General Information about Phuket Thailand
Phuket Thailand is the largest island of Thailand and with over a million visitors a year it has become one of the most popular vacation spots in all of indochina. Before tourism people living in Phuket made most of their money in tin production, nowadays most people live of tourism. Phuket is connected to the mainland with a 700 mtrs long bridge on the upper north of the island.
Swimming
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Every Beach in Phuket offers exelent conditions for swimming and bathing, but please be carefull since there can be strong currents during the monsoon season ( June - October ). You can allways ask the life guards or tourist police if you aren't sure. There are parts on the beach that are safer than others but if you stay on the beaches that provide disignated swim areas you should be fine.
Nude Bathing is not allowed in Thailand, at present time there are no nude beaches in Phuket. Women are advised to keeping their tops on it's really inappropriate. Thai people even tend to keep their clothes on when they go swimming, especially in the non-touristic areas.
Tourist Police
The Tourist police are here to make your stay in Thailand as safe and pleasant as possible. The tourist police stations can be found in the bigger tourist areas of the island, in Patong their office can be found in the middle of the beach at the intersection of the beach road and soi Bangla. If you get involved in something that you haven't done and feel you can't get out of the best thing you could probably do is contact the tourist police and 99% of the times your problem will be solved in an easy manner. The tourist police is well aware of the scams and the people who tend to run them.
Electricity
220 volts is used in all thailand. Adapters can be bought at most local electronics stores
Climate
Phuket's has monsoon winds that blow all year round. It is therefore always
warm and humid. There are two distinct seasons, rainy and dry.
The rainy season begins in May and lasts till October, during which the
monsoon blows from the southwest.
The dry season starts in November and lasts through April, when the monsoon
comes from the northeast. Highest average temperatures, at 33 degree
Celsius, prevail during March. Lowest averages occur in January, when
nightly lows dip to 22 degree Celsius.
Important Telephone Numbers :
International calls dial +66 -76 inside Thailand and Phuket calls dial 076
Emergency calls 199
Fire Brigade 211111,199
Immigration 212108
International Airport 327230-7
Marine Police 211883
Overseas Phone Service 100
Phone Directory Assistance 13
Police 212046,212115
Post Office 211020
Thai Airways 211195,212499,212946
Tourism Authority of Thailand 212213,211036,217138
Tourist police 1699