajole the merchants. You will be
assaulted by the sights and the pungent smells of a traditional Asian
fruit market. You might want to spend a few minutes wandering through
the maze of small stalls selling all manner of fresh fruits, vegetables,
meats, spices, household goods and clothes. You will no doubt see many
strange and exotic items for sale -- piles of colorful of chilies, maroon
mounds of kapi (pounded shrimp paste), betal nuts, pickled garlic, and
tamarind -- to name just a few. Many of the street stalls offer the traditional
Phuket breakfast of Khanom chin -- rice noodles buried under a spicy minced
fish curry served with fresh vegetables.
When you have had enough, cross Ranong Road and walk
to the left past the Thai Airways Office. Peek at the beautiful old colonial
mansion at the rear of the compound. Continue on Ranong Rd to Wat
Nua, a Thai temple. There is an interesting bot behind the
main wat , as you leave the temple and walk along the street you
will see several examples of traditional (in this case very old) wooden
dormitories for monks.
 At
the next corner, cross to Put Jaw Temple.
This Chinese Taoist temple is the oldest in Phuket and is dedicated to
the Goddess of Mercy. Built over 200 years ago, it was severely
damaged in a fire and renovated about 100 years ago. The main hall holds
statues of the goddess and her attendants.
Through the compound wall to the left is a more ornate
and more recent Taoist temple, the Jui Tui Temple.
It is dedicated to Kiu Wong In, a vegetarian god. Before the altar
are cakes, oranges, pineapples and other offerings from devotees. Also
on the altar are a pair of red wooden blocks made from bamboo roots and
shaped like twin halves of a mango. These help you make decisions. Pose
a question that requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Toss
the blocks in the air and watch how they land on the floor. If both land
with the same side up the answer is ‘no’; if they land, one
up and one down, the answer is ‘yes’. Be sure to leave a donation
at the alter. It will go towards the upkeep of the shrine. Of particular
interest at this temple are the fine carvings of guardians on the huge
teak doors. Look also at the photos high on the left hand wall which shows
the temple in its various incarnations. This is the temple where many
Vegetarian Festival activities take place in the fall. In one of the small
service buildings on the left is parked an ornate sedan chair and a chariot
on which the image of the deity is placed before it is pulled through
the streets of Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival.
Exit Put Jaw, turn left and return to Ranong Road. Turn
left go to the corner with the stoplight and turn right on to Patiphat
Road go one block to Krabi Road. Turn right cross the street and walk
50 meters on the left to the Chinese temple Sanjao
Sam San which is set well back from the road. Built in 1853, this
shrine is dedicated to the ‘Goddess of the Sea’ who serves as
the patron saint of sailors. When a new boat is launched, a ceremony is
held here to bless it. It contains some intricate carvings and has a more
refined atmosphere than Put Jaw.
 Continue
down Krabi Road. On the left are huge yards with beautiful old colonial
style houses built by late 19th century rubber and tin barons.
At the next corner turn left onto Stool Road. Just before the next intersection
(Dibuk Road) you will find the Phuket Sea Group
where they sell several hundred varieties of tropical fish. Across
the street is the Silk Master this large
emporium sells silk products from all over Thailand and is a common stop
for tour buses.
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At the corner, turn right onto Dibuk Road. Walk down
Dibuk Road. The houses on the right are in the style called Sino-Portuguese,
characterized by its tiled-roofs and the thick ribbings across the peak
and down the roof edges. These were built by and are lived in by old Chinese
families. Look closely at the beautiful treatment of the entrances. At
the next corner are two more excellent examples of the colonial style
commercial buildings. At this corner you have a choice , if you wish to
see several more examples of the old colonial buildings follow the directions
for the ten minute walk up and back on Yaowarat Road, or simply continue
straight on Dibuk Road and pick up the tour at the temple on your left
just past the gasoline station.
Turn left on to Yaowarat Road. A short way up on the right in a
very cramped yard is perhaps the most beautiful of the colonial houses,
a stately two story residence. Just beyond on the right are more Chinese
style shophouses and at the next traffic light is a colonial home in a
pretty yard. A even prettier one is on the left-hand side of the street.
Back track down Yaowarat and turn left onto Dibuk Road. Halfway down on
the left is Wat Mongkol Nimit, a Thai Buddhist
temple that offers a clear contrast in style with the Chinese Taoist temples
seen earlier in the tour.
Cross the street to Soi Rammani, this small soi is the
heart of the old Chinese quarter, complete with a traditional Chinese
noodle shop halfway down on the left. Soi Rammani exits onto Thalang Road
which has a concentration of Sino-Portuguese shophouses that are being
restored as and has been designated by the government as the "Road
of Culture". The Loft, located at 36
Thalang Road is the newest addition to a growing number of galleries in
this up and coming neighborhood. The Loft is mainly a home decoration
boutique, but it is also an art gallery, it has a tasteful selection of
artwork from Vietnam, Burma and Thai celadons, and Chinese porcelains.
Continue down Thalang Road and turn left on Yaowarat
Road where a few feet down on the left you will find the 88
Ancient Art gallery, which displays a variety of ceramics, including
Vietnamese celadon, Chinese Ming vases and Cambodian Buddha images from
the Bayon period. Finding interesting and exotic artwork is the specialty
of the this gallery. Across the street at 51 Yaowarat is Ban
Boran Textiles which features fabrics from six countries in the
region. While most of the textiles are in long pieces, some have been
made into stylish shirts, trousers and scarves. Many of the fabrics displayed
here can only be found in the remote villages where they are produced.
At 39 Yaowarat Road you will find a very interesting selection of art
objects at the Ban Boran Antiques shop They
import gold jewelry from South India, Buddha images from Sri Lanka and
Burma, and silver from Pakistan and Egypt. On a recent visit there were
a set of old opium weights, said to be very difficult to find, and some
very old and delicate examples of Thai folk art. On the same block at
27 Yaowarat Road is the Touch Wood Antique
Furniture shop which sells colonial antique furniture mainly from neighboring
Burma, Laos and Vietnam. Most of the stock seems to be either Victorian
or Edwardian designs but many other examples of teak and cane furniture
are on display. At the intersection turn left on to Phang Nga Road and
walk a few feet to the Puk Shop at 7-9 Phang
Nga Road. This venerable old shop is a Phuket institution and a true treasure
hunter’s dream. A eclectic mix of everything from Chinese and Thai
antique ceramics acquired from Phuket residents decades ago, to regular
items found at any tourist stall. Many regular customers stop by often
so as to not miss some of the more unusual items that pass through. On
a recent visit there were some very rare Burmese manuscripts, and some
exquisite Chinese ceremonial chests, that were not expected to be there
for very long. You never know what to expect when you browse through this
crowed shop. Down the street at 68 Phang Nga Road Antique
Arts is another long time Phuket institution and has an exquisite
collection of Chinese porcelains, brass and lacquerware. For almost a
quarter century the owners of this shop have been offering quality antique
furniture and art objects most of which are imported from China. Frequent
buying trips are made to the Hokkien region of China to uncover the type
of quality items that regular customers have come to expect. From here
go one block south to Rasada Road. You are now several blocks from the
traffic circle near the market where you started. As you go west on Rasada
toward the traffic circle you will pass gift shops that offer local Thai
products, generally at better prices than the shops in the tourist areas,
one on each side of the road. At the traffic circle look for a tuk-tuk
(taxi) because for the next stops on the tour you will want a ride. If
you are feeling very adventurous you might try a motorcycle taxi as they
are faster and cheaper.
If by now it is near lunch time, or if you are hungry,
you might consider taking a short side trip to enjoy lunch at the top
of Khao Rang Hill which overlooks the city and offers a panoramic view.
To continue your walk-a-about tour, take a taxi to the
Phuket Provincial Court. This beautiful old building is still being used,
a relic of the past. On the ground floor, peek into the antiquated courtroom
with its wooden judge’s bench, unchanged since the last century.
Return to the street. On the opposite corner, across the large lawn, is
the Provincial Hall, home to a number of provincial offices. This elegant
90 year-old building is famous for it’s unique architecture, having
99 doors and a history nearly as old as Phuket Town. Movie fans may remember
it, as it served as a replica for the French Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
in the film "The Killing Fields".
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Offers not only a sweeping view of the city and the island
to the south, but several good restaurants, a exercise park and the largest
sculpture of Buddha on the island. Famous for it’s view of the surrounding
area it is a pleasant place to catch a cool breeze and watch the sunset.
On the north side of the hill about half down is a giant nine meter tall
seated figure of the Buddha in the ‘Suppression Evil" pose.
Another place for rest and relaxation in the city where
Phuket Road meets the sea. It is the site of the monument to the Australian
Captain Edward Miles who brought the first tin dredge to Phuket in 1907.
The monument commemorates 60 years of dredging in Phuket and shows the
importance of tin mining, even comparatively recently played in the island’s
fortunes. A prolonged recession in the price of tin has however, resulted
in the virtual extinguishing of the industry on the island, and except
for the continued operation of a single refinery, all other tin mining
activity in Phuket has ceased.
Saphan Hin is also the location of a sport center, large
playing fields, many fine restaurants, and the island’s boxing stadium.
It serves in addition as the site of two colleges, Phuket Community College
and Phuket Vocational College.
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