Narai Hotel Songkhla

First trip was in Oct 1996 , a short trip to this quiet part of Thailand. Followed up with more visits started in March98...and I am still visiting my vessels in Songkhla as part of office team... ....So I can proudly say that I am seeing changes in Songkhla for the past 10 years...errr...not much changes though...execpt for the new Samila beach hotel....other than that things are still the same.. ...people are still laid back while some youngsters frolicking by the Samila beach....

... could but naturally I felt the tears flowing down my cheek...who wouldn't? What a wonderful start to my day! A normal restful day and then a party for me on Natal Day! The whole Filipino gang showed up for me! Family is big for them...as it is for me...Ah...I've extended the already huge Ruff family! Here are some ...

We ship out the bungalows with a minimum of fuss feeling that today is the right time to be moving on from Ko Phan Nyan after having our fun here doing the same routine has become monotonous. We again wade through the sea with our backpacks but thankfully have to miss the huge hill as we get picked up at the bottom and taken to the pier. There's loads of people there with the same plan as us and we have to wait a while as it's all ...

People really, really don't like Chumphon! The Lonely Planet told us it was awful, travel agent in Koh Toa told us not to bother and other travelers think it's downright ****, for instance read Andy and Kerry's rundown titled Chumphon is Cr*p- Chumphon is Cr*p by Andy and Kerry On the surface Chumphon is another grungy city but ...

"You know what I love most about life? Everything". -- Damien Hirst And I thought he just did things to cows. After an aborted attempt to leave One More Beer, due to some workshy minibus operators and our own general lack of motivation, we finally made it out (thanks again Brian). We got the minibus to Narhat, and from there we thought it would be relatively simple to get a train to Hat Yai, which in turn is the jumping point to get into Malaysia. What we thought and what ...

This was only meant to be a pit stop town on the way to Malaysia but James wasn't very well so we stopped for a couple of days. The worse thing is traveling on cramped hot buses when you don't feel right, once James felt alot better we carried on our journey.

Ahhh, we finally arrived in Hat Yai. The plane ride was great, and the weather in Hat Yai is much more agreeable. The airport is small and manageable, not a hectic mess like Bangkok. We had some confusion about getting to our accommodations provided by the school. But after practicing some Thai with the locals, we had our first songtaew ride ...

... nightlife to go around, so pick your poison… and your price. Just never mix alcohol and women; that’s my only categorical imperative. I learned that lesson early. So I spend almost a week exploring the city and environs, tentatively falling in love with its broad avenues and uncluttered sidewalks, another anomaly. The food may be the spiciest of all Thailand, but there are always options. I promise myself to come back one day.