Phuket, Thailand

Phuket City is the capital of Phuket Island, the largest island in Thailand, which covers about 540 square kilometers in the Andaman Sea and is home to roughly 80,000 residents. From the 16th century the island served as a major tin-mining hub, drawing Hokkien Chinese laborers whose Sino-Portuguese shophouses still line Thalang Road in the 1900s Old Town. Visitors can climb to the 45-meter Big Buddha statue on Nakkerd Hill or explore Wat Chalong, founded in 1837 and the largest Buddhist temple on the island. The 3-kilometer Patong Beach anchors the west coast, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reshaped much of what stands today.