Has anybody ever been to this Hala Bala Wildlife Preserve on the Malay border in Narathiwat? I have a plan to go with a keen birdwatcher next week and would like some advice.regarding accommodation, what to see/avoid doing, etc.  They say it is the 'Amazon of Asean'. Hmm...

2 hours ago, phuketsub said:

They say it is the 'Amazon of Asean'.

That explains the naming of the “Amazean Jungle Trail 2022” marathon being held in Betong. 

Well, I got back yesterday and have a few observations/things to report. 

 

There is TONS of roadbuilding going on in the Deep South now, to the extent that it makes it hard to follow a route on Google Maps...On the way down it was raining the whole way, so I didn't notice much.

 

On the way back I kinda got lost and ended up driving through some very remote villages in Nara and Pattani. Most of the military checkpoints in such areas appeared to be unmanned, if not abandoned...though there was still a minor presence along some of the highways...I never got stopped once, however. 

 

All the people down there are following the same retarded logic of riding motorcycles around with masks and no helmets -- I will never get that. 

 

The park itself was beautiful and is completely remote. We stayed at the Patcharat Resort about 1km outside the main entrance. They were working on the hill road and I didn't want to risk passing it since it had rained so heavily the day before. My birdwatching friends said there wasn't a lot of bird activity as it was too early in the season. I was more interested in the plantlife and got a nice taste of that. 

 

One word of warning: the leeches there are absolutely brutal, so go prepared. 

 

When we got to the park at about 7am it was completely unmanned, so we didn't have to pay an entrance fee...They didn't take any notice as we were leaving. 

 

Anyway, that's just a brief overview. II hope it is of benefit to someone. 

hala bala1.heic