National Day... an event I have not celebrated for at least the last 10 years. With the raising costs of living in Singapore, it has not endeared me to the current government. What's there to celebrate when Singaporeans don't feel like Singaporeans anymore. So... let's do a road trip! Capitalise on the long holiday weekend.
The decision to go Narathiwat was fueled by curiousity about a huge Buddha image in Narathiwat province. At the same time, there is huge apprehension about venturing into Southern Thailand. Since 2004, there has been a huge escalation of violence in the area. By end 2012 the conflict since 2004 had resulted in some 3,380 deaths, including 2,316 civilians, 372 troops, 278 police, 250 suspected insurgents, 157 education officials and seven Buddhist monks. For more information, you can read up here.
In the end, the pull of wanting to visit this Buddhist image won. We asked for blessing from Buddha, did our research on the places we wanted to go and prepared for the trip. Initially, we thought of entering Thailand from one of the other border checkpoints besides Sadao but later on, settled on the safer route. Going in from Sadao first would give us some time to check with the locals on the situation at Narathiwat and the other southern towns before proceeding.
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| 1,104 km from Singapore to Narathiwat, approximately 10 - 12 hours drive |
From Singapore, take E2 then after KL, E1 all the way to Bukit Kayu Hitam border checkpoint. After crossing over to Thailand, take Highway 4 until you reach Tha Pho town, then turn right onto Highway 42. From there on, just follow the road, passing Pattani, all the way to Narathiwat. From the Thai border to Narathiwat, it takes roughly 2 hours, depending on traffic conditions and how fast you drive. On the way, you can take a small detour and visit Pattani before proceeding on to Narathiwat.
On entering Highway 42, almost immediately you start to get army check-stops along the way.
We did not get disturbed by the army, just general questions of where were we from, where are we going, etc. But still to us, their constant presence is a stark reminder of the seriousness of the situation in Southern Thailand. Later on in Pattani, even going to the supermarket, we had to present our passport for them to scan and our car got checked for possibility of bombs. The hotels were doing the same as well.
As we were clocking good time driving to Narathiwat, we decided to pass through Pattani town before getting back onto Highway 42. The town looked interesting enough with a Big C Supermarket just on the edge of town and a busy looking fishing port. We made a note to try and visit Pattani again.
And it's back on the road to Narathiwat.
About 73km after Pattani, there is a Bacho waterfall on the right side (if you are heading towards Narathiwat). This 60 metre-high waterfall is the most beautiful cascade in Narathiwat province. It is located 1 kilometre from Bacho District, or some 26 km north of the provincial on the Narathiwat-Pattani road (Highway 42 ). A turning at 73km leads to the waterfall, some 2 km distance. You will be able to spot the signboard.
Definitely has the makings of an impressive waterfall but I guess we came before the rainy season has hit this area so the water volume is on the low side. I can imagine how much nicer the waterfall can be if there is more water.
Finally we reached Narathiwat roughly about 4.30pm. After checking into the hotel, I wanted to check out Narathat Beach, which is on the northern part of Narathiwat Town.
They had sort of a pasar malam at the beach, selling tinkets, snack food and all sorts of household stuff. You won't find sun-bathers and bikini babes though. Narathiwat being mostly a Muslim community and with all the bombings and violence, the white sandy beaches are almost devoid of any leisure beach activities. Which is pity.
Disappointed with the beach, we looked for somewhere to settle down for dinner. Communication with the locals was pretty difficult. Almost nobody spoke any form of English and we definitely did not know how to speak Thai or Malay. And apparently, the malay tongue spoken here was not the same as back in Singapore or Malaysia. 80.4% speak Patani Malay as their first language.
Pattani Malay or Patani Malay, often referred to in Thailand as Yawi (in Thai) or Jawi (in Patani Malay), is a dialect of the Malay language spoken in the southernmost provinces of Thailand along the border with Malaysia. It is the primary spoken language of the Thai Malay ethnic group, but is also used as a lingua franca by ethnic Thai in rural areas, Muslim and non-Muslim, and the samsam, a mostly Thai-speaking population of mixed Malay and Thai ancestry.
After a bit of fussing over where to eat, we finally decided on a corner coffeeshop-looking place, where they seem to have quite a bit of locals popping in and out for food. My rule is always to eat where there is more activity. That way, you can at least be assured that the turnover for the ingredients is decent enough to not have a week old fish or meat in the dishes. Again, after a lot of gesturing and desperate attempts at remembering the thai words for fish, egg and rice, we got our dishes and they were excellent!
The Crown Prince actually visited this eating place before!
I was particularly taken with the curry-chilli fish dish. The style of southern thai cooking was more similar to Malay/Indian cuisine, using more dried spices like tumeric and other pungent aromatic herbs.
The next morning, we travelled about 8.3km southwards on Highway 4055 (Narathiwat - Rangae) to get to Wat Khao Khong. The park is huge, occupying an area of 56.8 acres. The main attraction is the huge golden statue of Phra Phuttha Thaksin Ming Mongkhon, seated in the lotus position. The construction of the steel reinforced concrete image, decorated with gold mosiacs, started in 1966 and was completed in 1969. This hilltop Buddha image is considered to be the largest and most beautiful outdoor Buddha image in southern Thailand. The image was sculpted in the Chiang Saen style of Thai Buddhist art, which could be traced back to the Pala art style of Northern India. This style of art has strong Mahayana influences.
I felt so awed by the image, humbled before Buddha, grateful for his protection on our journey to see him and a little sad that the place seemed deserted except for us and an old lady selling incense and joss paper to devotees. It is the first time I had visited such an impressive religous place and yet it had almost no visitors. My friend reminded that the Buddha image was placed there primarily for the spiritual protection of the surrounding land. Whether there was any visitors was of secondary importance.
After offering my prayers, I took a walk around the base of the hill. There were 3 other small Buddhist sculptures which I did not know what they meant as the description was in Thai.
Within the hilly landscape of the temple, there is also a bell-shape pagoda Phra Chedi Siri Masa Maya which enshrines the sacred Lord Buddha's relics. The pagoda has been constructed, with the loyalty of the Narathiwat people, as dedication to Her Majesty the Queen. But we missed out this part of the temple grounds. At one of the buildings, you can buy small statues of Phra Buddha Thaksin made of bronze material.
Feeling hungry, we headed back to town to grab some lunch. This time round, the restaurant had pictures in the menu which made it easier for us to order.
Floating platform on Bang Nara river
The rest of the day was spent resting in the hotel and researching on where to go next. Our primary aim was to visit Wat Khao Khong. Now that it was done, we were deliberating to go southwards towards the border or to head back to Pattani. Southwards was a big question of safety. There wasn't any up-to-date news on the insurgency situation south of Pattani. We certainly did not want to run into any sort of trouble so the next best solution was to go back to Pattani.
The next morning, we headed for Pattani, checked into their best hotel available, CS Pattani Hotel. 1500baht a night, I loved the rooms. Worth every baht! The rooms were big, clean and comfortable, pushing on luxurious. The hotel was also within walking distance to Big C, massage palour, cafes and small eateries so everything felt comfortable.
We headed into town to walk around. There is a night market of sorts in the town centre where you can get some street food. Security is tighter in town. You get armed guards patrolling around with guns. I wanted to get a picture but thought better of it.
The next morning, after a decent at the hotel, we went looking for Wat Changhai. This is where Luang Phor Thuad gained Enlightenment and this is where Ajahn Tim made, blessed and handed down one of the most respected, most collected and most expensive Luang Phor Thuad amulets.
From Pattani town, it's about 31.9km to Wat Changhai. Take Route 42 then continue southwards on Route 409. You will see the signboard for Wat Changhai.
Luang Phor Thuad (Born 1582)
Luang Phor Thuad was a legendary Thai monk who performed many miracles in his lifetime. There is almost no Thai who do not know his name. He was once the chief abbot of Wat Changhai and after his death, it was his wish to be cremated at Wat Changhai and his ashes kept there. For more information and stories about Luang Phor Thuad, you can look it up here.
Phra Archan Thim Dhamma Tharo
Ajahn Tim was born on 21st August 1912 in Pattani Province. He was ordained as Phra Timthammatalo at Wat Napradu in 1933. On 15th July 2941, Ajahn Tim became Wat Changhai's 5th chief abbot during the troubled times of the Second World War. He was known to be a very compassionate monk and was much loved by the people. On 18th April 1954, the first batch of Luang Phor Thuad's amulets, initiated by Ajahn Tim, were distributed to devotees. These amulets were strongly believed to provide miraculous protection to worshippers. Only about 64,000 pieces of the first batch of amulets were made and today, these rare amulets command high prices in the amulet market, some prices as high as a million Thai baht.
"Chang" means elephant and "hai" means present or give. So Wat Changhai's meaning was elephant's present, which was not far from the truth. According to legend, a lord of Sai Buri, Phraya Kamdum was looking for a site to build a new town as a gift to his younger sister. As he was indecisive, he decided to use two of his elephants in seeking out a suitable site. After several days of travelling, the elephants came to a complete stop at the present day location of Wat Changhai, circled the site three times and thereafter trumpeted very loudly. Lord Phraya Kamdum was very satisfied with the location but his younger sister was
not and she requested Phraya Kamdum to look for another location. To
please his sister, Lord Phraya Kamdum continue to search for a new location. Finally they settled on a new place called Krue Se in today Pattani province where he
built a new town for his sister. However, Lord Phraya Kamdum could not
stop thinking about the first location and decided to build a monastery on the
site and named it Wat Changhai or "Elephant Presents" and presented it to the
revered Luang Phor Thuad of Sai Buri and appointed him chief
abbot of Wat Changhai.
The reddish brown Chedi is where Luang Phor Thuad's relics are kept. It is not opened to public most of the time.
The golden image of Luang Phor Thuad was said to have been sited in the middle of the room previously. But due to worshippers constantly touching the image and subsequently rubbing off the gold plating, the temple caretakers decided to keep the image behind glass panels instead.
Everywhere in the temple, there are elephant images.
The Chedi-shaped shrine beside the railway.
Another image of Luang Phor Thuad at the chedi-shaped shrine.
At the amulet counter, we met some Malaysian guys who had came all the way from Ipoh to purchase the amulets and stautes of Luang Phor Thuad from Wat Changhai. They were extremely amused and full admiration that we had drove all the way from Singapore to Wat Changhai. They gently suggested since we have come all the way from Singapore, we should get something for rememberance, protection, etc. It is said that all the paraphernalia made and sold within Wat Changhai has already been blessed and has much higher level of power than those sold outside. "Very good for protection if you put it in your car!" one uncle said. That's it. I have to get one. The way I drive, I need all the protection I can get!
Initially we had wanted to locate another temple that is supposed to be pretty famous as well but I could get clear road directions from the locals. Turns out, this group of uncles wanted to proceed to the same temple and they knew the way. They invited us to tag along and we proceed to Wat Saikow.
Ajahn Nong
Ajahn Nong was Ajahn Tim's brother and was also famous as a pioneer is creating Luang Phor Thuad's protective amulets. He was involved in the production of all the batches of Luang Phor Thuad's amulets from Wat Changhai, from the first batch until his passing in 1998. Ajahn Nong was abbot to Wat Saikow for many years.
From Wat Changhai, get back onto Route 409, then turn onto Route 4072. Total distance is about 8.3km
Wat Saikow was very deserted, saved for the current abbot and one or two monks. The rest had left to avoid the insurgency conflicts in the region. The temple buildings are very beautiful but most of them closed.
Driving into Wat Saikow
The empty temple grounds made all of us feel quite uneasy and we quickly looked for the abbot to get his blessings. The malaysian guys wanted to get out of the area before sunset and they advised us to not go southwards as there have been unreported incidents of violence in the past few days. We thanked them for their advice and each went our own ways.
Back at the hotel, I reflected on the insurgency situation in Southern Thailand. It is very sad to me that because of all the violence and skirmishes in the region, all these beautiful places of worship have been deserted. I hope that all these buildings will be able to stand the test of time (and skirmishes) so that one day, I can return to properly pay homage.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We visited the weekend evening/night market in Pattani town. It was pretty weird to me to see Muslim Thai women in Thailand, wearing tudung (muslim female headscarf).
For those who like to collect Asian handicraft, this region has something to offer. Korlae boats are traditional fishing boats unique to the area. The highlighting characteristics of the Korlae is the narrowing head and tail, with unique colors. There are mini replicas crafted for souvenirs.
My souvenir
We decided to go straight back to Singapore and not stop over at any of the Malaysian town as it was Hari Raya Pusa holiday. All the towns would be crowded and finding accomodations will be a nightmare. Plus, the North-south highway will be jammed to the max on Sunday and it is not funny getting caught in Malaysia's jams. You have to be prepared to camp in your car for hours.
Reaching Sadao checkpoint, there was already a jam.
We ate lunch, had foot massage and the jam was still there. Staying on at Sadao wasn't a solution. We decided to have one last small adventure before leaving Thailand. Studying the map, there was another checkpoint about 28km north-west - Padang Besar checkpoint, we headed for that.
There wasn't much information about this checkpoint other than it is opened from 6am to 10pm. It is definitely a big loop back to E1 Highway but it beats getting stuck in traffic. Upon arriving at Padang Besar, I say we definitely made the right choice. Padang Besar is a lot less busy than the more direct Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam crossing.
The rest of the journey back to Singapore was uneventful except of two jams before Ipoh. The highway was expectedly busy due to the festive holiday. We arrived in Singapore at 7am safe and sound.
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