Observing the surroundings from Singgora hill defence fort

Continuing from the article Taking the ferry to old Singgora.

In that article I have shown a zoom-in or close-up picture of the hill of Singgora overlooking a small town which is also known as old Singgora town.

I soon found out there are old fort remains accesible by sets of staircases from another side of the hill. Late in the afternoon I climbed up for a look.

Soon I reached the lowest fort remains. Look at the article Kota pertahanan Singgora atas bukit (Singgora defence fort on hill) - Bahagian bawah (Lower section) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART).

Views from that level...

After enjoying the somewhat limited views I continued climbing.

Next I arrived at what the turned out to be the 2nd out of 3 fort remains on this hill. Look at the article Kota pertahanan Singgora atas bukit (Singgora defence fort on hill) - Bahagian tengah (Middle section).

Wider vistas open up at this level...

Encouraged by what I have seen so far I pushed myself on to the next level...

And so I arrived at the highest one. Look at Kota pertahanan Singgora atas bukit (Singgora defence fort on hill) - Bahagian puncak (Summit section)

Here you can get 360 degree views of the surroundings.

The geography of the district of Songkhla and its surroundings were practically laid bare for up to 20 km away towards all directions as I try to match what could be seen with the naked eye with what I can remember from maps and satellite pictures as available on Google Earth...

Taking the ferry to old Singgora

Continuing from Taking the local ride to Songkhla.

My main and first target in Songkhla is to look for remains of the old forts of the kingdom of Singgora. For the record the name Songkhla is a Thai version for the Malay name Singgora. Upon mentioning this ancient Malay name to a motorbike taxi operator I was whisked some 3 km to a port and asked to take a ferry.

It seems the old Singgora I wished to see lies at the hill seen here and at its foot.

To get there one must cross these waters...

Enjoying the views around.

A zoom in view shows a small town at the foot of the hill.

 

The ferry ride took about 10 minutes. I was lucky that while onboard a man and his wife offered to take me around on their... hmm. I don't what is the name of this thing. A bike with a sidecar. Yes, a ride on this sidecar to shore and around...

Taking the local ride to Songkhla

Peace be upon you all. On to the 4th day of my first travel for the year 2017. Continuing from Boat ride through the waters of "Kuala Patani".

Sunday 15th January 2017. After visiting a historical well and mosque at Kerisek we left Patani and travelled some 80 km towards the town of Songkhla. There we visited the tomb of a famous Malay religious master. Look at the article Makam (Tomb of) Sheikh Abdul Samad al-Falimbani in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART). There I parted ways with the rest and started my own solo travelling to Songkhla.

At the roadside just outside the path to the tomb a local kindly hitched me up on his motorcycle and sent me to a comfortable public transport stop. From there I got a transport.

I don't know what to call it. Is it a van? Is it a car with long seats like in a bus behind?

What I do know it is a main mood of transport here.

The fare structure...

With it I travelled some 27 km to Songkhla.

I was told the fare is 28 Baht. But having no small change I happily paid 30 Baht to reach its end stop...