Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [618]
Getting There & Around
From Songkhla you’ll have to go to Hat Yai to reach most long-distance destinations in the south (trains no longer pass through town).
The government bus station is located a few hundred metres south of the Viva Hotel. Three 2nd-class buses go daily to Bangkok (593B), stopping in Chumphon (312B), Nakhon Si Thammarat (136B) and Surat Thani (207B), among other places. One VIP bus to Bangkok leaves at 5pm (1125B).
To Hat Yai, buses (19B) and minivans (25B) take around 40 minutes and leave from Th Ramwithi. Sŏrng·ta·ou also leave from here for Ko Yo. Minivans to Pattani (90B) and Yala (100B) leave from the southern part of Th Ramwithi from 6am to 5pm.
Motorcycle taxis around town cost around 20B during the day; rates double at night. There’s a taxi and motorcycle taxi stand beside Corner Bier.
YALA PROVINCE
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YALA
pop 99,954
Landlocked Yala feels quite different from the neighbouring towns. The city’s gaping boulevards and well-organised street grid feels distinctly Western, especially since Yala is predominantly a university town. Thailand’s ‘cleanest city’, as it’s known, attracts bright minds from all over the kingdom.
Yala’s biggest attraction is Wat Kuha Pi Muk (also called Wat Na Tham or Cave-front Temple), 8km west of town on the road connecting Yala to Hat Yai (Hwy 409). This Srivijaya-period cave temple features a reclining Buddha that dates back to AD 757. A statue of a giant guards the temple’s entrance, and inside small natural openings in the cave’s roof let in the sun’s rays to illuminate a variety of ancient Buddhist cave drawings. Kuha Pi Muk is one of the most important pilgrimage points in southern Thailand.
Take a breather from wát ogling and check out what is known as the largest mail box in Thailand, built in the township of Betong in 1924.
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Sleeping & Eating
The lack of tourism means great bargains for a comfy bed.
Chang Lee Hotel (0 7324 4600; 318 Th Sirirot; r 300B; as) A 15-minute walk from the train station, the Chang Lee has plush rooms that cater to business travellers. Facilities include a karaoke nightclub and coffee shop.
Although inland, Yala has several excellent seafood restaurants – there’s a cluster around Th Pitipakdee and Th Sribumrung. Rice and noodle stalls abound near the train station.
Getting There & Around
Buses to Hat Yai (150B, 2½ hours) stop several time a day on Th Sirirot, outside the Prudential TS Life office. Across the street is the stop for other short- to medium-distance buses north. Daily train destinations from Yala include Bangkok (600B to 1700B) and Sungai Kolok (3rd class 65B).
PATTANI PROVINCE
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PATTANI
pop 44,800
Like a rebellious child that can never get along with his stepmother, Pattani has never quite adjusted to Thai rule. It was once the heart and soul of a large Muslim principality that included the nearby provinces of Yala and Narathiwat. Although today’s political situation has stunted the area’s development, Pattani has a 500-year history of trading with world’s most notorious imperial powerhouses. The Portuguese established a trading post here in 1516, the Japanese passed through in 1605, the Dutch in 1609, and the British flexed their colonial muscle in 1612.
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Orientation & Information
Mae Nam Pattani (Pattani River) acts as a divider between the older town to the east and the newer town to the west. Along Th Ruedi you can see what is left of old Pattani architecture – the Sino-Portuguese style that was once so prevalent in this part of southern Thailand. On Th Arnoaru there are several very old, but still quite intact, Chinese-style homes. There are several banks along the southeastern end of Th Pipit, near the Th Naklua Yarang intersection.
Internet cafe (cnr Th Pipit Talattewiwat