Thailand says 'No!' to Hippies!
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) -> Hat Yai (Thailand), 21st to 22nd March 2002
I threw my bags onto my bunk and watched as the train slowly filled
with people. There was a mix of Malaysian locals, European
backpackers, Japanese tourists and more. When the train was full,
after a few minutes it pulled out of the station.
The carriage was basically a long cabin with ten or so bunk beds
running down each side of it. The bed was comfortable enough, the
only thing was that there was no where to put my luggage. Luckily
that wasn't too much of a problem for me, it just meant cosying up
to my rucksack for the night. One thing I noticed was that they had
2 seatbelts running from the ceiling to the bottom side of the bunk
to stop you falling off in the middle of the night! Also, some smart
guy should get a bonus. They'd cleverly put Velcro on the ends on
the curtain so that you could secure the sides and not have to worry
about them flapping or slipping open!
I did a bit of reading, then tried to get some sleep seeing as
everyone else had pulled their curtains shut. The rocking motion of
the train was quite soothing & relaxing - most of the time.
Sometimes it gets a bit too violent and it rocks REALLY badly. Those
are the times you've got to hold on tight!
The train attendants were very considerate. Every time one of them
made an announcement over the tannoy, he'd whisper first so that
everyone was prepared. No shouting suddenly and making people jump
and/or fall out of bed!
They made the announcements in Malay & English, but it didn't really
help. The combination of bad PA speakers, the announcer's accent and
the fact the other passengers all talk during the English part,
meant that I couldn't understand it anyway.
We made a few stops in the morning, and luckily, from previous
experience, I realised when everyone started to get off at a certain
stop, that it must be the border point. So again, I jumped off, had
my passport checked & stamped by immigration, that boarded the train
again.
I noticed a sign in the immigration building saying that 'Hippies
aren't permitted into the Kingdom of Thailand'. It then went on to
describe what they saw as a 'hippy'. Basically if you have one or
more of the following, the official might not let you in and send
you back to Malaysia: Long and untidy hair, wearing a singlet and/or
sandals, not wearing underwear(!), wearing loose silk clothes, a
general dirty and untidy appearance etc. Luckily, I was wearing
trousers, trainers and a T-shirt so I had no problems. Judging by
the serious look of the officials, I don't think they'd have any
qualms about turning people away. So be tidy at Thailand border
crossings!
Also, be careful with your valuables at the border crossing, don't
leave them on the train. While I was waiting there, vendors boarded
the train trying to sell local currency, snacks, taxi rides etc to
people on the train. One guy also walked very slowly along the
carriage with a big bag, looking carefully at the bunk beds. A bit
dodgy if you ask me.
 We eventually stopped at what must have been Hat Yai because
everyone was getting ready and the guards walked down the carriages
saying something in Malay. So after the train stopped, I stepped
off, but not onto a nice concrete platform. Instead there were
wooden planks running between a couple of railways tracks. I
followed the other people around these wooden walkways until I
reached the main, bustling platform.
For the first time, I was faced with signs that weren't just
foreign, but used completely different letters. Malaysia, Bali and
Europe aren't as bad, because at least you can work out how to
pronounce the words, even if you don't know what they mean. But look
at the average Thai writing and you won't know where to start when
trying to pronounce it! Luckily, some (but by no means all) of the
signs had the English translation underneath. Phew!
Dozens of Thai people, foreigners and farangs (European foreigners)
hurried around the station, each with their own mission. I walked
slowly along the platform, looking for an information desk. I soon
came across it and said to the girl: 'Sawat-dii Khlap' (hello in
Thai). She replied with 'Sawat-dii Ka (the female version of hello),
then I started asking her a question. But she soon stopped me,
smiled and passed me over to another man, she couldn't speak
English. This guy was absolutely fantastic. I asked him about the
times of onward trains and he explained it clearly, then gave me a
timetable. The timetable was written in Thai, so I couldn't work out
which stop was which. He underlined them for me and circled the
relevant times.
With all my questions answered for tomorrow's journey, I walked
through the station and onto the street. On the way, I encountered a
few taxi-drivers who wanted to give me a lift, but compared to
Balinese hasslers, they were nothing! One 'no' was enough, and they
stopped! Armed with my guide-book map, I quickly found the
guest-house I was looking for. I'd deliberately picked one only a
short walk from the station.
After dropping my bags off in the fantastic room, only 300 baht (5
pounds) for the night (cheap for Europe, but expensive for Thailand
I was soon to find), I explored the town of Hat Yai.
As I'd been warned, Hat Yai is only a transport hub for southern
Thailand. It's a concrete jungle, not a pretty sight. There aren't
any attractions here, it's just a convenient stop in the deep south.
Basically, there are lots of crammed, dirty roads surrounded by
high, concrete, dirty buildings. All grey and polluted. Lucky I'm
only staying one day because this isn't typical of Thailand at all!
Absolutely starving, one of the first things I did, was try to hunt
out a restaurant. One friendly old guy sitting by the road asked we
where I was going. When I signalled that I was hungry, he led me to
a restaurant that he assured me was very good. It looked good
enough, so I gave it a try. I ordered a chicken curry, and sat at a
table by the pavement so I could watch the city life pass by.
The curry soon arrived and it was pretty good. It was very spicy
though, authentic Thai, luckily I had a drink to help me along. But
by the time I'd finished the meal, my nose was running and my eyes
were on the brink of watering. This was a 'mild' Thai curry, but
quite strong by our standards! Unfortunately, I'd finished my drink,
so with a burning mouth, I took a few minutes to collect myself,
drew a big breath, then went to pay, trying not to look like too
much of a weak farang. Straight after paying (about 50p for a curry
& drink), I rushed round to KFC where I'd seen a sign saying
ice-cream was on special offer. I bought one and quickly consumed
it, the coolness was greatly appreciated by my tongue!
Visit the website of a shop keeper in Hat Yai
Walking around Hat Yai, on some of the streets, there are long rows
of covered market stalls selling everything imaginable: food, drink,
clothes, watches, CDs, toys, Buddhas and more! It's quite an
experience. tightly packed stalls, crammed with all sorts of
colours, flavours and smells manned by fast talking Thais and
surrounded by even faster talking locals.
I also returned to the station to check if I needed to book the
train for tomorrow in advance. At the station there were loads of
official looking guys in orange, sleeveless jackets, like the kind
worn by construction workers. They walk around the station
'helpfully' talking to people. However, every time I talked to one
of them they'd say the trains are very slow, taking a taxi or bus
would be much better. One guy even said the train takes 8 hours to
get to Nakhon Si Thammarat, which is a blatant lie! I quickly worked
out that these guys are motorbike taxi drivers, not railway
attendants. So if you want help related to the train, go to the
information booth, don't ask them.
I walked around town for a bit longer, then had a quiet evening at
my hotel. Tomorrow morning, I've got to get up quiet early to take
the train to Nakhon Si Thammarat. Night Night!
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