Sunset over the bay of Patani

Continuing from Rushing to Tanjung Budi.

We soon reached the very end of the tarmac road. Immediately after parking we got out and walked towards the waters.

Actually the narrow piece of land still stretches a kilometre or so from here.  But to get to that end you must walk and we had no time as the sun was about to set.

So we just find what seemed then to be the best place to watch the sun set.

Then I noticed a path leading to another part of the waters...

From there you can see the waters wide open. It is the bay of Patani.

Turning anti-clockwise we could see the town of Patani.

Zoom-in..

Turning anti-clockwise more and more towards the east...

Some 20 km or so in the horizon is where this narrow stretch of land means the mainland of Patani.

Rushing to Tanjung Budi

Continuing from Hilltop stop besides Yala-Narathiwat road.

Our next stop was the old mosque of Wadi Hussein at Teluk Manok.

After spending almost an hour and a half there we then rushed towards the town or city of Patani 60 km away.

But we didn't want to go to the city yet.

We wanted to go to a narrow piece of land which jutted out onto open waters some 20 km before facing the city from across a bay.

Using Google Map we were directed to follow some rural roads.

Soon we could see the sea or rather the Gulf of Thailand on our right indicating we have entered the said narrow piece of land.

There are parts were this long piece of land is about only 100-200 metres wide.

As we rushed to its end where lies a cape the Malay locals call as Tanjung Budi we could see the sun about to set...

The Thai name for this stretch of land is Laem Pho if not mistaken. This picture was taken at 5.40 pm local time...

Hilltop stop besides Yala-Narathiwat road

Continuing from The lake at Ban Lang national park.

After reaching the outskirts of the town of Yala we immediately turned east towards the town of Narathiwat. About 50 km later the road climbed steeply up a hill and next we saw this stop.

I decided to stop to enjoy the views...

As it turned out there is a stream with small waterfalls beside...

The lake at Ban Lang national park

Continuing from The road to Yala.

A few kilometres further we saw a stop that gives clearer views of the lake.

Actually more than 13 km of the road we took passed along the nook and crannies of the lake.

But the views are often blocked by trees, bushes and thick growth.

Here we got to get good views and thus spent some time relaxing at the hut besides.

Our map shows it as the Ban Lang lake, referring to the Ban Lang national park.

It was only while writing this article at home that I found out the lake was formed by the Pattani river referring to a Malay kingdom which used to rule a big portion of what is now southern Thailand.

The road to Yala

Continuing from Quick look at the town of Betong, Thailand.

After having breakfast at the outskirts of the town of Betong we headed for the town of Yala,

Actually Betong itself lies within the district or rather, province of Yala.

But the town of Yala itself is 130 km away from Betong...

As we continued the road became more curvy with many sharp turns.

Actually it passes through the lengths of the northern part of the mountain range which is connected to Malaysia main range, the Banjaran Titiwangsa.

At a junction we decided to take a more mountainous road.

Our map shows that road would go along a  nice man-made lake.

Here's a look at it...