Phuket Practical Information

Climate

Phuket has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly by monsoon winds that vary in direction according to the season. From March to September, as the sun's rays strike directly above the equator, the land mass of Asia is heated more than is the Indian Ocean. This draws moist hot air from the ocean over Phuket and southern Thailand, bringing the rains of the southwest monsoon. By mid-April the winds are mainly from the southwest and are heavy with moisture.

Northeast Monsoon	Southwest Monsoon

During the month of May, it will rain an average of 25 days making it one of the wettest months of the year. When the tilt of the earth brings the direct sun rays south of the equator, the heating of the Indian Ocean draws the cooler dry air of the northeast monsoon from the highlands of Asia across the countries of South and Southeast Asia.

By October the direction of the wind will have shifted to the northeast and Phuket will experience another intense but briefer wet period as the northeast monsoon sweeps down the east coast of Thailand and moves back into the Indian Ocean.

By mid November the weather on Phuket will be somewhat cooler and dryer, until March when the weather becomes perceptively warmer and more humid preceding the onset of the next monsoon. Visiting Phuket during the monsoon season is not unpleasant because most days are rain-free except for showers in the afternoon. Phuket averages 2540 mm (or about 100 inches) of rain each year.

Postal Services & Overseas Telephone Service

The Post Office in Patong is on the Beach Road. Upstairs is a overseas telephone service that is much cheaper than that offered by hotels and guest houses. The hours are 8AM to 11PM daily. There are two post offices in Phuket Town. The largest is located on Montri Road and the branch is on Yaowarat Road behind the market square. There is also a smaller post office on Karon Beach and Chalong.

Medical Facilities

Phuket Town has three modern hospitals that offer 24-hour emergency medical services with patient transfer services to larger hospitals located in Bangkok and Hat Yai. In addition, Phuket hospitals are linked to the SOS International for medical assisted homeward flights. Most hotels and guest houses are linked with a 24-hour medical service. Ambulance services are available if needed. In Patong the Kathu Hospital has nurses available to treat minor medical ailments and a ambulance service for more serious medical conditions.

Tourist Police

Are there to assure your visit is as safe and pleasant as possible. Tourist Police stations are located in the major tourist areas of the island, in Patong the police office is located in the middle of the beach at the intersection of the Beach Road and Soi Bangla. Most tourist police speak English and a few will speak Japanese other European languages. If you become involved in a dispute during your stay and do not feel you are being treated fairly, hold your ground and call for the Tourist Police. That, in many cases, will be enough to resolve the issue. The tourist police are very familiar with all the local scams, and the operators who run them.