Phuket

Sino-Portuguese shophouses line Thalang Road, and only the fronts were dressed in western style, so walk it looking up. On Sunday evening the road closes and the stalls come out. Murals are scattered down the side lanes with nothing signposting them.

The cape at the island's south end faces the sunset head on. People settle in an hour beforehand, so arriving late means no front row. The lighthouse by the car park holds a small exhibition. A shrine crowded with elephant figures stands out at the point.

A short beach on its own, over a headland south of Kata. In the dry season the water is clear and the surf low; in the monsoon the rip runs strong and the lifeguards put up red flags. If the flags are up, stay out of the water.

The busiest temple on the island for worshippers, with nowhere to park on a weekend morning. Firecrackers are set off here when a wish is granted, so a brick kiln for burning them stands in the grounds. Stairs inside the chedi open on Chalong Bay.

A hill behind the town, ten minutes up by car. From the top the tight grid of shophouse roofs and the bay beyond it land in the same frame, though trees have grown across parts of the outlook and the clear line is from the far tip of the deck.

A freshwater lagoon sits behind it, so you walk the narrow band of sand between beach and lake. Development came late, big hotels are few, and shade trees reach the sand. The road up to the windmill hill at the southern tip looks back over the whole bay.

This one block is all the primary forest the island has left. Bang Pae waterfall is twenty easy minutes in; Ton Sai above it adds steps and dirt track. A gibbon rehabilitation project sits at the entrance and its enclosures can be seen.

It shares a building with a marine biology institute, so the display is small, stays with Andaman species and takes an hour to walk. A boardwalk out the back crosses mangrove, and what the tide leaves brings crabs out.

Thirty minutes by boat from Bang Rong on the east coast, and inside Phang Nga Bay, so the water stays calm in the monsoon. No traffic light on it; a narrow road threads rubber plantations and people ride it round. The villages are Muslim; cover up on the sand.

It uses the Chinese-language school building put up in 1934 to cover the tin-mining years that drew people here and Baba wedding custom, with one classroom left as it was and labels in Thai, English and Chinese.

On top of Nakkerd Hill a seated Buddha faced in white marble gazes over the island's south. Donations stand in for a ticket, and the entrance hands out wraps for bare shoulders and knees. With such a steep climb by road, a taxi is wiser than a scooter.

The island's busiest beach, parasols ranked all the way down the shore. Bangla Road, running inland from mid-beach, closes to traffic after dark and fills with bar music. Monsoon months bring frequent red-flag days, so check the flag before swimming.

From a pass road in the island's southwest, the curves of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon line up in one look. Parking is tight, and around sunset tour vans clog the verge. A coconut-drink stall stands at the railing.

A long beach of sand fine enough to squeak under bare feet. It is quieter than Patong and runs about 3km. The seabed drops off suddenly in places, and in the monsoon months the surf turns rough.

A small cove hidden past the headland south of Patong, reached by longtail boat or a steep jungle path down. Visibility is good enough for snorkelling right from the shoreline. Walkers pay an entry fee at the trailhead; arriving by boat you pay only the fare.

A short beach between the upmarket resorts of the west coast. Casuarina trees shade the strip behind the beach. Facing west, it catches heavy swell between May and October, with frequent no-swim days.

This strip of sand lies where Phuket airport's runway ends, so landing jets pass low overhead. Its northern part is national park, where sea turtles crawl up the beach to lay eggs. People wait with arrival times open on their phones.

A bay where dozens of limestone towers rise from the sea, including Ko Tapu from the Bond film. Boats are kept back from the rock; the viewing spot is the island facing it. Many tours paddle canoes into lagoons hidden inside the islands.

A Muslim fishing village built on stilts beneath a rock island in Phang Nga Bay. Plank walkways link the homes, the mosque and the village school, and there is a floating football pitch. Tours stop here for lunch before heading back.

An island some 30 minutes by speedboat from Chalong pier in the south of Phuket. The clear water of Patok Bay is a favourite for dive training. Day boats crowd in by afternoon, so take an early one to find the beach empty.

A tin family's mansion built in 1903, still lived in by descendants who show visitors round. Rain falls into a courtyard open to the sky at its centre. Chinese furniture and European tiles share the same rooms.

A Taoist shrine in Phuket Town, most crowded at the Vegetarian Festival of the ninth lunar month, when entranced devotees parade with skewers through their cheeks. For those nine days street food switches to vegetarian under yellow flags.

Pick your catch at the stalls by Rawai pier, pay for it by the kilo, carry it over the road, and the restaurants cook it for a fee. Lobster, mantis shrimp and fish swim in the tubs. A sea-gypsy village lies right beside it.

A big market on the edge of Phuket Town that runs Saturday and Sunday from about 4pm into the night. It splits into food, clothing and plant sections. Locals call it the Phuket Chatuchak after the Bangkok one.