Phuket, has seen many changes in its history and the tourist boom is only the latest development in a story that goes back hundreds of years.
Today's visitor to Phuket will see many restaurants, and some old houses, named Junkceylon or Jonkcelaon. This was the name given to the island by the 16th and 17th century pirates who haunted its waters, hiding in the caves and coves along the coast. It’s present name, Phuket, derives from the Malay word Bukit which means hill (thought to derive from the island’s mountainous terrain).
Phuket and Tin Mining
Despite the pirates, traders flocked to its shores for what the island had in plenty, tin, one of the ancient world’s most prized commodities. Tin is fairly easy to extract, especially when the veins of tin are close to the surface as they were in Phuket, there were other commodities that attracted traders to the island, rare corals from the surrounding seas and edible birds’s nests (a delicacy to Chinese gourmets and still collected on the island).
To mine the tin, thousands of indentured Chinese and Malay workers were brought in, immigrants who set an indelible seal on the island, seen today in the architecture and the food. The entrepreneurs built mansions for themselves well away from the scarred and cratered landscape which was left littered with the detritus of tin mining. Then in the early years of the 19th century, rubber trees were imported from Malaya and soon Phuket was the richest province in Thailand.
Tourism arrives Phuket in the 1970's
Tourism arrived in Phuket in the 1970's with the advent of cheap travel and long-haul flights, although back packers had already found their way there in the late 1960's. Roads were cut through the mountains to the magnificent beaches, hotels were erected, and a new airport was built. Few would have thought in those early days of tourism that Phuket, with its scarred and cratered ugliness, would, in the course of a few decades, become Asia’s No. 1 tourist spot.
Cratered Landscape Left by Tin-Mining in Phuket
Despite the scarred landscape, brilliant creative architects designed hotels that made use of the enormous craters that despoiled the landscape. One of the finest examples of what could be done with an area so ruined, is that of the Laguna complex on Bang Tao beach. The first hotel there in the 1970’s was the Dusit Laguna and one of the craters on the site was transformed into a gently shelving, sandy sided, lagoon which quickly transformed itself into a beginner's wind-surfing paradise. Later, as more hotels were erected in the area (Sheraton, Banyon Tree, Allamanda and Laguna Beach) other craters were transformed into canals linking the hotels, and today it is the most attractive resort on the island, with boats bustling between the five hotels that share the waterways and lagoons created from the detritus of tin-mining.
Old Chinese Houses in Phuket Legacy of Tin-Mine Owners
Many of the old Chinese houses still survive in Phuket Town, built in the Sino-Portuguese style which can also be seen in Malacca from where many of the Chinese labourers originally came. Those who prospered built themselves town houses along the new streets, but the really rich built the mansions still to be seen outside the town.
Dredging Tin from the Seas Around Phuket
In the 1980’s there was concern among the hoteliers and locals when tin-mining began again – this time in the sea. Dredging for tin went on day and night just opposite the Laguna complex and it was said at the time that the dredging was having a detrimental effect on the beach (see picture below). This continued for a few years but either they extracted all the tin available, or the people of Phuket derived some power to keep them away, but since then, no mining has taken place on this lovely island.
Old people in Phuket still remember the tin-mining days, the very early tourists remember the rubber tapping and a little tin-mining, and in the writer's day, the tin-dredger in the bay was a daily reminder of the power of big business.
Booking.com
Could this happen again? Probably not. The world is more aware of the dangers facing the planet and care for the environment is on high on every government agenda. And Phuket is now established as Thailand's No. 1 Resort Island.
Author Paul Linus
Today's visitor to Phuket will see many restaurants, and some old houses, named Junkceylon or Jonkcelaon. This was the name given to the island by the 16th and 17th century pirates who haunted its waters, hiding in the caves and coves along the coast. It’s present name, Phuket, derives from the Malay word Bukit which means hill (thought to derive from the island’s mountainous terrain).
Phuket and Tin Mining
Despite the pirates, traders flocked to its shores for what the island had in plenty, tin, one of the ancient world’s most prized commodities. Tin is fairly easy to extract, especially when the veins of tin are close to the surface as they were in Phuket, there were other commodities that attracted traders to the island, rare corals from the surrounding seas and edible birds’s nests (a delicacy to Chinese gourmets and still collected on the island).
To mine the tin, thousands of indentured Chinese and Malay workers were brought in, immigrants who set an indelible seal on the island, seen today in the architecture and the food. The entrepreneurs built mansions for themselves well away from the scarred and cratered landscape which was left littered with the detritus of tin mining. Then in the early years of the 19th century, rubber trees were imported from Malaya and soon Phuket was the richest province in Thailand.
Tourism arrives Phuket in the 1970's
Tourism arrived in Phuket in the 1970's with the advent of cheap travel and long-haul flights, although back packers had already found their way there in the late 1960's. Roads were cut through the mountains to the magnificent beaches, hotels were erected, and a new airport was built. Few would have thought in those early days of tourism that Phuket, with its scarred and cratered ugliness, would, in the course of a few decades, become Asia’s No. 1 tourist spot.
Cratered Landscape Left by Tin-Mining in Phuket
Despite the scarred landscape, brilliant creative architects designed hotels that made use of the enormous craters that despoiled the landscape. One of the finest examples of what could be done with an area so ruined, is that of the Laguna complex on Bang Tao beach. The first hotel there in the 1970’s was the Dusit Laguna and one of the craters on the site was transformed into a gently shelving, sandy sided, lagoon which quickly transformed itself into a beginner's wind-surfing paradise. Later, as more hotels were erected in the area (Sheraton, Banyon Tree, Allamanda and Laguna Beach) other craters were transformed into canals linking the hotels, and today it is the most attractive resort on the island, with boats bustling between the five hotels that share the waterways and lagoons created from the detritus of tin-mining.
Old Chinese Houses in Phuket Legacy of Tin-Mine Owners
Many of the old Chinese houses still survive in Phuket Town, built in the Sino-Portuguese style which can also be seen in Malacca from where many of the Chinese labourers originally came. Those who prospered built themselves town houses along the new streets, but the really rich built the mansions still to be seen outside the town.
Dredging Tin from the Seas Around Phuket
In the 1980’s there was concern among the hoteliers and locals when tin-mining began again – this time in the sea. Dredging for tin went on day and night just opposite the Laguna complex and it was said at the time that the dredging was having a detrimental effect on the beach (see picture below). This continued for a few years but either they extracted all the tin available, or the people of Phuket derived some power to keep them away, but since then, no mining has taken place on this lovely island.
Phuket Airport Hotels, Thailand
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Old people in Phuket still remember the tin-mining days, the very early tourists remember the rubber tapping and a little tin-mining, and in the writer's day, the tin-dredger in the bay was a daily reminder of the power of big business.
Booking.com
Could this happen again? Probably not. The world is more aware of the dangers facing the planet and care for the environment is on high on every government agenda. And Phuket is now established as Thailand's No. 1 Resort Island.
Author Paul Linus
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