Pattani

I got on the road around 6:30am, with some light drizzle. There was a little traffic out of town, but I soon turned on to a rural route at Yi-Ngo District.

This was my first time in a really local area, and people seemed really surprised to see me. There were may shouts of “Hey you!” and “Hello!” along with plenty of smiles. Some people pulled up beside me on their scooters to ask where I was from and how long I’ve been in Thailand. I’ve heard from others that Thai is not spoken much in these parts—there are many people who are fluent only in Patani Melayu.

After a few villages and country mosques, I made it to my first destination: 300 Years Mosque (Taloh-Manoh Mosque or Wadil-Husen Mosque). I’ve heard that the mosque will be 400 years old next year. It incorporates Chinese, Malay, and Thai elements in its construction and uses no nails or screws, but rather wooden bolts and pins.

I hopped on Highway 42, one of the main thoroughfares in the Deep South, connecting Bangkok to Malaysia. The left shoulder was pretty wide, giving some space for slow-moving vehicles, but the traffic whizzed by fast and close, and there were scooters constantly traveling in the opposite direction to reach a turnaround in the median. It was always a relief to get off that.

Crossing over the Koh Toh Canal, I was in Pattani Province.

I stopped for breakfast at a small shop, had some fish and rice for 20 baht. A little spicy, but not too bad.

I passed through Sai Buri, a fishing town that was once one of the seven Pattani Provinces (there’s even a Sai Buri Street in Songkhla).

There was an old palace there, and a sign said to call Mr. So-and-So to see the inside, and it didn’t seem like anyone was there.

Taking the coastal Highway 4157, I had great views of the Gulf of Thailand on my right. At the small town of บ้านน้ำบ่อ Ban Nam Bo, I saw many scooters parked and heard a lot of noise near a community center and fairground. I pulled off to see what was happening and met a police officer at the gate. He saluted me and pointed to the ground. I thought he wanted me to dismount and park my bike there, but actually he was pointing to a slice of watermelon that he wanted to give me. I thanked him and pushed my bike into the festival while munching on a slice.

There were hundreds of parents and children, loudspeakers, food stalls, games, and kids’ attractions. Many people surrounded me and started talking to me, but very few spoke English. Eventually I met Mr. Sue and Mrs. G, who I think were in charge. They gave me a drink and offered me food. They told me it was a children’s festival.

Beaches

One of the foods on my checklist was pisang goreng, or fried bananas. A woman at stall gave me a huge bag of them along with some fried sweet potatoes for free.

Krue Se Mosque

I made it to Pattani, cheeked in to a new and comfortable hotel, and then went into town for some dinner.