evilinc

Any suggestions/leads appreciated - regarding living in/near Songkla town generally, or actual accommodation specifically.

Thanks a lot.

Songkhla has beautiful beaches but was as boring as a cemetery 15 years ago when there were no bombings in the south. property and rentals in the area are dirt cheap.

Really? I have been trying to buy and house I feel that they are on the high side. A "project house" I saw which is not so great looking cost around 6-7 million baht. Most houses are going for 2-4 million baht.

The German government advises against any unnecessary travel to South Thailand provinces including Songkhla province.

How safe is it realistically to drive there by car and spend time in Songkhla town and sourrounding villages?

I would also like to know if anybody lives there and what it is like.

I would say about 50 farangs live in Hat Yai on a very regular basis. Many other come for 3 month or so to teach english.

Most of the farangs in Hat Yai are english teachers.

the other are retired people opening a business in Thailand.

Then you have the guys who work offshore in Sonkhla and spend 1 month 1 month alterning between offshore and leave

A few have a job for big companies like myself.

In songkhla there are also english teachers, Offshore workers, Canadians (helicopter pilots to brng the offshore workers to their offshore plates), consultants for the multiple seafood process plants and logistic employes in big companies.

Songkhla province is NOT dangereous. If you refer to the bomb 2 month ago in a school in Songkhla... it was on the border with Pattani which is 120 km further south from Songkhla city and hat Yai city.

If you want t know about the activities there, please refer to a previous topic (i don't know how to include the link) in this forum.

AK

I have been living on and off in hatyai and have travelled quite a bit to Songkla. What is it like in hatyai? The city is a bit quiet now-a-days. Tourism has died down quite a bit & businesses seems to be a bit slow over here. Hatyai has always been a get-away place for Malaysians and Singaporeans for shopping and other activities but due to the bombings - eventhough hundreds of kms away and recently within the vacinity - a lot of the tourists are staying away from the place & venturing to Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Airasia has even ceased flights from Kuala Lumpur to Hatyai.

Even with all the warnings of "the-dangers-of-visiting-southern-thailand" - it is still a great place.

The muslim separatists have been fighting for independence for many many

years. It is an open secret that the muslim countries are very sympathetic

towards their cause. The southerners are muslims and of the Malay race,

just like the muslim Malays in Malaysia. The Malays (the dominant race)

in Malaysia has close historical, cultural, religious, and family ties with

the Southerners, who are also Malays and most importantly, muslims

and they speak the same language.

Bangkok has from time to time accuses Malaysia for giving shelter to

the separatists, which Malaysia vehemently denied.

The southerners being muslims are alien to the culture, customs, practices, and

beliefs of the Thais who are Buddhists. About 96% of Thailand are Buddhists.

The southerners would very much like to implement Islamic laws and use

Malay as their official language. Deep in their hearts, they are fighting for

a cause. There is no easy solution to these problems.

There must be a mistake. The southerners (Muslims) in Thailand do not speak Malay or have rather limited vocabulary of Malay. I have tried speaking to them in Malay and most could not understand what I was saying -- apart from those who stay right at the border of Malaysian immigration and have dealings with everyday Malaysians.