Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. At 540 km sq, it's about the same size as Singapore. Just over an hour's fight from Bangkok or Singapore, and with daily connections to most major Asian airports, Phuket is ideally situated for a short break or a relaxing vacation.

           Business Hours - generally 9am to 5pm, weekdays, and 9am to 12 noon on Saturdays, except Public Holidays when hours may vary. Shops and local stores open from 10 or 11am to 10pm, daily.
            Banking hours - Monday to Friday 8.30am to 3.30pm. Some branches, including those located in shopping centres, are open as late as 7-8pm and on Saturdays. Currency exchange booths are usually open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Twenty-four-hour ATMs are widely available, and most accept cards using international banking networks such as Cirrus or Plus
            Currency is the Thai Baht. Check out our handy Currency Converter to find the value in your own currency.
            Cameras and Photo Processing - Most major brands of film and digital memory cards can be bought in Phuket. Film and digital photo processing is widely available and 2-hour service is common. Throw-away one-time cameras are widely available, too.
                Electricity - 220 Volts. Several different plugs and sockets are in use, but two pin flat (US type) or round (European type) are pretty universal. Adapters can bought at local stores.

            Population

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.

            Ethnic composition
     Thai Chinese Muslim (originally of Malay descent) Chao Le (sea nomads) Europea
         Indian and Arabic