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Many of Phuket’s hotels and restaurants offer classes in Thai cooking, where you can learn directly from professional chefs.
If you love Thai food and want to learn how it’s done, it’s worth taking a day or two of your holiday to attend a Thai cooking class.
Two of the more notable offerings are at the Boathouse Wine & Grill in Kata Beach and the Blue Elephant Governor Mansion in Phuket City.

The most popular of all the temples in Phuket is Wat Chalong, built during the reign of King Rama II (1809-1842) and since subject to much extension. The temple contains several structures and halls, one of which features a gilt-covered statue of the famous and revered Luang Poh Cham, plus statues of Luang Poh Chuang and Luang Poh Gleum, all ex-abbots of the temple. The Grand Pagoda is decorated with wall paintings of scenes from the Buddha’s life and features various Buddha images.

Everyone who's done it knows it; there are so many meticulous details that go into planning a wedding. A date must be set, the venue chosen, dresses and formal wear acquired, the elaborate minutiae of flowers, linens, dinnerware and cutlery, music and a photographer must be selected, and cakes, wines and champagnes to be agreed upon to maximize the celebrations on the big day.

For most, a tropical wedding on a sun-kissed island is the type of bonding that dreams are made of. Saying “I do” to the backdrop of a breathtaking sunset represents the perfect storybook wedding fantasy but a tropical wedding doesn't have to be only a dream… In Phuket, there's a wide variety of venues, event and wedding planners, as well as suppliers, that go above and beyond their duty to make many couples' tropical wedding dreams come true.

Why choose Phuket as your wedding destination? There are so many answers to that question, beginning with the island itself: Simply put, Phuket's gorgeous. The natural beauty of the island hosts some of the very best scenery that Southeast Asia has to offer, including lush, green tropical foliage and an amazing assortment of colourful tropical flowers, such as rare species of orchids and sweet-smelling frangipani.

Phuket's beaches are world-renowned for their rugged beauty, and rightfully so. The east and west coast beaches of the island each provide their own unique slice of beach heaven. Some beaches are backed by lovely casuarina trees and native palm trees, while others roll on for as far as the eye can see. The island's beaches make for a picture-perfect postcard backdrop to your wedding day.

When did you set up the business?
in 2009 in Bangkok, just as the effects of the credit crunch in the USA were being felt around the world. At first we focused on bringing affordable accommodation options to Bangkokians with Proud and Proud X2 condominiums. The combination of a compact condo concept in a convenient location proved very popular. With Phuket's growing population (about 9,000 new residents each year) we saw a similar need for Tri Property's unique brand of affordable housing on the island.

What were you doing before?
I've always been involved in real estate. In the early years my time was split between Thailand and the United States, where I attained master's degrees in Construction Management from Western Michigan University and then Environmental Engineering from San Fransisco State University, before returning to settle in Bangkok.

The next five years were very productive. I went straight into real estate as a project manager but I'd always had a strong desire to make a unique contribution to the residential real estate market, so Tri Property was established and I haven't looked back since.

What’s unique about Tri Property?
Our aim is to stand out as a leader not a follower, which we achieve with attention to every detail. For example, when we embark on a new project, we physically test everything − from the durability of the furniture to the comfort of the seating and bedding.

Tri Property's residential projects are unique for each location as they're determined by real market demands and incorporate cutting-edge designs for multi-purpose space and convenience.

What are your main challenges?
We aim to stay ahead of the curve with design innovation for the next generation that's practical, tasteful and stylish, which sometimes means we have a particular concept that we want to develop and then have to find a way to make it possible. This usually requires input of expertise from a range of different skills.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born in Bangkok, and working with the TAT I’ve been based in Rayong province as well as the TAT office in Los Angeles, which is responsible for all of North America. My family, including my son, aged 25, are living in Bangkok.

Before coming here to work, had you been to Phuket before?
Yes, the first time I came to Phuket was about 15 years ago. There were not a lot of tourists then compared to now. The cost of living was still low and, aside from Patong, the beaches were not so crowded.

When you have free time in Phuket, what do you like to do?
I’m lucky that my office is in Phuket Old Town. I like to go out to eat chicken rice or noodle soup. Some of my favourite restaurants are Uptown and Raya in Phuket Town, and for seafood I go to Kan Eang @ Pier in Chalong. I love to play golf, and Phuket has some excellent golf courses.

What are the main priorities for you and your team at TAT Phuket?
The TAT domestic offices normally work to promote their destinations to Thai tourists, but in Phuket we also promote the island to overseas tourists. We have two jobs: the product side and the marketing side. For Phuket, we do not focus much on the marketing because it’s already well known. The priority for us is in improving the product, and we coordinate with other organisations to discuss issues such as dealing with garbage and improving the electricity supply.

What are the main challenges Phuket is facing as a growing tourism destination?
We worry about the quality of the product. The beaches, infrastructure, airport, highways, traffic – all of these things need to be managed properly and made better. When I go to other countries I see that people follow regulations. Here, there’s a lack of discipline and on this we need to improve.

How important is the marine leisure industry (yachting / luxury boat trips) for Phuket tourism?
We see this as our new potential market, in addition to other markets we’re targeting including honeymooners and the cruise liner market. Recently we discussed the budget for the next fiscal year 2014-2015 for the development of a convention centre, a deep-sea port and better linkage with other countries by sea – Malaysia, Singapore, even Myanmar. A new ferry route connecting Phuket to Krabi and Langkawi is in discussion. Phuket already has some excellent marinas including Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon. We will continue to encourage the private sector to develop and improve Phuket’s marinas, as the private sector can do a much better job than the government in this area.

Asia's premier yacht race

Under Royal Patronage, the Phuket King's Cup Regatta is the most prestigious sailing event in Asia.

Five days of racing on the incomparable Andaman sea, the most talked about parties and over 1,500 international guests.

Where are you from?
I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and lived with my grandparents who owned and operated a resort catering to women. In the 1950s, Nevada was the only state that granted a quick divorce requiring just a six-week residency. So at our resort we had about 20 women in residence each for six weeks. They spent their time gambling, giving each other manicures and talking to me.

What did you do before you came to Phuket?
I’ve always been a writer. As a child, I recognised that putting words together created energy and interest. Since the mid-1960s I’ve made a living by writing. Sometimes as a war or conflict journalist and other times writing about lifestyles and occasionally some poetry and fiction.

When did you move to Phuket?
I had been living in Canada for many years and wanted to return to the vitality of the tropics. After travelling around Southeast Asia for six months I was offered a job in Bangkok as curator at an art gallery. But I felt suffocated by such a big urban environment and was then invited to join the opening faculty at the local campus of Prince of Songkla University in 1992. It was impossible to say no.

We understand you’ve done a lot of travelling in your lifetime. Could you tell us more about it?
I don’t know why I’ve had a lifelong obsession with exploring this planet. It’s almost an instinct.

As a child in Las Vegas, I was influenced heavily by the Middle East as the casinos and night clubs had names like the Sahara and the Dunes. The terrain of Nevada is like the Middle East, so I wanted to go to that part of the world. Mesopotamia and Babylon conjured up romantic images.

When I got there some years later, I had quite a different response, but I travelled on and lived in Afghanistan before spending a lot of time in India. The next years found me wandering around Africa, which was very exciting in the years after independence from the colonial powers − and before the devastation of Aids.

Whereabouts do you live in Phuket?
I’ve lived in the same house in Chalong for 20 years. I wouldn’t call it home but more a storage house for textiles and art from almost 50 years of travels. I plan to have it all cremated with me when I die.

Hot Buys

Though Chalong’s seen the arrival of the big Home Pro Village shopping centre and big chain brands like KFC and Tesco-Lotus, more shops and services run by the “little guy” are also opening up. The best example of this is the new Chalong night market opposite the Chalong Police Station. Some buildings were cleared away last year, and much to the surprise of cynical island residents expecting yet another lifeless shophouse to rise from the rubble, the open area has been transformed into a bustling market with fresh food, clothing, flowers, plants and yummy snacks for sale. It’s encouraging to see that Phuket’s traditional form of shopping in the open air still thrives. Take that, Tesco!

Along the pier road, some rundown shophouses are making way for new, snazzier ones and at the time of writing a few neat-looking shops were starting to open up there. We expect the Book Exchange and consignment shop next to the Happy Days Guesthouse to be a welcome place for sailors to sell off some things before heading to their next destination or picking up useful items like life jackets and dive gear, clothing and books on the cheap. The book section is modest but priced well: all books are 150 baht, or if you give them three books you can take two in exchange.

Distilled using French expertise and equipment, and made with 100 percent sugarcane juice sourced from Southern Thailand, Chalong Bay Rum gives the mighty mojito and other tropical drinks a truly local flavour.