Finally... Naratiwat! 9 Lovely Days In "Dangerous" South Thailand.

Naratiwat, Southern Thailand.

Feb 29 - Mar 8, 2016

Opposite ends of Thailand, but opposite in many
more ways than just geography

A place I have been wanting to visit for years, a place that Thai people avoid almost completely, a place that it seems the rest of Thailand wish did not exist.

There are not many of the 77 Thai provinces that I have yet to visit, but I knew that I would probably be stuck at 74 forever if I was only traveling on my own.  I would need an invitation to visit any of the three Southern-most provinces, and finally it came - my favorite Dragonfly English Camp company!  A day to travel, Seven days of English Camp in a local public school, and then one day to relax before returning to Maha Sarakam.

Landing in Naratiwat, it was immediately and obviously not Thailand... it was amazing.  So unique!  So weird!  To know that I was still in Thailand, but seeing and experiencing all these little details which I knew were special - this area exists almost in a state of limbo, much like any 'conflict zone' does when not actually in the time of open conflict.


The parts of the country in which I have lived
seem to prefer that everyone totally ignores what is happening, and people actually threaten misbehaving children with the words, "act how you should or you will find yourself in Pattani!"

While it was clear to see that things were not as comfy or care-free as they are where I live in Esaan, Northeast Thailand, there was a totally different and very cool vibe, cool-tense-cool, a different kind than the cool-funny-cool which I'm used to, and this was a part of Thailand I was very grateful to finally get to see!!

You can read the article I wrote, and then scroll to the bottom to see pictures of students, some food, some of the surroundings outside the town, and then some awesome shots from English Camp.

Has anyone else spent time in these three Southern Provinces?  What brought you there?

Differences which were immediately obvious:

-  People drove much faster!!  Esaan is very relaxed, traffic accidents very rare due to the fact that drivers expect a motorcycle to pop-out of every side street at any given second (nearly true), and most people drive very defensively (one thing for which this cyclist is thankful!), and well Esaan has quite the slow-life mindset to begin with... not so much in this part of the South!

-  People park their motorbikes at the market and immediately open the seat, showing the lack of bomb components or anything illegal inside...

Awesome Photo Gem!!  Yes she is fishing, and she was
using shrimp on her hook for bait.

-  The presence of Hijabs on the young girls, and full-length coverings worn by Muslim women.  While there are people of every religion everywhere in Thailand (though the government doe not acknowledge it), the South is very much predominantly Muslim, whereas they are the far minority pretty much everywhere else.

-  People urged us not to walk around in areas we didn't know, obviously good advice, but outside of Bangkok I have really never felt in danger in the slightest anywhere else in Thailand.  I wish that there was no danger, but actually it was kind of cool to feel the difference.  Hey, I also appreciate my safety in Esaan more after this week...

-  The weather; very tropical!  Much cooler, a nice constant breeze, but very humid.  Right next to the Bay of Thailand, the trees are also different, as is the availability of new types of fruits and vegetables!!  This specific mango variety was just unbelievably sweet!

-  It is perfectly acceptable to use Thai Baht OR the Malay Ringit.  Thailand borders many countries besides Malaysia, and I have yet to visit a border town on the Thai side that accepted the other side's money.

Families waiting outside due to the airport's small size, trust me when I say that the March sun is strong at 6 Degrees N!  Only one flight a day from each of three airlines, you can take your time walking out on the pavement to and from the plane...

I knew just the bare bones of the background of this small but very historical area, but it was enough that I felt prepared, and excited, to go.  There was much unspoken, at the markets, the lunch tables sitting with the teachers at school, there were the usual off-limit topics of Thai life but also something more... and there was too, ever so slight, a feeling of suspense in the air (both imagined suspense and actual, for the Friday we were there we were not allowed outside).  The majority of the fighting takes place about 100km north of where we stayed, but teachers remarked that it was not uncommon to hearing a home-made bomb, a soldier's grenade, and/or gunfire on any given night.

Standing in front of our hotel, bringing food back
from the market while soldiers patrol the area.

Nearly 7,000 people have lost their lives on both the sides of the Thai soldiers, the local police, the people supporting the insurrection movement, and many by-standers, from the years 2008-Present.  There will clearly be some nervousness to deal with beforehand when visiting a place with such a reputation.  Once one is face to face with real people though, people whom aren't just words on a news page, many, many things change!  People are people, and people learn to deal with, well, more than I saw here, and definitely more than most of us can imagine!

I understood some  of these feelings already, as the situation felt very similar to nervous or scary times in Africa, life just feels unsure, much more tentative than life in the West.  For example, maybe the month before an election, a month after some scandal has been exposed, or some time when the public thinks** that one group is looking to get back at another but has yet to act...  Life must go on for the ordinary citizen, and again, even though I wish there was no danger anywhere ever, it is still extremely interesting to see the various ways in which people try to manage their basic needs in a day.


The day I took leave of my office in Maha Sarakam, I simply said "I am asking off to teach for a week in the South," not actually saying the specific location of where my destination was.  I am very thankful to have received permission from my Dean to even go in the first place, and this week was therefore named as a week of volunteering and extra-curricular teaching - something necessary for professors and teachers alike in Thailand (but completely optional as to the activity which will fulfill this requirement).  I still did not however, name the place.



Upon returning though, I happily answered the question of, "Hey Teacher, where have you been?" and even more happily took the time to do my best in dispelling concern on the parts of people around me, people on every social level - professors, students, cafeteria staff, cleaning staff, driving staff, everyone whom I talk to on a daily basis, were uniformly apprehensive even saying the name of the province I visited.  A bit surprised that I went for 9 days and came back safely, but literally shocked when I said I'd love to return, that I couldn't wait for next year (the chance to do another week of teaching at the same school).  I recommended a visit to the deep South, if the chance would ever come, and tried my best to tell of all the great experiences, the lovely weather, the amazing food, and the very warm welcome we received at every room/school/hotel/restaurant/home we stayed.


The trip was such a wonderful chance to meet first-hand with people of a unique culture, a local-language speaking, fusion-food cooking, beautiful example of how humanity perseveres in the face of adversity.  People are people, and children and children - the spirit of a child can bring fun into literally any situation that a human can create.  For myself personally, it is the thing most pure and most lovely in all Creation, and at many times in my life has provided a clear and driving motivation to live.

Closer to and in town, about every 100 meters

An average of 1 death per day in this area of three fairly small provinces, by car bomb, motorcycle-bomb, bullet from police or bullet from 'terrorist,' and the average citizen of course must simply do their best to maintain sanity.  A single death is always tragic, let alone thousands, millions is just unthinkable but it is definitely happening in our world right now (Syria)... Although this situation in South Thailand is small-scale, it is very real.  Things like this are happening in so many places in the world, and they are all probably just as unknown and murkily-detailed in the public mind as is this conflict in Yala, Pattani, and Naratiwat.

I can say honestly that before I came to Thailand I had never heard a single word in all the history books I studied in school (US curriculum) about not just the struggles in Cambodia, in Vietnam, in Southern Thailand, in Myanmar (the places, all of which underwent extreme and extremely unnecessary turmoil, near my current home) but also history of Africa, even the country of Kenya, the country in which that school was located.

I have held this as a grudge against my own educators for some time now, I tried for years to read enough on my own to set this record straight, totally my own mistake, until one day (about 5 years ago, reading about Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia), I completely changed my mind.  I still have not forgiven the US curriculum's book list for ignoring so many things in which the USA was itself a major player and even instigator, but my attitude changed as far as what I am going to do about it.  I thought, "why will I sit here and read on and on, all the while becoming more and more sad/upset/confused?  Will reading yet another book analyzing the results of past conflict bring as much good as the same five hours spent talking instead to someone from that country?  Of course, a random person from Cambodia will likely not know as many details as does the professor who wrote this book, but they definitely know more than I do, and that five hours could sure make a difference in that person's life!"  After this moment, around this time in my life really, I think my outlook on many things changed quite a bit... quite for the better of course!  Since then, I have changed my habit instead to trying towards reading just 1 book on each country of the world (still a long, long, way to go!), and after each book, making sure to seek out or have some experience as soon as possible sharing life with someone from said country.  Of course, I usually will choose books relevant to some future travel plans, or a country I have already visited, to increase the chances of meeting someone before too much time has passed since reading... but wow how my opinions on so many things, even the total experience of reading has improved, and the sheer amount of memories I have now made chatting with people while travelling is just awesome**.

Cheering together for photos at the end of the day.  This was Grade 4, that kid in front of me was hilarious, talking about
Manchester United the whole camp (which I didn't mind at all, Go United!!)

The always awesome Southern Rice Dish of Kao Yam.  You can see white pepper,
Pomelo fruit, shredded coconut, brown sugar, finely shredded spinach, bean sprouts,
shredded purple cabbage, roasted chili powder, and a sour/spicy chili sauce on top.
Quite a combo, a strange yet wonderful mix, usually eaten for breakfast!

Red Ant Egg Spicy and Sour Salad... Insanely Good.

Imagination Activity with Grade 3 students

Front and Back from in front of a WONDERFUL restaurant the English teacher treated us to...  You can see short yet fruit-heavy papaya trees on either side.

Grade 3, my team.

I was needing some Sataw in my life.  The Stinky Bean (not making that up!) is an ultra-healthy
amazingly tasty food available in Southern Thailand.  Tastes great pretty much any way, but I like
it fried with chilies, Southern chili paste, and an egg or two, served with plain rice.

Catfish fried with Turmeric, a genius idea, common in the Southern cooking, one of the most flavor-satisfying things your tongue could ever want to experience!!

I need to ask my friend Mr. Cockar if these are 2 of the same species...?  I was happy to see these, I have only found this spider once before.
6 years ago in Petchabun, and now in Naratiwat.  After researching, I learned that it has the strongest web of any spider, and can even
catch small birds!!  The butterfly wing in the web you see below is intentionally placed there by the spider  (or it uses a leaf) so that birds can see it, and don't
destroy the web.  Fisherman can even use the web to repair a torn net!!!  That is almost scarily-strong...

The Golden Orb Spider

Awesome job, setting a propane canister on a float, using it as a light-providing device... What a smart but goofy plan, I wonder how long the flame can last?

One of the coolest kids ever, this guy was so happy to win for his team!  In this photo however, he was nervous that he was going to miss his chance for an extra sticker...

Cool girl from my team, the day of camp for 5th Grade.  

**because what the public thinks, or even just what individuals think, is of course, much more important and much more often acted upon, than what is actually happening - politically, or pretty much any reason, at any time, and also on any scale...

**using the real definition of the word 'awesome' here, as in something amazing and beyond words, and not the more current usage as in, "whoa that hairstyle is awesome."  Such a great word has really gone down the drain haha...