Day 90: Phuket to Hat Yai

Trip Start Sep 21, 2006
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Trip End Jun 01, 2007


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Flag of Thailand  ,
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Splitting from the family again leaves me with a hollow feeling. I'm adrift again. I face eight hours on a sweaty minibus south to hub, Hat Yai.
It's a relief to pass Trang, where the weather turns overcast and cooler. The rubber plantations turn to lush forests towards the border with Malaysia.
It's back in prison-like, £3-a-night hostels for me, with squat toilet and ceiling fan. Hat Yai isn't a tourist haunt. There's little to see. I doubt anyone stays more than a day, unless they're Chinese. There is a huge Chinese influence here, in the market stalls, spartan hotels, beauty salons, pharmacies, and shark-fin emporia.
A large rat with a broken leg slinks into the Indian restaurant while I'm waiting for my foodat but no one shows much concern.
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