Phuket

G E N E R A L   I N F O R M A T I O N
Phuket Island has a long recorded history, and remains dating back to AD 1025 indicate the island's present day name derives in meaning from the Thamil manikram, or crystal mountain. For most of history, however,it was known as Junk Ceylon,which,with variations,is the name found on old maps. The name is thought to have its roots in Ptolemy's Geographic, written by the Alexandrian geographer in the third Century AD He mentioned that in making a trip from suwannapum to Malay Peninsula it was necessary to pass the cape of Jong Si Lang.
    Phuket was a way station on the route between India and China where seafarers stopped to shelter. The island appears to have been part of Shivite empire (call in Thai the Tam Porn Ling) that established itself on the Malay Peninsula during the first millennium AD Later, as Muang Takua-Talang, it was part of Srivichai and Siri Tahm empire. Governed as the eleventh in a constellation of twelve cities, Phuket's emblem,by which it was known to others in those largely preliterate times, was the dog.
            During the sukothai Period Phuket was associated with Takua Pah in what is now Phang-nga Province, another area with vast tin reserves. The Dutch established a trading post during the Ayuthaya Period in the 16th Cent. The island's northern and western parts were given over to the tin trade, a concession in the hands of foreigners.
            After Ayuthaya was sacked by the Burmese in 1767 there was a short interregnum in Thailand, ended by King Taksin, who drive out the Burmese and reunified the country. The Burmese, however, were anxious to return to the offensive. They outfitted a fleet to raid the southern provinces, and carry off the populations to slavery in Burma. This led to Phuket's most memorable historic event. A passing sea captain, Francis Light, sent word that the Burmese were en route to attack. Forces in Phuket were assembled led by the two heroines, Kunying Jan, wife of Phuket's recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook. After a month's siege the Burmese were forced to depart on 13 March, 1785.Kunying Jan and her sister were credited with the successful defense.
    In recognition King Rama I bestowed upon Kunying Jan the honorific Thao Thep Kasarti, a title of nobility usually reserved for royalty, by which she is known today. Her sister become Thao Sri Suntorn.
    During the Nineteenth Century Chinese immigrants arrived in such numbers to work the tin mines that ethnic character of the island's interior became predominantly Chinese, while the coastal settlements remained populated chiefly by Muslim fishermen.
    In Rama V's reign, Phuket became the administrative center of a grape of tin mining provinces called Monton Phuket, and in 1993, with the change in government from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary system, the island was established as a province by itself.

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Located approximately 814 kilometers from Bangkok is Krabi Province, one of most attractive destinations in southern Thailand. Encompassing an area of 4,708 square kilometers, the western border of Krabi is the Andaman Sea, the northern borders are Surat Thani and Phang-nga Provinces, the southern borders are Trang Province and the Andaman Sea and the eastern borders are Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang Provinces. Krabi is an ideal getaway destination teeming with natural attractions including white sandy beaches, fascinating coral reefs, numerous large and small islands and verdant forests with caves and waterfalls.

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