Phuket (Thai: ภูเก็ต, IPA: [pʰuːkɛt]; formerly known as Tha-Laang or Talang, or Junk Ceylon in Western sources, a distortion of the Malay Tanjung Salang, i.e. "Cape Salang")[1] is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga and Krabi, but as Phuket is an island there are no land boundaries. The island is served by Phuket International Airport, located in the north of the island. Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, approximately the size of Singapore. It is situated off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. It has an area of approximately 570sqm and it’s made up of 1 large and 39 small islands. The north of Phuket borders with Phang-nga province. Despite being referred to as an island, it is connected to the mainland by bridge. Phuket formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber, and enjoyed a rich and colourful history. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign trader’s ship logs. The region now derives much of its income from tourism.
The name Phuket (of which the ph sound is an aspirated p) is apparently derived from the word bukit (Jawi: بوكيت) in Malay which means mountain or hill, as this is what the island appears like from a distance. The region was formerly referred to as "Thalang," derived from the old Malay "Telong" (Jawi: تلوڠ) which means "Cape". The northern district of the province, which was the location of the old capital, still uses this name.
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