For anyone driving down Hwy 41 from Chumpon to Surrathanni City, there are some really good value "motels" AC, TV fridge, hot shower and coffee!!! .... and wifi that worked!!! All included for about 400 baht...

Some rooms 250 to 300 baht, Clean and tidy places!

No signs in English, but usually show images of rooms or signs like this....

This one was about 70 kms north of Surrat City near Tha Chana, if memory serves! ... but I did notice several more...

even a covered closed in area for your car or motorbike!

Inappropriate post and the reply, removed.

Thank you for removing that ^ LivinginKata! .... So we'll move on... I was going to do this, this morning!

Thali Noi Lake area, in northern Songkhla,

This is a beautiful area for a day or two's visit... easy to get to from any southern area town... Located about 20 kms east of Patthilung or from Ranot to the east.... It's quite well sign posted!

I'll start with this.... The conservation centre at the end of Thali Noi Village

Not sure if the observation tower is finished yet.... but the centre offers rooms for rent, (I gather at "Up to you" price... )

Thali Noi is a destination for a lot of Malaysian day tours, so getting a room should not be difficult... or stay else where.

Tour long boats are available in the village.... around 500- 600 baht per tour boat... for roughly 2 hours... Best time to head out is in the morning when lilies and lotus flowers are open... the flowers close up around noon!

Scenery changes quickly !

heading through narrow water ways ....

To wide open areas of water !

Lilies almost closed up for the day! (April is usually the best time to see lilies.... ) although also there at other times.

Many types of birds can be observed .... January a good month to see the most migratory birds.. but there are lots at other times of year too...

Several restaurant in the village that serve pretty good food!

Great area for those who enjoy the out doors and a relaxed stay with nature !

The "Horror House" at the recent OTOP Festival in Betong, Yala.

Admission: 10 baht

The Burapachan Complex under construction in Ranode, Songkhla

They sure like their view towers down Songkhla way ! ....

This one Thali Noi village, over looking the lake.... a work in progress .... funds had run out ....I've not been down that way yet this year, so not sure if is complete, yet! (?)

It is part of the Conservation park, at the far end of the village... worth a "look see"!

It's a trip watching them unload the huge glass plates for the observation tower, especially when it gets windy.

@Burapachan Complex in Ranode, Songkhla

Too good a link to loose.

http://media.suratthani.go.th/document/good_man_town/PDF_Zone_2_I.pdf

Ko Phet, Hua Sai District

Nakhon Si Thammarat

8.142559, 100.297034 Not a bad place to swim. Google Maps doesn't mention it, but they have a nice temple there with shade trees, seating and shower facilities.

Beach at UTapao Temple, Ranode, Songkhla...this is one of the inlets I have to check before going in for my morning swim.

Tons of dragonflies at this beach, and many others. I always wonder how they 'make a living'.

Same old house from a different angle, one of the few left in the area due to smashing monsoon season waves. There is a new, more modern house behind it. Nobody here believes it might be related to global warming, but the old people here say the location of the houses they were born in are now 20 meters offshore.

An old man in Pak Traek, Ranode, Songkhla, points to the location of the home where he was born.

Yep!! those dragon flies always seem to be on that beach .... ^

a few kilometers inland towards Ban Khaw, one starts getting into the rice paddies....

Heavy duty traffic on the side roads! ....

Looking from view point, near Thali Noi village

Rural scene off the main road...

Beautiful country to explore!

I almost stepped on this guy yesterday on the banks of Songkhla Lake. Good thing he had a huge catfish in his mouth. I think it is a monocled cobra, the most dangerous one of all.

Another view of the Burapachan Complex, now 99% finished in Ranode, Songkhla. I would not want to have that job.

Yet another view(s) of Burapachan at sunset.

Let's post some pics from my trips to Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, in random order.

First, the pictures from Mueang Pattani.

Mueang Yala:

Mueang Narathiwat:

Some miscellaneous images from other districts in the deep south:

Thanks for the photos... did you ride the bike ?

Thanks for the photos... did you ride the bike ?

I drove a car.

Pix from Songkhla Fishing Port 2

Note to self: never go into this place again without rubber boots!

(My favorite sports shoes now smell like rotten fish and nothing will get the smell out)

Rainbow over Ranode Floating Market last Friday. Photo serendipity.

remains of seawall...Pak Tre Municipality, Ranode, Songkhla during monsoon. Planet of the Apes vibe.

Apparent dog drowning victim on Pak Tre Beach, Ranode, Songkhla. Photo taken at low tide. All the abandoned netting here is a real threat to swimmers. The shadow is pretty creepy.

Arriving Donsak (AKA Surat Thani ferry port for the islands of Samui, Phangan and  Koh Toa)

 

 

 

Donsak has two ferry terminals, on for Seatran (This one) about a km south there is the Raja ferry terminal.

 

 

 

That bitch is wet. My dog Max contemplates the Great Southern Flood of January, 2017.

Current state of the flooding in Ranode. The water is pretty dirty around here, but there are fish swimming around in it.

Clearing up is almost as bad as the flooding. After the 2010 floods in Hat Yai we not only had the issue of cleaning all the crap out of the house and off the streets, the streets and every bit of waste ground had to be cleared again of all the stuff people just threw out; dead fridges, TVs, mattresses etc, etc. 

3 hours ago, Stocky said:

Clearing up is almost as bad as the flooding. After the 2010 floods in Hat Yai we not only had the issue of cleaning all the crap out of the house and off the streets, the streets and every bit of waste ground had to be cleared again of all the stuff people just threw out; dead fridges, TVs, mattresses etc, etc. 

Your completely right about that. I was in Phuket the tsunami and that was a total  mess too, but the sheer scale of this has got to be 1000s of times bigger just due to the total area inundated. For us, we haven't even started the work of sorting through all the flood damaged crap because it is still to wet...In our town 'the dump' was also flooded. and it is just a rice field in a low-lying area surrounded by more rice fields under cultivation...only god knows how anything can grow around there...or what the long-term effects might be on the people who consume it.