A traveller's reflection: July 2018

My Travel Journal

"There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road and through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode" - Elton John

I started traveling around the world since early 80s when I had the opportunity to combine business trips with vacations. Then later when my rezeki is in abundance, there were numerous other trips along the way for vacations, most of the time with hubby and the kids when the timing is right. I have also started to compile the journal and photo-pages covering almost more than 45 years of world wide travel. Some destinations I visited just once, others many times. Many of those places are the obvious famous places people would like to visit but some, the casual traveler doesn't even think to try. I have placed links to my travel at the side bar of my personal page, My Life Reflections, and will be updating them from time to time.

My wish is to continue my travel and complete circumnavigate the globe, insyaAllah…

Saturday, 28 July 2018

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 01 Bang Lang National Park

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things..." - Peter Drucker

(Bang Lang National Park)

Date: 26 - 28 July 2018

Route: KL - Betong - Narathiwat - Pattani - Hatyai - KL

Distance: 1,293 km

This trip is our Toyota Hi-Lux/Bigfoot first run into Thailand...

We entered Thailand through Betong and exit through Sadao. On the way we passed Narathiwat, Pattani and Hatyai and visited a few of the many attractions along the way.

Bang Lang National Park

Bang Lang National Park covers the area of BannangSata, Than To and Betong of Yala Province. It was declared a national park in 1999. The park covers some parts of Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary. As it was once the area of the Malayan Communists and the Patani United Liberation Organization, the forest had not welcomed any explorers a very long time and is still lush.

Bang Lang National Park is mostly tropical rainforest with variety of plant species. It is also the origin of Pattani River, Sai Buri River, To Mo canal, Hala canal and Ban Chet canal. The park is the habitat of many rare wild animals such as Sumatran rhinoceros, tapir, rhinoceros hornbill, helmeted hornbill and many more.

Many attractions of the national park include the Bang Lang Dam, a large and important reservoir of the province, Halasa Waterfall, La-ong Rung Waterfall, the 2-kilometer-wide Than To lake and the nine-tiered Than To Waterfall. These sights are located near the National Park office and can be accessible by foot.

(Crossing the bridge over the Bang Lang Dam)

(First multi-purpose dam in South Thailand)

(Scattered villages around the dam)

(A panoramic view of the dam and the surrounding hill)

(The 85 meter high reservoir)

(Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand office)

(The waterfalls are accessible by foot)

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 02 Wadi Al-Hussein Mosque👉

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 02 Wadi Al-Hussein Mosque

"Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success..." - Shiv Khera

(The oldest wooden mosque in Thailand)

Wadi Al-Hussein Mosque

The 300 Years Mosque also known as Al-Hussein Mosque or Talo Mano Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in Thailand. Located in Narathiwat, a southern province in Thailand, it is in use today by the large Muslim community in the area. The mosque was built in 1634 to serve the newly settled Muslim community during that time. It is the oldest wooden mosque in Thailand.

The mosque dates back to the Pattani Kingdom, when it was ruled by a sultan. The villagers in that area who were both Muslims and Buddhists built the mosque in 1634. They cooperated in the construction of the mosque. Legend states that during the war between the Siamese Kingdom and the Pattani Kingdom, a young woman of a village in the Pattani Kingdom was fleeing from the war. She was the keeper of the village's Quran and fled with it in her hands. Upon fleeing, she fell into a small valley. Rescued by the villagers in that area, she surprised them as she had the Quran tight in her hands. The villagers so then decided to build the Mosque after the war ended. Another legend states that the mosque was built by Wan Husein Az-Sanawi, a teacher who migrated to the Pattani Kingdom, in 1624. The hand-written Quran and the construction plan of the mosque are kept in the mosque itself.

The mosque combines several architectural styles from the Chinese, Thais, and the Malays. The mosque was built with wood from the hummingbird tree and an ironwood tree. Because nails were not invented at that time, wedges were used instead to hold the wood into place. Original roofing was made of palm tree leaves and it was later changed to terracotta tiles. The mosque consists of two buildings. The smaller building is where the mihrab is located and has three layers of roof. It is also where the Chinese-style minaret is located. The bigger building has more of Thai architectural influence with the Thai-style gable. The walls of both buildings has etchings of Thai/Chinese/Malay designs and patterns. (Source: Wiki)

(Arriving at Telok Manok in heavy rain)

(Combined architectural styles)

(Side entrance of the mosque)

(The side profile of the mosque)

(The front entrance of the mosque)

(Children bathing in the river next to the mosque)

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 03 Krue Se Mosque👉

👈2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 01 Bang Lang National Park

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 03 Krue Se Mosque

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose..." - Lyndon B. Johnson

(Krue Se Mosque)

Krue Se Mosque

Krue Se Mosque also called Gresik Mosque or Pitu Krue-ban Mosque is located in Pattani Province, Thailand. It was begun in about 1583, but was never completed because of a power struggle between the sultan of Pattani and his brother. The present structure is on the same site and dates to the 18th century. It features a mixture of Middle Eastern and European architectural styles.

The mosque is claimed by some Patani people to have been built by the Chinese pirate Lin Daoqian, who according to local lore married the daughter of the Sultan of Patani and converted to Islam. Next to the mosque is a garden as well as the gravestone of Lin Guniang, said to be Lin Daoqian's sister.

On 28 April 2004, during Thaksin Shinawatra's premiership and in a period of insurgency by Islamic nationalists in the southernmost provinces, 32 suspected gunmen took shelter in the mosque, after more than 100 militants carried out terrorist attacks against 10 police outposts across Pattani, Yala and Songkhla provinces. After a 7-hour stand-off with Thai military personnel, soldiers attacked and killed all 32. The attack was made in contradiction of orders from the Minister of Defence to end the confrontation peacefully, and has been the subject of an international inquiry, which concluded the military used excessive force. (Source: Wiki)

(Also known as Masjid Sultan Mudzafar Shah)

(A brief history of the mosque)

(A side view of the mosque)

(Bullet holes marked the bloody event)

(The corridor leading to the ladies praying area)

(The half built historical mosque in its original state)

(The evidence of damages inflicted on the mosque)

(The small congregation of jemaah during Asar)

(Terima Keresek signage near the mosque)

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 04 Central Mosque of Pattani👉

👈2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 02 Wadi Al-Hussein Mosque

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 04 Central Mosque of Pattani

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results..." - Willie Nelson

(The Jame Mosque of Pattani)

The Central Mosque of Pattani

Among the five southernmost provinces, Pattani has the highest number of mosques, followed by Narathiwat, Yala, Songkhla, and Satun.

The central mosque in Pattani is recognized as the most beautiful Muslim religious structure in Thailand and is one of the largest. Built in 1954, the construction of this mosque took almost nine years.

The architecture has some similarity to the Taj Mahal of India. It has a large, central dome surrounded by four smaller ones and two minarets. The mosque is a two storey building with a large prayer hall and long corridors. It is fronted by a big pond. The Pattani Central Mosque is located on Yarang Road on the Yarang - Pattani route and is open for religious activity every day.

This beautiful mosque has become a major tourist attraction in the southern border province of Pattani.

(The front facade of the Jame Mosque)

(The large main prayer hall)

(Corridors outside the mosque)

(The two minarets of the mosque)

(A big pond with fountain in front of the mosque)

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 05 Ban Pru Floating Market👉

👈2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 03 Krue Se Mosque

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 05 Ban Pru Floating Market

"Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness and bad days give you experience..."

(A new Floating Market near Hatyai)

Ban Pru Floating Market

Thailand is the land where floating market is famous. Almost every city in Thailand has their own floating market.

In Hatyai there is the famous Khlong Hae Floating Market. An alternative to Khlong Hae Floating Market is the new Ban Pru Floating Market, approximately 14km from Hat Yai city. This market opens on Saturday evening from 4 pm to 10 pm.

Here you will have the opportunity to taste the mouth-watering street food and delve into various activities like boat riding, archery and so on. At night the area lightens up and you will see people swarming around the seafood and noodles stalls. Other activities at Ban Pru Floating Market are flying fox and Big Balloon Playground in which the kids can feed the baby goat kids too.

(Play ground for kids)

(The main entrance to the floating market)

(Water activity is also available)

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 06 Piyamit Village 5 Tunnel👉

👈2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip - 04 Central Mosque of Pattani

2018 Betong to Hatyai 4x4 Trip: 06 Piyamit Village 5 Tunnel

“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future...” – Robin S Sharma

(Piyamit Village 5 Tunnel)

Piyamit Village 5 Tunnel

It is located in the area of Khao Nam Khang National Park, approximately 4 kilometers from the Park office. This historic tunnel, also known as Piyamit Village 5, was built to be the safe house for the Communist insurgents for almost 40 years before the party dispersed and became part of Thai Development Participants in 1987.

This man-made tunnel is no doubt an evidence of human struggles strongly powered by communist insurgents showing the real life inside a communist hide-out. This hide-out was dug inside Liang San Mountain, a mountain near the border of Malaysia. Tourists need to go up the 108 staircase before entering the tunnel.

This attraction has become Thailand’s longest man-made tunnel which took two years to complete. There are three separate corridors and three levels deep. The tunnel could accommodate up to 200 persons into several rooms such as conference room, sick bay, radio transmission room, kitchen, firing range and other multi-purpose rooms.