Tour of Southern Thailand
 

Hey folks!

Greetings from Malaysia.I love to share my recent bicycling tour of Southern Thailand - Hat Yai - Songkhla - Ranot - Patthalung - Hat Yai with Mrs Samo and two cyclist buddies. We covered a distance of 230 kilometers and soaked in the awesome scenery of rural Thailand - especially in the far South.. Here are some pictures..

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Saying goodbye to our kidz

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Taking the rail transit to the train station...

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Peak hour in Kuala Lumpur

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Waiting for our buddies..

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A scene from the train station..

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Boarding..

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The sleeping berths..

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It's a 12-hour train ride to the border of Malaysia-Thailand. All we could do is relax..

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Speak of relaxation, this dude's sleeping position says it all.

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Our train conductor..

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Getting our travel papers checked and stamped before crossing into Southern Thailand..

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This the last train station in Malaysia..

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A view of the rail yard..

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At the border town in Malaysia..

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Arrival in Hat Yai, Thailand

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A passenger in the daily coach to Chumpon

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Crossing over to the main station area.

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Getting a meal from food peddlars

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At Hat Yai junction before commencing the ride to Songkhla, some 30km away..

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Buying our return ticket to Malaysia..

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Setting up our bikes..

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Rolling out..

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Cycling to search for our meal..

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This place serves a cheap and good lunch..

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Stir-fried chicken slices and seafood tom yam

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Forward to Songkhla

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Reaching Songkhla

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Mrs Samo

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The gang in Songkhla

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Samo, messing around with a trailer..

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Moving along..

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Arriving at our hotel in Songkhla

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Riding out to Samila beach, a popular tourist area..

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Samila beach..

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At a Naga monument...

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The little mermaid of Samila..

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Cycling back to town..

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Tea break..

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A tourist attraction: Thailand's 16th Prime Minister's residence..

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The postcode..

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The hotel's cat..

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Dinner

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The guys, feasting..

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Getting ready to roll out..

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Checking the route..

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Songkhla at dawn..

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A monk, receiving his daily Alms and blessing his benefactor..

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Breakfast..

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A common sight.

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At the ferry crossing in Songkhla bay..

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The ferry, free of charge for bicycles....

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The Samos..

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Break at a petrol station..

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Mrs Samo, touring with her Dahon Speed TR folding bike..

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Morning in its full glory with the view of a bull's ass..

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Enroute to Sathing Phra, a town about 30km away..

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A convenience store..

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Small lane for motorcycles and bicycles..

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Riding on route 4038 to Ranot

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Refreshment break....

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Tasty pre-cooked meals at a truck stop...

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Roger (left) our technical director, sharing a light moment with Andrew (right) who was touring for the first time..

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Trying to cheat the wind..

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Thai roads are quite safe to cycle..

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Photo opportunity..

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Water break..

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When Samo met Rambo - A place named after the fateful day.. Ban Sam Bo

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Iced cold coffee and Free Wi-Fi

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The road to Ranot..

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After 80km of cycling, we reached Ranot town..

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Cycling along the paddy fields.

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On the shores of Thale Noi lake, one of the largest freshwater lake system in Thailand..

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Checking our location on the GPS

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Lunch at a local restaurant near the lakeside..

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Deep-fried sea mullet, a local favourite..

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Kaeng Som (Yellow Sour Curry) on the right, hot like liquid lava!

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Cycling out of the lakeside..

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Bridge-crossing..

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Found a nice place to bunk in for the night..

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Its a pretty decent place with a fair price..

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Mrs Samo..

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An unmanned petrol kiosk..

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Coffee break and getting information from the residents..

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Ranot town..

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Ranot beach.. only 5km away from the freshwater lake...

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Mrs Samo....

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The Samos..

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Sunset..

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A local shrine..

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The local cat..

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Dinner at the local Mukata..

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"Eat all you can.."

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This turned out to be a real good dinner!

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The gang..

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Samo's having a ball!

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Riding back to our motel..

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Pit stop at the convenience store..

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Good old Singha beer to cool off from the heat..

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Chok-Dee!!!

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A well-deserved treat!

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An early start for the 64km ride to Patthalung..

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Mrs Samo..

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Dawn at the paddy fields..

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Forward to Patthalung..

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Photo-ops..

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More paddy fields...

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Cycling into the mist..

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The beautiful countryside...

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Thale Noi's ecosystem..

WOW!!!!! That is the most awesome travel thread I have ever seen. It makes me want to go on a trip like that myself. Maybe one day in the future, before I reach the stage of decrepitude :-). Thank you so much for providing this. I absolutely loved it. If you have more pictures, please post them. Love to look at more.

Cheers
Wayne

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An early ride..

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Pit stop

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The morning Sun..

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Climbing an elevated road..

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Mrs Samo..

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The elevated road..

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The swampy area..

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Another view of the elevated road..

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Thale Noi lake..

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Lots of waterfowl here..

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A fisherman working with his cast net..

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Fishermen trying out their luck with a drag net.

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Its getting hotter!

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A wedding procession..

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Dancing on the street..

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The procession..

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Chilling out..

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Fish, salted and being dried under the Sun..

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A villager gutting the catch of the day...

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A trader selling her catch..

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Tilapias and catfishes..

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Snakeheads...

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A carp being shown at the Thale Noi visitor centre..

Wow again! Thank you for posting more. perhaps I missed it, but how long was your trip? If you kept a diary of your day to day experiences etc., it would be worth while documenting a photo story. It would make for a great read.

Cheers
Wayne

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Breakfast..

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Settling down at the noodle shop...

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Koay teow soup..

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Bikes allowed..

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A cool drink needed...

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Cooling off...

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A furry friend..

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Taking a break at Ban Lam Pam..

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Riding out of Ban Lam Pam..

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Entering Patthalung..

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Riding under the hot Sun..

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Lunch time..

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Coke is it!

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Pork trotters..

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Khao Kha Moo.. Pork knuckle rice...

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Enjoying an ice-cream at Swensen's

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Ooohh.. yeahh..

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Enjoying a dessert.

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Going out on an evening ride in Patthalung..

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Riding..

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The evening market..

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A place for dinner..

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A street on Patthalung..

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Having our meals..

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More beers!

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Chilling out and splitting up the expenses..

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Looking for a place to have our breakfast..

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Found it!

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A dim sum shop..

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Digging-in...

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Getting ready to leave for Hat Yai from Patthalung..

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Cycling along the canal or Klong..

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At the train station..

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The curious crowd..

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Waiting for our train..

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Mrs Samo and Andrew, our cycling buddy..

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All aboard..

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Roger is one happy man!

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Mrs Samo..

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"Zzzzzz..."

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The coach..

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A scene from our train ride..

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Taking snapshots..

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Arrival in Hat Yai..

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Setting up the bikes..

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Hat Yai junction..

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Cycling into town...

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Found a good place for lunch..

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Pork cracklings...

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Our meals being prepared...

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Koay Teow Lueah.. Or boat noodles..

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The proud owner of the noodle shop..