February 25, 2008
Bang Thao - Phuket Town: Sino-Portuguese
We have decided not to circle the island but to head for Phuket Town, look around and ... We'll see. We lost our Lonely Planet Guide and are a bit short on information. It feels a little like stumbling around in the dark, sometimes you find what you are looking for, sometimes you don't. Perhaps we can find a copy of the book here in Phuket.
We took another of those Thai highways that we are now familiar with - lots of traffic but a safe shoulder for bikes and motor scooters. The alternative would have been the scenic route over the hills.
Phuket has a history of Chinese businesses and trade and the architecture is usually labeled as Sino-Portuguese. The use of tiles would seem to make the Portugese influence obvious. The houses were built by Chinese moguls about 100 years ago at the height of the tin mining boom. The name reflects the influences of Chinese owners who built in European style in Singapore and Malaysia, where the Portuguese had set the first standards for grand tropical mansions. Actually, most of the Sino-Portuguese buildings in Phuket town were built by Italians whom the wealthy Chinese employed. They also imported many of the materials, like tiles and fittings, from Italy not Portugal.
The town isn't quite as nostalgic as the photos might make it appear. They just show a small selection of the old town's buildings and of course in a photo the noise, bad air and humidity are filtered out. Nevertheless, here are a few old-town impressions.
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