Nakhon Si has been a very offbeat experience so far. Hardly anybody speaks English, only some of the hotel’s reception staff do. Yet to get around town and buy food and drinks my Thai is sufficient and it’s actually fun to have need for it once. The hotel I am staying at is located off a small street that turns into a buzzing little market during day time. They also have a market IN the hotel.

Image © Bangkok Post In Malaysia I came across a traveller (German girl) who wanted to enter Thailand through the southern provinces. I asked her whether she wasn’t concerned about her safety. ‘No’ she said, ‘Thailand is ok’.’ Yes’ I answered, ‘but not the deep South’. I explained the situation to her and she got upset. ‘How come people didn’t tell me about that, that’s so dangerous’. She was a prime example of the mind-less/brain-less traveller.

On the east coast of southern Thailand lies the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat. It is one of the oldest cities around and offers the usual mix of temples, beaches and a national park. Yet for some reason it sees few tourists and that made it even more interesting for me. This morning I took the trusty old Songthaew for a more than uncomfortable ride out to the bus station. Tickets to Nakhon were not for sale at the station and were only sold on the bus itself.

Between Krabi and Ao Nang is a peninsula commonly referred to as Rai Leh and commonly described as a mighty fine piece of beach. The whole peninsula is cut off the mainland by a series of rocks/mountains that make any road impossible and boats the only way of access. From Krabi the boat costs a mere 150 Baht but the waiting time can be considerable as the boat man wants to have 7-8 passengers to make enough money off the ride.

I started my day early with a visit to the local market. They have a speciality here that I wanted to try (Kaow Yum, rice with herbs) and apparently it’s more of a breakfast dish. The market is located centrally in town and just a short drive from where I’m staying. After making my way through the veggies department and the fish merchants I reached the ‘food court’ area. Before I could hunt down Kaow Yum the market stopped for a minute while the national anthem played.

For most tourists and travellers, Krabi is just a stop-over on the way to the islands or surrounding beaches. The town itself doesn’t have much of a beach (a small stretch of sand near the river) and thus is lacking what tourists are looking for in this area. The touristy part of town seems to be quite small and just around the corner from my guest house is a Thai neighbourhood with a nice little Thai restaurant.

Hired a scooter, drove around, took pictures. Beach near Ao Nang, half an hour from Krabi At the Sai Thai Pier It was the Year 2004… The local Landscape That is one big Squid Local Politician?

After more than two splendid weeks, it was time to say goodbye to Malaysia. The country is a fierce contender for a top spot on my list of favourite countries. It is easy to travel in but is significantly less touristy than Thailand (at least concerning western tourists). The locals have been open and friendly and the food was as diverse as good. I wanted to spend the second half of my trip in Thailand and my stay in George Town was meant to be just a stop-over on the way there.

This place is a food Mecca. Chinese, Indians and Malays compete in dishing out the largest variety of delicacies and you can’t walk 100m without coming across something yummy. The streets are very busy but fortunately the place has a nicer flair than the really big cities. It reminds me of Melaka in several ways (including the ever-present open gutters, yuck). Yesterday evening two travellers from the hostel and me took the ferry over to the mainland for some sunset photography.

On my last day in Kota Bharu I spent a lot of time at the local franchise of a big international fast food chain, trying to use their internet for my travel plans. It was horribly slow though and the location rather noise, resulting in me deciding to leave the next day and doing the preparations elsewhere. In the afternoon Nik took me for a ride around town. We stopped at a Chinese temple that features one of the biggest Buddha statues I’ve seen so far.