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bungalows 850-1950B) This is easily the most professionally run place on the island, sporting comfy concrete and wooden bungalows perfectly positioned for memorable sunsets. The friendly Dutch owner is chock-full of information and can arrange excellent tailor-made island-hopping tours throughout the region. The resort is open year-round (rates drop by 60% in low season), and the booking office near the train station in Trang can arrange transfers to Sukorn as well as other islands.

GETTING THERE & AWAY

The easiest way to get to Sukorn is by private transfers available with the resort of your choice for around 1800B per person. Adventurous types can head to Palian (a 60B ride on public transportation from Trang) and catch a cheaper long-tail here for around 300B.

From Ko Sukorn you can also charter long-tail boats to get to Ko Bulon Leh or Ko Libong (2500B), as well as to Ko Kradan, Ko Ngai or Ko Muk (3000B).

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Deep South

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SATUN PROVINCE

SATUN

PAK BARA

KO PHETRA MARINE NATIONAL PARK

KO TARUTAO MARINE NATIONAL PARK

SONGKHLA PROVINCE

HAT YAI

SONGKHLA & AROUND

YALA PROVINCE

YALA

PATTANI PROVINCE

PATTANI

NARATHIWAT PROVINCE

NARATHIWAT

SUNGAI KOLOK

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Where is Mr DeMille? – the Deep South is ready for its close-up. After years of waiting in the wings while diva destinations shone under the sun’s tropical spotlight, Thailand’s southern frontier is taking the stage, hungry for attention.

The kingdom’s Deep South darling is Ko Tarutao Marine Park, whose sand-fringed isles swirl in a tapestry of infinite aqua and jade. Head straight to tiny Ko Lipe, then discover the wilds of the neighbouring islands with a troop of local chow lair (sea gypsies).

Exploring the mainland is like opening a clock – a trip to Hat Yai reveals what makes the region tick under the ambient holiday veneer. This trade and transport hub is a rowdy and raucous burg that clangs to the sound of incoming traffic, outgoing produce and haggling in the crowded local markets. The pace is slower in nearby Songkhla, whose urban soundtrack mixes the rhythmic lapping of the tides with the muezzin’s call to prayer.

For the past few years, the political situation in the southernmost provinces (Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat) has been unstable, and travelling here can be a risky venture. Sect violence and bouts of terror-inducing attacks are the norm, and although tourists aren’t the targets of these aggressive outbursts, it’s better not to risk it. It’s a shame though – these sleepy towns silently simmer in 2000 years’ worth of mystical kingdoms, aromatic spice markets and imperialist mercantilism. If, by the time you read this, the heated situation has cooled, consider editing your itinerary to include a little look-see. If not, thumb through the end of this chapter – you might learn a bit more about the many faces in the ‘land of smiles’.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Clicking your camera at a colourful long-tail boat bobbing in the perfect cerulean waters around Ko Lipe ( Click here)

Rummaging through endless market merchandise of questionable authenticity in Hat Yai ( Click here)

Letting the local chow lair guide you to hidden beaches on Ko Adang and Ko Rawi ( Click here)

Enjoying your steaming street-stall noodles on the sands of Songkhla ( Click here)

Swinging in a cotton hammock while swishing your fingers in the warm sand of one of the many islands in Ko Phetra Marine National Park ( Click here)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: DECEMBER–APRIL

POPULATION: 3.91 MILLION

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History

Indian traders first visited the region around 600 BC and introduced Hinduism, which rapidly became the principal faith in the area. By 230 BC, when Chinese traders showed up on the southern shores, large parts of Thailand had been incorporated into the kingdom of Funan, the first state in Southeast Asia. At its peak, the state included large parts of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. However, most of Thailand’s Deep South belonged to a kingdom known as Langka Suka, which neighboured Kedah (in modern-day