White sand beaches, clear blue water, and ideal temperatures have made Thailand's Phuket Island a tropical paradise for visitors. Phuket is Thailand's largest island, located in the Andaman Sea, and its idyllic conditions have made tourism one of the pillars of its economy. Ten years after this photograph was taken, Phuket Island suffered severe damage from a massive tsunami triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. Thai officials have begun a years-long program to rebuild Phuket and lure back visitors.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Many Faces of Thailand," February 1996, National Geographic magazine)
