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to the former Kingdom of Pattani, an Islamic kingdom whose territory straddled the present-day border between Thailand and Malaysia. Accordingly, the south shares both a border and a cultural heritage with its predominantly Muslim neighbour. Indeed, most of Thailand’s southern Muslims are ethnically Malay and speak Malay or Yawi (a dialect of Malay written in the Arabic script) in addition to Thai. These cultural differences, inflamed by a history of perceived religious and linguistic discrimination, have led to a feeling of disconnection from the Buddhist mainland among a radical few of the southern Muslims. Some have called for secession, and fewer still have, in the past, taken up armed insurgency.

Proper etiquette in Thai Muslim communities is simple and predictable. Islam forbids the consumption of pork and alcohol. In very conservative communities, multigender groups will be split off into separate rooms upon arrival. Men and women will be reunited as they depart. Just as is the case when visiting wát, mosques will not permit entry to those in shorts or shoes. Women should not wear short skirts, sleeveless tops or any particularly revealing clothing; simply think conservative. Unless invited to do so, avoid entering the mosque’s main prayer hall, as this is a sacred space intended for Muslims. Do not bring cameras, and remember to turn off mobile phones.

Friday is the day of the Sabbath, with religious activities culminating between 11am and 2pm. Locals may be too busy on Friday for visitors and most restaurants close during this time.

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TRAIN

Trains from Bangkok to Sungai Kolok leave in the early afternoon and take 20 hours (180B to 1000B) – you’ll arrive at around 10am, which will give you plenty of time to get the heck out of town. If you are on a train passing between Thailand and Malaysia (in either direction) there is really no reason to disembark here. Daily departures connect Sungai Kolok to Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Hat Yai – all of them continue on to Bangkok.

From Rantau Panjang (Malaysian side), a share taxi to Kota Bharu will cost about RM$8 per person (about 80B) or about RM$30 to charter the whole car yourself. The ride takes around an hour.

Getting Around

The border is about 1km from the centre of Sungai Kolok or the train station. Motorcycle taxis zoom around town – it’ll cost you around 30B to make the ride between the city centre and the border.

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Directory

CONTENTS

Accommodation

Activities

Business Hours

Children

Climate Charts

Courses

Customs Regulations

Dangers & Annoyances

Embassies & Consulates

Festivals & Events

Food

Gay & Lesbian Travellers

Holidays

Insurance

Internet Access

Legal Matters

Maps

Money

Photography & Video

Post

Shopping

Telephone

Time

Toilets

Tourist Information

Travellers With Disabilities

Visas

Women Travellers

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ACCOMMODATION

Thailand offers a wide variety of accommodation from cheap and basic to pricey and luxurious. Accommodation rates listed in this book are high-season prices for either single or double rooms. Icons are included to indicate where internet access, swimming pools or air-con are available; otherwise, assume that there’s a fan.

A two-tiered pricing system has been used in this book to determine budget category (budget, midrange, top end). In big cities and beach resorts, rates under 1000B are budget, under 3000B are midrange, with top end over 3000B. For small towns, rates under 600B are budget, under 1500B are midrange and top end over 1500B.

In places where spoken English might be limited, it is handy to have the following: hôrng pát lom (room with fan) and hôrng aa (room with air-con).

The following are descriptions of the types of lodging you’ll find in Thailand.

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Guesthouses

Guesthouses are generally the cheapest accommodation in Thailand and can be found all along the backpacker trail. In areas like the northeast and parts of the southeast, guesthouses (as well as tourists) are not