Satun

It is the school holidays here in Thailand and with a full six weeks off I took the opportunity to spread my wings and do a little travelling to Malaysia and Singapore. The most common route taken into Malaysia is through Songhkla at either the Sadao or Padang Besar border crossings. I have crossed these borders a number of times in the past so I wanted to use a different border crossing this time. The alternative border crossings are in the provinces of Narathiwat, Satun and Yala. I didn't feel comfortable attempting the borders of Narathiwat or Yala as a solo traveller due to the ongoing political conflict at this time so my only other option was Satun. 

The town of Satun is situated in the deep south of Thailand on the border with Malaysia. The town while hardly a 'big ticket' tourist hotspot does see a steady stream of tourists, most of whom view the town as a transit point for their travels to either Langkawi or the southern Thai islands. I could have simply passed through the town in this manner but I decided that I wanted to stay for a few days and explore. 

(Welcome to Satun)

My first impression of Satun was that it had a very different atmosphere and feel to most of the other southern Thai provinces which can be explained by the people who live here. The vast majority of residents are ethnic Malay Muslims as appose to the Thai Buddhists who make up the majority in most other provinces. The people I met here were very friendly but I did find the level of English spoken was extremely low even in tourist areas. The people were thankfully able to speak Thai so I was able to communicate but it is clear that many of them are native Malay speakers and this can be heard throughout the town. I found that there was a sizeable number of Thai Buddhists in the downtown area but this filters out dramatically as you leave the city limits. The restaurants owned by the Thai Buddhists are the only places you can get a beer with your dinner so I'm sure you will find them. 

The province is very safe and does not have any of the political problems which have plagued the other southern provinces with a muslim majority. You will hear the muslim call to prayer throughout the day which adds a certain ethnic atmosphere which I really enjoyed. Satun central mosque is the most impressive of those found in the city and is worth a quick visit.

(Satun Central Mosque)

I knew that my impending trip to Malaysia and Singapore would be expensive so I decided that this leg of the trip must be done on the cheap. There are a large number of hotels and guesthouses in the town all of varying quality. It is very difficult to find information or reviews about these places because the information just simply isn't out there, at least in the English language. I decided to take a risk and just choose a hotel off the Satun wikitravel article which was in my price range. I could have stayed in a fan room for under 200 baht a night but I decided that I would 'splurge' on a 400 baht a night room with air conditioning, hot water and free wifi. I stayed at the Satun Thani Hotel right in the heart of town and was generally very satisfied with it. Yes of course it was old and a little bit rough around the edges but for the price I payed it was more then adequate for a two night stay. The hot water worked, the wifi stood up well and the location was perfect so I would recommend the hotel to anyone who is on a budget and doesn't require a luxury experience. 

I spent most of my time in Satun exploring the town on foot. I personally enjoy walking so this was fine for me but there are motorcycle taxis available everywhere and the prices quoted certainly didn't seem like a rip off. I took a motorcycle taxi to Tammalang Pier for 80 baht and it is a fair distance outside of the city. I usually try to avoid motorcycle taxies and use the public Songthaews to get around. The Songthaews in Satun are bright orange and it is very easy to get to grips with the way they work because they travel up and down the main road through the town. You can hop on and off at any point and the cost will always be the same. The main long distance bus terminal is situated to the south of the town just outside the city limits so a motorcycle taxi will probably be required if you want to get there. Long distance busses run to the usual destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket but most destinations are served by minivans. The minivans run to a large number of destinations in the south and although they are extremely bumpy you do have the added convenience that you can specify exactly (within reason) where you wish to be dropped off (if you can communicate this to the driver). The trip from Trang to Satun cost me 100 baht in a minivan. 

There are not a great deal of tourist attractions in the city but their are some small museums which are worth a look and only charge nominal entrance fees. The Satun national museum is probably the pick of the museums on offer and it gives visitors an insight into the history of the province and the traditional lives of the Satun people. I think the best attraction Satun town has to offer is its public park which is commonly referred to as monkey mountain. I have actually visited the park on a previous trip to Satun and the place has always been very quiet, with the exception of a handful of teenagers hanging out in the caves or the occasional passing car viewing the monkeys at a safe distance. The whole park is easily walkable but I think it would be nice to hire a bicycle to ride around on but I am not sure if this is possible. The monkeys are fantastic and it really is a great experience to be able to see them up close in a natural environment. The monkeys are very confident and didn't appear to be phased at the people milling around and were mainly interested in acquiring food from the people around. I spent about three hours in all walking around the monkey park and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is coming to Satun even if only for a short period. 

(Monkey Mountain)

My next port of call after Satun was to be Kuala Perlis in Malaysia in order for me to get their I would have to take a long-tail boat from Tammalang pier. Tammalang Pier is situated about 8 kilometres south of the city and is best reached by motorcycle taxi. Most people using the port will be on their way to the Malaysian island of Langkawi on a commercial jetty there are however smaller long-tail boats which run to the mainland town of Kuala Perlis. The immigration officials are very relaxed at this border and the atmosphere appeared much more chilled then at the other border crossings I have taken into Malaysia probably due to the sheer amount of visitors seen at the crossings in Songkhla. The ferry terminal itself has the normal array of tour operators and convenience stores selling goods at inflated prices to tourists but there didn't appear to be that many touts and again the atmosphere was very relaxed and the people very friendly and helpful. My motorcycle taxi driver even escorted me to immigration which was a nice touch. 

(Tammalang Pier)

My overall impressions of Satun town were very positive and while there aren't a lot of tourist attractions in the city itself it's overall atmosphere and charm is an attraction in itself. After visiting the Malaysian town of Kuala Perlis which is situated just a few miles over the border I would have to say that Satun is far more like Malaysia then Thailand both in aesthetics and character. Everything from the shop fronts in downtown Satun to the language being spoken on the street both screamed Malaysia which was very interesting to say the least. I would thoroughly recommend people to give Satun a try even if you only stay for one day because this would be enough to take in the atmosphere and maybe even head to the monkey mountain. The province of Satun has a number of national parks and of corse the islands off the Andaman coast are considered 'big ticket' tourist attractions particularly Koh Lipe so you may very well find yourself down here if you visit Thailand. As an expat I think this would be a very interesting place to consider living but you would need to research it thoroughly because it really is so different to the rest of Thailand. I was so impressed with the town that I now consider it in my top five places places that I would consider moving too in Thailand.