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Detailed
Maps of
the island and surrounding areas,
are availableHere
Phuket
is the natural base for exploring
the Andaman Sea.
The Andaman
Sea, separated from the Bay
of Bengal by the Andaman-Nicobar
Ridge, is part of the Indian
Ocean. Thailand's Andaman coast
extends for 870 km from the
Surin Islands on the northern
border with Burma to Tarutao
National Park on the southern
border with Malaysia. Hundreds
of islands are accessible to
small craft from Phuket, many
of them uninhabited, many of
them forested and fringed with
spectacular coral reefs. You
often won't find even a footprint
on the beach.
Two distinctively
different varieties of island
are found in the Andaman Sea,
each of them scenically striking
in its own way. Low-relief granite
intrusions, which include the
Surin and Similan islands, run
in series roughly parallel to
the more dramatic limestone
islands. Island groups such
as Koh
Phi Phi have been shaped
by a variety of forces from
a massive limestone platform
that was deposited 350 million
to 450 million years ago.
 Phuket Island itself
is mainly granite, with low
forested mountains and a series
of fine white-sand beaches,
mostly on the west coast. Much
of the forest has been cleared,
first for rubber plantations
and then for tourism development.
The one remaining significant
stand of virgin rainforest is
the Khao
Phra
Thaeo
Park a protected
national park area where you
can take short treks or visit
the waterfall.
Phang Nga and Krabi provinces,
mainland and islands alike,
have the same dramatic limestone
("karst") scenery of the Phi
Phi Islands. Many different
tours leave daily for Phang
Nga, well worth a visit.
Khao Sok National Park,
on the mainland just to the
north of Phuket, has large areas
of tropical forest, which have
an amazing variety of plants
and animals.
Eco-tours have started
in the last few years, offering
the opportunity to experience
the forest and get close to
nature. Most operate in small
groups to minimise any impact
on the environment.
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The
official census shows
231,206 people living
in Phuket. This figure
only includes those registered
as resident in Phuket
province, however there
is a significant (semi-permanent)
work force from other
provinces of Thailand
and as many as 35,000
visitors at any one time.
It is therefore likely
that the real figures
are much higher. Phuket
Town, the main town, has
over 60,000 people.
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Ethnic
composition
- Thai
- Chinese
- Muslim
(originally of Malay descent)
- Chao
Le (sea nomads)
- European
- Indian
and Arabic
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Tourism
In
the past decade, tourism
has become the biggest
earner for the area, and
continues to grow rapidly
with more than 3 million
visitors every year. In
recent years, tourism
revenues have resulted
in better roads, better
hospitals and public utilities.
However one of the main
issues now facing Phuket,
is how to maintain a balance
between the benefits of
tourism while sustaining
the natural attractions
that originally brought
visitors here.
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* Other
industries
Rubber.
First introduced from Malaya
in 1903, the orderly ranks of
rubber trees soon came to define
much of the local landscape.
Rubber plantations are still
much in evidence, but soaring
real estate values and the boom
in tourism has meant that land
is being turned to other uses.
Tin has
been mined on Phuket from time
immemorial, however the demand
for the metal has declined.
Tin dredging in offshore waters
has decreased in the past few
years, by zoning regulations
designed to help protect the
coral reefs and beaches of the
west coast. Old tin-mine workings
on land, meanwhile, are being
converted from unsightly scars
in the landscape to beautiful
resort hotel developments, yacht
marinas, golf courses and bungee-jumping
facilities.
Coconuts,
pineapples, bananas,
cashews, etc. Agricultural
products of various sorts still
contribute significantly to
Phuket's economy, but more and
more farming land - even rice
paddies - are being given over
to housing estates, roads, and
other infrastructure.
Fishing
still forms an important part
of life for the people living
along the coast, however small-scale
fisheries are being hurt by
modern trawling, some of it
illegal. Large-scale fisheries,
meanwhile, are threatened with
the depletion of commercial
fish stocks from over-fishing.
The waters
around Phuket contain some excellent
underwater scenery and fringing
coral reefs with the result
that diving has become a major
Phuket-based recreational industry.
This region's
coral reefs are home to a huge
variety of coral reef fish and
hard corals. Add to this, an
undetermined number of soft
coral species plus tens of thousands
of other marine organisms, including
crustaceans, echinoderms, and
worms, each with its own role
in maintaining the coral reef
ecosystem as a whole and you
have a fascinating diving environment.
(See our extensive
Diving
section).
These waters
include more than 850 species
of pelagic fish (open-water
as opposed to demersal, or those
living near the bottom), many
of them of commercial value.
The Andaman Sea is on the migration
routes of classic fighting fish
such as the blue marlin. Other
much-sought-after trophy fish
are black marlin (relatively
scarce), sailfish, barracuda
and a variety of sharks, notably
tigers and makos. (See our Fishing
pages).
Five species
of sea turtle nest on islands
in Thai waters - leatherbacks,
green turtles, loggerheads,
hawksbills, and ridleys. All
of these are endangered species,
and they are less frequently
sighted every year. Aside from
more than 30 recorded species
of sea snakes, the only other
marine reptile in the region
is the brackish-water crocodile,
virtually extinct, a species
which inhabits mangrove swamps
and river estuaries along the
southern peninsula.
Other marine
life of note includes the mammals.
At least two species of dolphin
are commonly found in Thai waters:
the Indian porpoise and the
long-nosed dolphin. Whalesharks
are also occasional visitors.
The dugong, or "sea cow", is
now all but extinct, and the
Thai Fisheries Department has
declared it a protected species.
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