Images from Old Town Phuket

Old Town Phuket is known for its architecture. There are two styles: Sino-Colonial Mansions (pictured below from http://www.phuket.com/magazine3/focus.htm website)

The translations “the big house of the red-hairs.” Chinese immigrants began building these after making fortunes as merchants or from mining tin.

The other style is the Sino-Portuguese shop-house (info and picture also from the same website): [See the website for a really cool complete description.]

This one was built during the reign of King Rama II.

As the name implies, these serve as both the shop and the dwelling for the family that owns one. The Hokkien Chinese termed it "tiam choo" which translates row of shop-houses as these are typically built in rows.

Check out the main website - it has interesting info on the city of Phuket. Keep in mind that there is Phuket Island and Phuket city. Phuket city is not the whole island. Old Town Phuket is only a section of Phuket the city.

http://www.phuket.com/island/phuket.htm

Some of the pictures I took in Old Town:

Golden Dragon (may be just outside of the Old Town part of Phuket but I had to take a picture of it on one of my many walks).












Tile in the entrance to a bank. Thai tile is beautiful.












What? A GREEN BEETLE?? Look at the shop-houses the car's in front of too...












And more...












Looking down the street (standing in the middle of it) near the gold dragon statue.









A picture of the building across from Old Town Guesthouse where I stayed.












Coconut drink. There is also a "young coconut" drink that has piece of a young coconut in it with the coconut milk and served over ice. This is delicious. The drink pictured is actually someone elses.












Tile in my guesthouse.












Picture of my room.