Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [621]
Air-con buses to Bangkok and Phuket and most minivans now leave from the bus terminal 2km south of town on Th Rangae Munka. The buses to Phuket (530B, 12 hours) originate in Sungai Kolok, pass Narathiwat three times daily (7am, 9am and 6.30pm) and continue via Pattani, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Trang, Krabi and Pha-Ngan. Buses to Bangkok (VIP/1st/2nd class 1295/833/669B) take at least 15 hours and depart several times during the day.
Minivans heading to Hat Yai (150B, three hours), Pattani (100B, 1½ hours), Songkhla (150B, two hours), Sungai Kolok (70B, one hour) and Yala (100B, 1½ hours) generally leave on an hourly basis from 5am to 5pm.
Narathiwat is small enough to navigate by foot, although motorcycle taxis only charge 20B to get around. Keep an eye out for the new buses (9B) that circle around town and stop near Hat Narathat. Look for the light-blue bus-stop signs along Th Phupha Phakdi and Th Pichitbamrung.
SUNGAI KOLOK
pop 40,500
This soulless border town isn’t a destination unto itself so there’s really no reason to spend any time here. Also, the only train that stops in town gets in around 10am, so you’ll have the greater part of a day to find a way out (can you tell how much we love this li’l town?). Sungai Kolok has become quite the mini Pattaya – the border, which opens at 5am and closes at 9pm (6am to 10pm Malaysian time) is clogged during the daylight hours with Malaysian men who snip across country lines for some afternoon delight. In the opposite direction you’ll find savvy Thais who step over to Malaysia for the discounted petrol.
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Information
There are two immigration offices in Sungai Kolok: one at the border (0 7336 1414; 5am-9pm) and a larger office (0 7361 1231; Th Charoenkhet; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) across from the Merlin Hotel. A tourist police office sits at the border. There are plenty of banks with ATMs in town as well as foreign-exchange booths, which are open during border-crossing hours.
CS Internet (Th Asia 18; internet per hr 20B; 10am-9pm) Across from the Genting Hotel.
Sleeping
If you must stay the night in Sungai Kolok, there’s a large assortment of hotels to choose from – most cater to the ‘by-the-hour’ clientele.
Genting Hotel (0 7361 3231; 250 Th Asia 18; r 550-1520B; as) Geared towards the conference trade, the Genting comes equipped with a pub and a karaoke lounge. There are some good, only slightly scuffed, midrange rooms, and it’s away from the seedier areas.
Getting There & Away
BUS & MINIVAN
The long-distance bus station (0 7361 2045) is located east of downtown, from where there are three daily air-con buses for the 18-hour trip to Bangkok (720B to 1400B). From Bangkok, the VIP bus leaves at 5.15pm, three 1st-class buses leave between 9pm and 10pm, and the 2nd-class leaves at 9pm. There are two early-morning buses that head to Phuket (580B), stopping in Krabi (460B) along the way. Minivans to Narathiwat (80B) depart on the half-hour from across from the train station. Minivans heading to Pattani (120B), Yala (90B) and Hat Yai (180B) depart hourly during daylight hours, and leave from the Genting Hotel.
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ISLAM IN THAILAND
At approximately 4% of the population, Muslims make up Thailand’s largest religious minority, living side by side with the majority Theravadin Buddhists. There are some 3000 mosques in Thailand – over 200 in Bangkok alone. Of these mosques, 99% are associated with the Sunni branch of Islam (in which Islamic leadership is vested in the consensus of the Ummah, or Muslim community), and 1% with the Shi’ite branch (in which religious and political authority is given to certain descendants of the Prophet Mohammed).
Islam was introduced to Thailand’s southern region between AD 1200 and AD 1500 through the influence of Indian and Arab traders and scholars. To this day, most of Thailand’s Muslims reside in the south, concentrated in the regions of Pattani, Narathiwat, Satun and Yala. These southerners trace their heritage