Phuket Old Town
Sino Portuguese Shophouse Quarter Of The Tin Mining Era; Phuket Has Been A UNESCO Creative City Of Gastronomy Since 2015 · Phuket, Phuket
Phuket Old Town is the historic heart of Phuket city, on the east side of the island away from the beaches, built by Hokkien Chinese merchants and tin-mining families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its streets, above all Thalang, Dibuk, Krabi and Phang Nga roads and little Soi Romanee, are lined with pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses: narrow, deep buildings with shuttered upper windows, stucco ornament and a covered arcade at street level, alongside grander mansions of the tin barons. The culture that built them is Baba-Peranakan, a blend of Chinese, Malay and Thai seen in the food, the dress and the clan shrines. Chinese shrines such as Jui Tui are the centre of the island's Vegetarian Festival, usually in October. On Sunday evenings Thalang Road becomes the Lard Yai walking street market. Phuket has been a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2015, and the old town is where to taste why: mee hokkien noodles, dim sum breakfasts, o-tao and curries with rice noodles. Khao Rang hill looks over it all. Songthaews and Grab reach the beaches in 30 to 45 minutes.
Thalang Road, Talat Yai, Phuket, Phuket, 83000, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the streets are open at all times, but the old town is best from about 8 am to 11 am and from 4 pm into the evening. The Thai Hua Museum has opened about 9 am to 5 pm daily; Chinpracha House keeps limited daytime hours and may close on some days. Shrines are usually open from early morning to early evening. The Lard Yai walking street runs on Sundays from about 4 pm to 10 pm. Blue songthaews to the beaches run from early morning to the late afternoon or early evening only. The traps that ruin a visit are arriving at midday in the hot season, missing the last songthaew back after dark, visiting on a Monday when many shops are closed, getting stuck in traffic over the Patong hill, and not checking the Vegetarian Festival dates. Confirm current times before relying on them.