Blog about Thailand
While English speakers often pronounce the “Ph” in words as an “F” sound, Thais tend to pronounce words beginning with “Ph” with a stressed “P” sound, meaning that Phuket is actually pronounced “Poo-ket” or “Poo-get”.
noun. an island and province of S Thailand, in the Andaman Sea: mainly flat; suffered badly in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Area: 534 sq km (206 sq miles) the chief town of the island of Phuket ; a popular tourist resort. WORD OF THE DAY.
It’s most like the first T in “tooth” and not at all like the TH in “tooth.” It is pronounced basically as if the H were not there. When the Thai language gets transliterated into English, H’s show up everywhere but they are often silent , mere accent marks to soften a sound but not change it fundamentally.
Although you might find many people in Phuket can speak English , you will find that just a few of them can actually maintain the conversation with you. Most of the locals can speak basic English as they are trained to communicate with their customers and guests.
Majority of the time, Phuket is a pretty safe place to visit but most of the really harmful situations arise out of the heavy-handed nature of some of the scams and ripped off tourists all ignited under the duress of Thailand heat, a few drinks and a deal gone bad.
Most travellers consider November to February the best time to visit Phuket , when days are mostly sunny and dry – ideal if you’re planning to spend lots of time on the beach. The wet season runs from May to October, when the south-west monsoon brings higher levels of rainfall and humidity.
There are many destinations in Thailand, but Phuket remains one of the most popular . The gorgeous beaches with their breathtaking sunsets, the warm climate all year, the vibrant nightlife and the friendly people certainly make it desirable. Its history of welcoming foreign traders also plays a central role.
Person from Phuket . THAI. People from Bangkok or Phuket . THAIS. Settler reporting Phuket wave?
But there are some things you should probably try to avoid. Luu moo. The base of this soup-like dish is raw pig’s blood. Larb leuat neua. Shark fin soup. Yum Khai Maeng Da. Scorpion. Deep-fried foods. Decorative garnishes. Tap water.
Thai is just a romanized spelling of ไทย and its IPA key is /tʰäj˧/. You can notice there is small / h / after /t/ in the key. As @WS2 mentioned in the comment, I suspect the ” h ” has something to do with the Thai pronunciation of ไทย which could reflect a distinction not made in English.
The clear warm waters are enticing, and are pretty safe for most of the year. The sea does contain dangerous creatures, such as sea snakes, lionfish, stonefish and jellyfish. You should exercise a lot of caution while swimming off the west coast of Phuket during the rainy season (May – October) due to rough seas.
The tap water in Thailand is safe for showering & brushing teeth .
Water in Phuket . The tap water in Thailand is not safe to drink . Drink only bottled water or from a flask supplied from the hotel. Most street kitchen use tank water , this is good for Thais who are used to the bakteria but not for the turist.