Southern Thailand
Anna's entry:
SATUN
What a refreshing change after congested Penang! We have been to Satun before and liked it. Southern Thailand still remains on the list of "places to avoid" due to occasional religious and political squabbles (and bombings in early 2000's), which helps to keep the tourist crowds away and preserve the genuine Thai hospitality. One example to share - one afternoon we were waiting outside a store and happened to stand next to a digital weighing scale. A local lady brought her young son to step on the scale. The machine was acting up, so we helped the lady with the reading. She thought we might also like to use the machine, and with a smile offered us the coin so we could join the activity. Naturally, we declined the kind offer, but the genuine gesture was certainly noticed. Another example is a seemingly lacking double-tier pricing (prices are posted and remain the same for both locals and outsiders). The third example is honest transportation pricing on government buses which are becoming increasingly obsolete (the biggest ripoff bus station seems to be in the neighbouring Hat Yai, which quadruple-overcharges foreigners). So, yes, Satun definitely remains refreshingly honest and easy going.
When we arrived in Satun, bloody anti-government demonstrations were on the rise in Bangkok; however, their version in Satun manifested itself in a couple of outdoor political gatherings and speeches accompanied by a picnic and dancing afterwards. Over all, locals still remained quite mellow and laid-back. AND, the traffic is so much better behaved here, with local drivers actually stopping on red lights and not blocking pedestrian walkways (Penang - take a lesson from your northern neighbour!).
We stayed at the same hotel as four years ago - room was clean, bright, with working TV and less than $7 per night price tag. The night food market was relatively small, but we were able to locate a popular stall run by young Muslim ladies where we ate freshly fried crispy chicken accompanied with sticky rice and sweet chili sauce all for about $1 per person. For desert, we would pick up fresh local sweet jackfruit or a grapefruit-like juicy fruit pieces from another stall. And, as for the drink of choice, it was definitely our all time favourite Thai tea - an icy-cold sweet milky tea-based product from THE so-cherished Thai 711 store. Thai tea costs about 50 cents here compared to the $4.50 plus tax equivalent in North America. Both Rob and I love the 711 Thai tea so much, that it would have been a reason enough in itself to cross the border to get it.
After a few days of R&R we were ready to make our way to the city of Trang. We took a simple government bus which looked beat-up on the outside, but came with a few super cute features on the inside: polished up (real) wooden floor, and glistening stainless steel ceiling (and, of course, local love songs on the TV screen). It felt like were were riding an antique bus! The back door stayed opened throughout the three-hour journey bringing fresh air and allowing us to observe the real life of so many places we went by. We were joined by a local chatty lady on our back seats, who was eager to converse with us and show us her basket of vegetables and herbs she was transporting. We shared with her and another smiling man passenger our bags of peanuts (one salted, one chocolate covered), and overall had a great bus ride.
KO KRADAN
The city of Trang (see detailed blog about the town following this entry below) was our connecting point for the island of Ko Kradan. Supposedly one of the prettiest island in the Andaman sea, it had been frequently overlooked by us in our previous journeys in Thailand - as we do not trust places known to general tourism. However, we had some time to spare during this trip, so we dedicated four days for the island detour. As it turned out, we had been correct to question Ko Kradan's "worthwhileness". For independent adventuresome travellers Ko Kradan is a waste of time. The negatives are - the island accommodation options are overpriced (we had reserved our beach bungalow prior to the arrival and got an OK deal, but still very high for Thai standards at $23 per night); restaurant food prices are a ripoff (we brought all our own food supplies with us, and saved a good deal); too many Western tourists (lazy-smoking-fat-and-stupid type mentality); snorkeling is bad and the reef is in a very poor condition; boat and van transportation to get to the island is fixed by a local cartel and is overpriced as well. The positives are - when tourists are away, the island could get quite peaceful in the evenings and early mornings; the landscape and white sand beach are picturesque, it also changes with a tide; the sunrise is pretty; the island is a good base to combine a visit to the famous Tham Morakot ( the Emerald Cave), as long as you don't mind to be ripped off by the hotels and/or boatmen. I was able to book our boat ride to the cave with the National Park guys for about 30-40% less than the hotels charged. Actually, our hotel owner tried (but failed) to intercept our transaction with the National Park Office - the boatman was his drinking buddy, but the boatman had to report to his boss at the National Park Office; guess who won that game?!
We ended up going to the cave like VIPs - Rob and I (and the boatman) in one boat, with the National Park Officers dressed in the serious military-looking uniforms escorting us in their official boat. Not sure why exactly they decided to escort us, but it was nice of them. They also waited for us at the cave entrance for over an hour (most people go in and out quite quickly). Other tourists didn't know what to think about us and all that "escort service", but we certainly felt protected, and no shenanigans of any kind happened on the N.P. Watch. The cave experience was new for us - we had to swim/snorkel in the complete pitch-black darkness for about 80 meters along the cave tunnel that sometimes would take unexpected turns. The end of the cave tunnel had an opening, and during the low tide served also as an access to the secret lagoon surrounded by rocky mountain walls, just like a grand chimney, with the blue sky right above us. It was pretty cool! In old times, the cave had served a secret hide-away for pirates (presumably including the (in)famous Sir Francis Drake), who used the cave for hiding their treasures, so it gave a special mysterious touch to already an unusual place... We had the time, so we swam that cave tunnel passage a couple of times, and at one point had the entire lagoon to ourselves (which is quite unusual as the cave trip is quite popular around here). The cave experience was definitely the highlight of the Ko Kradan detour. As for the Ko Kradan island itself - no interest to return.
TRANG
We based ourselves in the city of Trang for about five nights before and after our Ko Kradan detour (see above), and actually enjoyed it. Most of the Western tourists seemed to be either in-and-out of town in an hour, basically seeing only a bus station and/or travel agents' kiosks; or those who "braved" themselves to stick around, and preferred to spend their hours in the "Western enclaves" consisting of coffee shops or bars. So typical... What those tourists missed out on were three main things - the real Thai city, fantastic night markets, and extravagant Chinese New Year celebration. The city was brightly decorated with numerous lanterns, colourful light displays and sculptures, had several nights of festivities, and even turned several streets into pedestrian-only food night markets. Trang has probably THE largest/best food night scene we've seen in Thailand - on weekends they actually offer two grand markets with tons of food items and live entertainment. Rob and I have spent a good amount of time in Thailand, and do not care too much for the real Thai food (the REAL one, not the one modified for Western tourists, or what we cook at home). By "real" Thai food we mean pigs' intestines, stomachs, kidneys, hearts; chicken blood cubes, feet, head; fish head with eyes staring at you, and other body parts that would be impolite to write about, followed by bitter bamboo shoots and excruciating injection of hot chilies and disgusting/offensive stink of shrimp paste, when a question comes up - what seems to be dead around here?). Even for us, Trang had tons of super delicious food choices and we could spend hours wandering around night market food stalls and indulging ourselves in the tasty options. It was also our second New Year celebration - the first "normal one" was in Ambon, Indonesia. This was the second celebration of the New Year 2557 (yes, Thai calendar is ahead of all of us; and no - it is not year 2014 as you thought), it's almost like we were in the time machine. In either case, we enjoyed it quite a bit. Over all, good stop-over and good positive 2014 (2057) memories.
SONGKHLA
We have been here so many times (with several blog entries posted of the years), so this visit was another "walk along the memory lane". It is actually fun to compare our photos from years ago - with a mermaid, or the cat-and-mouth sculpture, or on top of the hill overlooking the sweeping ocean... We stayed with the same local lady who owns a cute (good value at $8 a night) hotel in a peaceful garden. It is nice and easy to be in the familiar environment and re-visit with people we have known over the years. I also was able to indulge into a full-body Thai massage for $6 an hour. The Thai lady (or possibly lady-boy, not sure exactly) was very skillful, did an excellent job straightening my achy muscles; my body was making strange cracking noises, and was twisted in all kinds of stretching positions making me think I was groomed to join the gymnastics team. The massage lady utilized her hands, arms, legs, and feet. At one point my body was lifted up by pulling my arms and shoulders from behind, and then twisted in an arch over the massagist's shoulders. So, yes after the Thai massage techniques, it is quite boring to go back to the Western practitioners...
There was also one negative change to Songkhla - the transportation in and out of town was taken over by cartel (we suspect running by Hat Yai corrupt transportation management). In the past, there was a perfectly good, reliable and inexpensive government bus going to Hat Yai, but it was pushed out by filthy private songthaew drivers and minivans. The price was still reasonable, EXCEPT that majority of drivers refused boarding to the farang (foreign tourists), insisting to either overcharge them or leaving them on the road with an only expensive option - charter. We faced this situation ourselves and were quite disappointed. Luckily for us, there was a local Thai man who flagged out a local passenger van for us, and we got actually lucky to get a rare honest driver who charged all passengers (local Thais and us) fairly, and dropped us off exactly where we needed to be, without any issues. If the transportation situation remains corrupt, however, Songkhla will remain just that "the memory lane". We hope it won't be the case - the town is certainly a lot better alternative to a nearby soulless Hat Yai...
HAT YAI
Years ago, Hat Yai used to be our base for crossing from and into Malaysia, however, due to the hotel bed bug scare several years ago, we "traded" it up for a mellow and easy-going Songkhla. This time around however, we had to spend a night in Hat Yai because we had an early morning transportation booked up for crossing back into Malaysia. Hat Yai has not changed - food options are not that great and overpriced; it is over-touristed (Malaysians come here for shopping and "sin city" activities); there isn't that really much to do... Fortunately for us, the timing of our visit there coincided with the week-long Chinese New Celebration. So, here it was our THIRD (this year) New Year celebration. And, again, we welcomed the New 2557 Year (according to the Thai calendar), also known as the Year of the Horse. During the festivities, we ran into an expat lady living in Hat Yai for over 20 years. She shared with us a locally known secret - a great panoramic observation area located on the 33rd floor in the city center. We went to check it out - the views were fantastic, and to our pleasant surprise, there was also a decent (and reasonably priced) dinner buffet. Too bad, we had already eaten at a night market, otherwise, it would have been a good choice. Perhaps, we'll try it the next time we are in Hat Yai...
This concludes the Southern Thailand entry - next stop is back in Malaysia, or as Rob calls it - Ma-LAZY-a...
SATUN
What a refreshing change after congested Penang! We have been to Satun before and liked it. Southern Thailand still remains on the list of "places to avoid" due to occasional religious and political squabbles (and bombings in early 2000's), which helps to keep the tourist crowds away and preserve the genuine Thai hospitality. One example to share - one afternoon we were waiting outside a store and happened to stand next to a digital weighing scale. A local lady brought her young son to step on the scale. The machine was acting up, so we helped the lady with the reading. She thought we might also like to use the machine, and with a smile offered us the coin so we could join the activity. Naturally, we declined the kind offer, but the genuine gesture was certainly noticed. Another example is a seemingly lacking double-tier pricing (prices are posted and remain the same for both locals and outsiders). The third example is honest transportation pricing on government buses which are becoming increasingly obsolete (the biggest ripoff bus station seems to be in the neighbouring Hat Yai, which quadruple-overcharges foreigners). So, yes, Satun definitely remains refreshingly honest and easy going.
When we arrived in Satun, bloody anti-government demonstrations were on the rise in Bangkok; however, their version in Satun manifested itself in a couple of outdoor political gatherings and speeches accompanied by a picnic and dancing afterwards. Over all, locals still remained quite mellow and laid-back. AND, the traffic is so much better behaved here, with local drivers actually stopping on red lights and not blocking pedestrian walkways (Penang - take a lesson from your northern neighbour!).
We stayed at the same hotel as four years ago - room was clean, bright, with working TV and less than $7 per night price tag. The night food market was relatively small, but we were able to locate a popular stall run by young Muslim ladies where we ate freshly fried crispy chicken accompanied with sticky rice and sweet chili sauce all for about $1 per person. For desert, we would pick up fresh local sweet jackfruit or a grapefruit-like juicy fruit pieces from another stall. And, as for the drink of choice, it was definitely our all time favourite Thai tea - an icy-cold sweet milky tea-based product from THE so-cherished Thai 711 store. Thai tea costs about 50 cents here compared to the $4.50 plus tax equivalent in North America. Both Rob and I love the 711 Thai tea so much, that it would have been a reason enough in itself to cross the border to get it.
After a few days of R&R we were ready to make our way to the city of Trang. We took a simple government bus which looked beat-up on the outside, but came with a few super cute features on the inside: polished up (real) wooden floor, and glistening stainless steel ceiling (and, of course, local love songs on the TV screen). It felt like were were riding an antique bus! The back door stayed opened throughout the three-hour journey bringing fresh air and allowing us to observe the real life of so many places we went by. We were joined by a local chatty lady on our back seats, who was eager to converse with us and show us her basket of vegetables and herbs she was transporting. We shared with her and another smiling man passenger our bags of peanuts (one salted, one chocolate covered), and overall had a great bus ride.
KO KRADAN
The city of Trang (see detailed blog about the town following this entry below) was our connecting point for the island of Ko Kradan. Supposedly one of the prettiest island in the Andaman sea, it had been frequently overlooked by us in our previous journeys in Thailand - as we do not trust places known to general tourism. However, we had some time to spare during this trip, so we dedicated four days for the island detour. As it turned out, we had been correct to question Ko Kradan's "worthwhileness". For independent adventuresome travellers Ko Kradan is a waste of time. The negatives are - the island accommodation options are overpriced (we had reserved our beach bungalow prior to the arrival and got an OK deal, but still very high for Thai standards at $23 per night); restaurant food prices are a ripoff (we brought all our own food supplies with us, and saved a good deal); too many Western tourists (lazy-smoking-fat-and-stupid type mentality); snorkeling is bad and the reef is in a very poor condition; boat and van transportation to get to the island is fixed by a local cartel and is overpriced as well. The positives are - when tourists are away, the island could get quite peaceful in the evenings and early mornings; the landscape and white sand beach are picturesque, it also changes with a tide; the sunrise is pretty; the island is a good base to combine a visit to the famous Tham Morakot ( the Emerald Cave), as long as you don't mind to be ripped off by the hotels and/or boatmen. I was able to book our boat ride to the cave with the National Park guys for about 30-40% less than the hotels charged. Actually, our hotel owner tried (but failed) to intercept our transaction with the National Park Office - the boatman was his drinking buddy, but the boatman had to report to his boss at the National Park Office; guess who won that game?!
We ended up going to the cave like VIPs - Rob and I (and the boatman) in one boat, with the National Park Officers dressed in the serious military-looking uniforms escorting us in their official boat. Not sure why exactly they decided to escort us, but it was nice of them. They also waited for us at the cave entrance for over an hour (most people go in and out quite quickly). Other tourists didn't know what to think about us and all that "escort service", but we certainly felt protected, and no shenanigans of any kind happened on the N.P. Watch. The cave experience was new for us - we had to swim/snorkel in the complete pitch-black darkness for about 80 meters along the cave tunnel that sometimes would take unexpected turns. The end of the cave tunnel had an opening, and during the low tide served also as an access to the secret lagoon surrounded by rocky mountain walls, just like a grand chimney, with the blue sky right above us. It was pretty cool! In old times, the cave had served a secret hide-away for pirates (presumably including the (in)famous Sir Francis Drake), who used the cave for hiding their treasures, so it gave a special mysterious touch to already an unusual place... We had the time, so we swam that cave tunnel passage a couple of times, and at one point had the entire lagoon to ourselves (which is quite unusual as the cave trip is quite popular around here). The cave experience was definitely the highlight of the Ko Kradan detour. As for the Ko Kradan island itself - no interest to return.
TRANG
We based ourselves in the city of Trang for about five nights before and after our Ko Kradan detour (see above), and actually enjoyed it. Most of the Western tourists seemed to be either in-and-out of town in an hour, basically seeing only a bus station and/or travel agents' kiosks; or those who "braved" themselves to stick around, and preferred to spend their hours in the "Western enclaves" consisting of coffee shops or bars. So typical... What those tourists missed out on were three main things - the real Thai city, fantastic night markets, and extravagant Chinese New Year celebration. The city was brightly decorated with numerous lanterns, colourful light displays and sculptures, had several nights of festivities, and even turned several streets into pedestrian-only food night markets. Trang has probably THE largest/best food night scene we've seen in Thailand - on weekends they actually offer two grand markets with tons of food items and live entertainment. Rob and I have spent a good amount of time in Thailand, and do not care too much for the real Thai food (the REAL one, not the one modified for Western tourists, or what we cook at home). By "real" Thai food we mean pigs' intestines, stomachs, kidneys, hearts; chicken blood cubes, feet, head; fish head with eyes staring at you, and other body parts that would be impolite to write about, followed by bitter bamboo shoots and excruciating injection of hot chilies and disgusting/offensive stink of shrimp paste, when a question comes up - what seems to be dead around here?). Even for us, Trang had tons of super delicious food choices and we could spend hours wandering around night market food stalls and indulging ourselves in the tasty options. It was also our second New Year celebration - the first "normal one" was in Ambon, Indonesia. This was the second celebration of the New Year 2557 (yes, Thai calendar is ahead of all of us; and no - it is not year 2014 as you thought), it's almost like we were in the time machine. In either case, we enjoyed it quite a bit. Over all, good stop-over and good positive 2014 (2057) memories.
SONGKHLA
We have been here so many times (with several blog entries posted of the years), so this visit was another "walk along the memory lane". It is actually fun to compare our photos from years ago - with a mermaid, or the cat-and-mouth sculpture, or on top of the hill overlooking the sweeping ocean... We stayed with the same local lady who owns a cute (good value at $8 a night) hotel in a peaceful garden. It is nice and easy to be in the familiar environment and re-visit with people we have known over the years. I also was able to indulge into a full-body Thai massage for $6 an hour. The Thai lady (or possibly lady-boy, not sure exactly) was very skillful, did an excellent job straightening my achy muscles; my body was making strange cracking noises, and was twisted in all kinds of stretching positions making me think I was groomed to join the gymnastics team. The massage lady utilized her hands, arms, legs, and feet. At one point my body was lifted up by pulling my arms and shoulders from behind, and then twisted in an arch over the massagist's shoulders. So, yes after the Thai massage techniques, it is quite boring to go back to the Western practitioners...
There was also one negative change to Songkhla - the transportation in and out of town was taken over by cartel (we suspect running by Hat Yai corrupt transportation management). In the past, there was a perfectly good, reliable and inexpensive government bus going to Hat Yai, but it was pushed out by filthy private songthaew drivers and minivans. The price was still reasonable, EXCEPT that majority of drivers refused boarding to the farang (foreign tourists), insisting to either overcharge them or leaving them on the road with an only expensive option - charter. We faced this situation ourselves and were quite disappointed. Luckily for us, there was a local Thai man who flagged out a local passenger van for us, and we got actually lucky to get a rare honest driver who charged all passengers (local Thais and us) fairly, and dropped us off exactly where we needed to be, without any issues. If the transportation situation remains corrupt, however, Songkhla will remain just that "the memory lane". We hope it won't be the case - the town is certainly a lot better alternative to a nearby soulless Hat Yai...
HAT YAI
Years ago, Hat Yai used to be our base for crossing from and into Malaysia, however, due to the hotel bed bug scare several years ago, we "traded" it up for a mellow and easy-going Songkhla. This time around however, we had to spend a night in Hat Yai because we had an early morning transportation booked up for crossing back into Malaysia. Hat Yai has not changed - food options are not that great and overpriced; it is over-touristed (Malaysians come here for shopping and "sin city" activities); there isn't that really much to do... Fortunately for us, the timing of our visit there coincided with the week-long Chinese New Celebration. So, here it was our THIRD (this year) New Year celebration. And, again, we welcomed the New 2557 Year (according to the Thai calendar), also known as the Year of the Horse. During the festivities, we ran into an expat lady living in Hat Yai for over 20 years. She shared with us a locally known secret - a great panoramic observation area located on the 33rd floor in the city center. We went to check it out - the views were fantastic, and to our pleasant surprise, there was also a decent (and reasonably priced) dinner buffet. Too bad, we had already eaten at a night market, otherwise, it would have been a good choice. Perhaps, we'll try it the next time we are in Hat Yai...
This concludes the Southern Thailand entry - next stop is back in Malaysia, or as Rob calls it - Ma-LAZY-a...
posted by Rob and Anna @ 1:38 PM
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