Hat Yai

On arriving back in the south of Thailand by bus, we spent the night in the unremarkable town of Hat Yai before heading on to spend a rainy few days at Ao Nang, a beach resort near the west coast town of Krabi. By this time we were pretty travelled-out, so passed the days either driving round the coastal limestone cliffs by scooter or sleeping off whisky-induced hangovers.

Footnote 20/09/2006:

During our stay in Hat Yai we noted the relatively heavy military presence on the town's streets, presumably in light of the ongoing insurgency activities of local Islamist rebels in the province. We'd had minor reservations about spending the night in one of the three "danger zone" provinces in the very south of Thailand, but all seemed calm and our stay passed without incident. We were lucky. The peace was shattered on 16th September when three bombs were detonated in the town's shopping district, killing at least two people and injuring many more.