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The immigrating Chinese Thais who arrived in Phuket during the 19th century tin boom, have had a great impact on Phuket's social fabric. For hundreds of years, Phuket has continued to remain the culminating point of multiple cultures and religions. While the population of Thailand consist more than 90% Buddhists, Phuket, situated in Southern Thailand, has 35% Muslim population and houses more Muslim mosques than Buddhist temples. There are few Hindus, Sikhs and even Christians in Phuket. In Rawai - in the southern part of the island there are large numbers of sea-gypsies. The basic social etiquette and behavior in Phuket is the same as in most parts of Thailand, with the local people being extremely well mannered and polite. Please bear the following guidelines in mind while embarking on a tour to Phuket.
Remember to remove your shoes while entering Thai houses or major offices. If you are to greet a person of equal or superior social rank, place palms together in the region of the solar plexus in a prayer-like manner. This is "wai" or the traditional way of greeting. But remember not to wai people of lower social rank or children.
Address Thai people by preceding their first names with "khun". For instance, if you are addressing someone called Chutima Kittiporn you should address her as "khun Chutima".
The polite Thai way of speaking is to end Thai phrases with "khrap" for males and with "khaa" for females.
The other etiquette and behavior in Phuket is not to ever speak impolitely about the royal family or about anything connected to the King. Wear decent attires when visiting a temple or 'wat'. Don't show outward signs of anger as it is regarded a great sham in Thailand. Showing affection to your partner in public is considered indecent. Females should remember to refrain from touching a Buddhist monk.
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