Phuket - Day 90

PHUKET, THAILAND
Often called the "Pearl of the Andaman Sea," the Thai island of Phuket offers more than picturesque beaches and sweeping vistas of sparkling azure water and emerald-green hills. The island was long a major stop on trade routes between India and China, often mentioned in ship logs of European sailors. Around 1545, one Portuguese explorer called the island Junk Ceylon, and the name stuck for decades. Later, the French, Dutch and English competed for the island's tin trade. The French East India Company won, following which the French played a major role in local politics until they were expelled in 1688. Today, old Sino-Portuguese shop-houses and monuments to Buddha dot the island.Les mer