You can’t miss this mint-green building when you walk through the heart of Phuket Old Town — it sits right at the corner where Dibuk Road meets Yaowarat Road, just opposite the Locktien Local Food Court, a beautiful example of the island’s old Sino-Portuguese architecture.
Another example of a beautiful mansion abandoned in Phuket, probably beyond repair. We walked around this area a hundred times without ever noticing it, but once you do, its beauty is striking. It has no known name, so we called it Ratsada Mansion as it is located at the back of Ratsada Road, behind the weird ‘Thavorn Museum’ where the very first Phuket Shopping Center used to be.
Songtek Building, Phuket’s first Chinese school, was established in 1911. Initially, Chinese was taught using rote methods, with teachers holding classes in homes or shrines, known as “Sue Sok,” to educate the Hokkien Chinese descendants in Phuket. In 1917, as the number of students grew, Luang Chanathon Nithet donated land on Dibuk Road to build Songtek School.
Luang Amnat Nararak’s Mansion was built around 1925-1926. This grand mansion showcases an extravagant use of frescoes, a typical feature of Sino-Portuguese architecture. The Chinese believe that bats symbolize good fortune and longevity, which is why bats are a recurring motif in the mansion’s decoration. The mansion has undergone several renovations, the most recent being in 1957, but the main structure remains unchanged. This two-storey mansion features a front porch adjoining the driveway, and its polygonal side wings include small balconies.
What used to be a very rundown house by the side of the road in Kathu is now transformed into a small and half-abandoned lovely museum about Phuket Food. It used to be part of the large beer storage warehouse. It’s beautiful from the outside, but there is not much to see inside, and the staircase leading to the second floor is often closed.
The Memory at On On Hotel is undoubtedly the most iconic and best-known heritage hotel on Phuket Island, and this is for a few reasons. Built in 1927 and called Un Un Hotel at the time, the hotel possesses a strong Sino-Portuguese personality in a very central location on Phang Nga Road, the heart of Phuket Old Town.
Baan Ar Jor is a hotel, a restaurant and a museum with a long history that started in 1936. This house has always been one of the most mysterious old mansions of Phuket, standing lonely near Mai Khao Beach in the north of Phuket.
Endless Summer is a coffee shop and a fashion boutique in a magnificent heritage house on Yaowarat road, the heart of Phuket town. Anyone who walks in front of this beautiful mansion will stop for a photo without hesitation.
Dibuk Road is one of the famous old streets of Phuket town you should add to your list while exploring. It’s very colourful and easy to find, with plenty of casual cafes, shops and restaurants to enjoy.
Phang Nga Road is another historical street that runs parallel to the famous Thalang Road, in Old Phuket Town. Phang Nga Road maybe is less known, but it has a lot of charms, a few local restaurants, and several important historical landmarks and museum
Kiew Kai Ka was a Thai restaurant set in a superb heritage house in Phuket Town. Anyone who has lived or been in Phuket long enough will know this 85-year-old house.
The Museum Phuket sits at a bustling intersection in Old Phuket Town, where two historic buildings face each other across Phang Nga Road and Phuket Roads. One is the former Chartered Bank, and the other is the old police station, easily recognised by its yellow clock tower.
Raya Restaurant is a unique restaurant combining all the right ingredients to make it a perfect local experience. They serve great food in a superb setting in an old Thai house kept just the way it has always been, with no excessive renovation but well maintained.
Panwa House is a white Sino Portuguese restaurant surrounded by palm trees, right on the secluded beach of the Cape Panwa Hotel on the east coast of Phuket.
There are quite a few Chinese shrines in Phuket, and each has its own characteristics and unique features, which always offer excellent photo opportunities. The large ones are very popular during the Chinese New Year in February or the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in October. They can get extremely crowded, not to mention very loud, from firecrackers.
Wat Chalong, officially called Wat Chai Thararam, is the largest, most revered and most visited Buddhist temple in Phuket. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century. Chalong Temple is one of the Must-See places in Phuket.
Soi Romanee, in the historical centre of old Phuket town, is a short street with a long and colourful history. Today it is home to souvenir shops, fancy ice cream parlours and small but posh guesthouses.
Thalang Road is the most famous street in the historic part of Old Phuket Town. The municipality and owners managed to revive most of the old Sino-Portuguese shophouses and bury the ugly cables Thailand is so famous for.
The Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Road in Phuket Town is a pleasant surprise. We visited it a few years ago when it reopened, and despite being in a beautiful mansion, it was just an empty building.
Phuket Thai temples, or Wats, are always worth a visit; from the temple hidden inside a cave to the famous Wat Chalong, a visit to Thailand would not be complete without exploring a few of these magnificent and beautifully ornamented buildings.
