Phuket town: Thai antiques and shopping guide
Phuket Town 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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