Phuket Thai Hua Museum

The Phuket Thai Hua Museum occupies one of Old Phuket Town's handsomest buildings, a Sino-Portuguese mansion on Krabi Road built in 1934. It was originally a school, the first Chinese-language school on the island, and it opened as a museum in 2010. The building alone is worth seeing, with its restored wooden staircases, high ceilings and a red bat on the front gable, a symbol the school associated with learning.

The museum explains how Phuket Town came to look and feel the way it does. Its 13 themed rooms on two floors begin with the Hokkien Chinese who came to work in the tin mines, the industry that made the island rich, and the shophouse life that grew up around it. There are sections on the Angyee secret societies that played a part in the island's turbulent nineteenth century, and a recreated classroom from the building's school days. Upstairs, the focus turns to Baba culture: festivals including the Vegetarian Festival, food, traditional dress and the architecture of the old town. Captions are in Thai and English.

Admission is charged, and there is a separate pass if you want to take photographs inside; the exterior and courtyard can be photographed freely. The museum is open from 09:00 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays. Around an hour is enough to see it properly. It is a good choice for a hot or rainy afternoon, and for anyone who wants background before walking the old town streets.

The museum suits adults and older children with an interest in history; younger children may be more taken by the building than the displays. It is a single historic building with stairs to the upper floor, so check access in advance if you have limited mobility.

Thai Hua is right in the old town and easy to combine with a walk. The Shrine of the Serene Light is a few minutes away on foot through a narrow passage, and Thalang Road, Soi Romanee and Phang Nga Road, with their cafés and restored shophouses, are all close by. On Sundays, the walking street market starts on Thalang Road in the late afternoon, so a museum visit followed by the market makes an easy half day.