Rob and Anna's travel adventure

We have almost reached the end of the journey of this part of SE Asia.  With only three stops left, it feels both good and sad to be ending the journey.  After crossing the Malaysian-Thai border, we hopped on a local bus to take us back to Songkhla.  We have been in Songkhla on a number of occasions, and are planning to stay with the same lovely Thai lady who runs a small hotel, which luckily for us still has not made it to any guide-books - meaning the genuine hospitality and peace prevail.  It is a very pleasant two-storey house with large clean sunny rooms surrounded by tropical garden. 

It also happens to be Rob's birthday, and I thought we'd deviate from the traditional Thai food and stinky shrimp paste, and will try to find some North American junk food for a "treat".  The Thai  "flag ship" store 711 seems like the closest match.  So, for a picnic on the beach I picked up some baked hotdogs in fresh buns, potato chips, chocolate brownies, pop, and a few typical junk food items.  For a fresh dessert we also went to a night food market, and imagine my surprise when we saw several tables selling THE staple of North American junk diet - donuts!  They looked quite cute - tiny round puffy things in various colours beautifully decorated, with a twist however...  When we put them in our mouth, the first bite was pleasant (well - just the way you'd expect donuts to taste), the second bite was acceptable - sweet and creamy filling, the third bite was strange - it tasted like fish or shrimp...  Wait a second, those ARE the pieces of fish and shrimp wrapped up in sugary whip cream!  OK, there is simply no way getting away from that shrimp pallet here in Thailand, just have to accept it. 

We have wandered off on one of our usual beach walks to see what other parts of town were like; came to find out we would have to walk five more kilometers as we reached a point of no return - there was a "no-crossing" military airport surrounded by tall gates and barb wire.  That didn't stop us however - we continued on and ended up in a part of town that most tourists never see - a long row of slum houses with their own market and food stalls.  Locals stared at us like we were from another planet - they probably have never seen Westerners here before, and quite unlikely they'll see another one soon... 

Over all, the town of Songkhla is quite pleasant, and most importantly it is off the tourist radar for now.

Just a stop-over to break a journey on the way back to Bangkok.  Really nothing special to report.  Just a normal Thai town, busy with traffic and street stalls, a few markets, and cheap places to stay.  We did pick up a tasty ripe jack-fruit here, which locals chickens insisted on sharing with us.  At night an impromptu night market developed right in front of our hotel with local ladies cooking up rice biryani dishes served at plastic tables set up along the sidewalk.  Food was tasty and cheap, and no shrimp paste added for a change.  The next morning we boarded a long-haul bus on the way to Bangkok.  By the way, majority of Thai buses are probably the most comfortable buses we have ridden anywhere - they are usually super clean double-deckers with reclining seats, window curtains, storage compartments, many have a "stewardess" going along, and some include little snack packages.  All announcements are done in Thai, so it helps to establish a connection with Thai fellow-passengers to understand what's being announced.  Some buses include meal stops in the ticket prices, and usually stop at restaurants with pre-selected menu.  Food usually consists of baked fish, watered-down rice porridge, bitter bamboo shoots curry, and some spiced up stinky dried-out shrimp (how could you not include the latter), so basically it is hardly for a Western palate.  We join Thai passengers nevertheless, creating surprised, if not shocked, looks from other Westerners who happen to be on a bus.  All part of the experience, right?