10 Comments

I loved the podcast. I live and work in Narathiwat town and it's always a great thing hearing travellers' good experiences visiting the area.

My gf is from Yala, so I'm pretty familiar with the place as well, though Narathiwat beats Yala anytime imho.

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Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed it. It is a great area of the country, and that time in Yala was so many years ago, yet, still so fresh in my mind. Great to have nice memories of there.

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This story highlights the fact that although for most Westerners the deep South is a no go area the fact remains that the troubles are not aimed at Westerners and that the locals are very welcoming towards us. You will receive many spontaneous offers of generosity from some very lovely people.

I would add however that if you do visit you should take some precautions and above all listen the the advice of locals about place or times to avoid - generally I would avoid being in the countryside after dark

I am looking forward to reading more about the area as at the moment I have had to cancel my regular planed trips to the deep south owning to Covid and miss my friends in the area greatly

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Thanks Alistair, yup agree totally. Will cover more of the security concerns when I get to Pattani and Narathiwat in a few days time. Sorry to hear you’ve had to cancel your trip—I know you’re a big fan of Nara in particular, so I hope you’ll enjoy the coverage of there when I get there. Cheers!

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Don't worry, Alistair. We're still going strong in Menaro town and upon your return, you'll see plenty of changes since your last time, as in new businesses and everything. Covid ain't got us down or out, for sure! ;)

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I presume you mean Ao Manao as not familiar with Menaro but certainly now counting the days till i return

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Menaro is the Melayu name of Narathiwat, which is what many people still call Narathiwat.

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Many thanks for enlightenment I must say that despite all the time I have spent in the area that although aware of the language I doubt I would recognise any word.

I agree about Narathiwat over Yala especially the cities . I fell in love with Narathiwat back in the late 80s and have been a regular visitor for the best part of the last 20 years

For the traveler Narathiwat is one of those places you will either love or hate and one of those places that people come back to if the are in the former category

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More like this!

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Thanks Neill!

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