A fair question, especially if you live in North America.

Why Phuket?

Hawaii or the Caribbean are very similar, and much closer. I can’t imagine I would have come here, from L.A., for instance, because the distance is so great. Hawaii is five hours; Phuket is more like 18 from LAX, with a plane change, probably in Hong Kong.

However, if you are from Europe, and you already are weirding out from the cold and the dark (with at least three months to go) …

That would make some sense. And would explain the jumbo-load of Germans we arrived here with.

The Thai service-industry people seem to be friendly, conscientious and competent, and it isn’t often you get all three of those in one package.

It is a bit too warm, for my liking. The average high approaches 90 Fahrenheit all year, it rains 170 out of every 365 days and humidity is 75 percent or higher year-round. Abu Dhabi and the UAE are cooler and dryer, and will be for the next four months.

But, again, if I am a Euro, and the winter is long and dark, I would probably find this enticing. Hawaii is a rumor, in Europe, and the Caribbean is not much closer.

A person can be sure it will not be cold here, and you will be able to lie out by a pool, and you will never need winter clothes. Every night, you can sit outside for dinner; no coats required.

Some services cost very little. A one-hour massage on the beach is about $12. (Of course, if you forget, and get the Thai massage, your limbs will be twisted in ways you may not prefer.)

Eating away from one of the resort hotels is not expensive. Four of us ate tonight for about $50 at a seafood shack/restaurant, and it was perfectly nice — if you don’t mind the occasional flying beetle.

Also, the locals seem quite open-minded about other cultures and customs. I’m not sure any particular activity, especially among tourists, is considered beyond the pale, and in many cases is readily accepted, if not quite encouraged.

The place is relatively safe, too, or so it seems. Safer than, say, Maui or much of the Caribbean — though it is harder to imagine it is safer than Abu Dhabi.

Phuket has up sides. It just would not be my first choice, if I were flying from stateside.