Hat Yai Sabai Sabai

Footbon

I've got more idea about Hat Yai after two months. I'm still in the glorious phase of appreciating my escape from China. I shudder when I think back.

I can do normal things in Thailand like ride motorbikes, breathe clean air, see nature, find solitude, chat to people with manners, use clean bogs and, crucially, enjoy football. I went to watch Songkla United draw 3-3 with Army United. Same division as Chiang Mai. Same quality too. Fewer fans. I bought a shirt.

My dream is to see a Thai Premier League game one day. I reckon this might be possible in my lifetime unlike NUFC winning a trophy.

Blekfat

Sunrise from my $120/month room. I've been indulging in a few English breakfasts. With brown sauce. Yes. Brown. Sauce.

Views

There's a massive golden Buddha half way up a hill offering fantastic views of Hat Yai city. I've been up a few times enjoying sunsets like this.

There's also a restaurant on the 33rd floor of a hotel. For 169bt you can eat as much as you like while absorbing panoramic views.

Terror

I was riding around one day wondering why there's so many army checkpoints when I stumbled upon this just outside Hat Yai. Then the penny dropped. One of the big differences between the south and the rest of Thailand are the number of Muslims. There's millions of em down here. Wherever they coexist with non-Muslims violence is never far behind. The Army checks motorbikes for bombs at hospitals, shopping malls and airports. Omnipresent security is a pain in the arse but part and parcel of living alongside adherents to the religion of peace - as Europeans are beginning to learn.

Bike rides

I've been doing a lot of exploring on the little Suzuki rice rocket, riding around 2,500km in two months. I circumnavigated Songkla Lake.

I saw torpedoes, guns and dragons near the Songkla ferry.

This sign made me laugh: "chicken shit for sale" hehe. Otherwise some very nice scenery.

Another ride took me west into the jungle clad mountains separating Songkla from Satun Province.






I got chatting to some local lads who lead me to a small waterfall deep in a remote jungle. Talking Thai helps massively in situations like this. These fellows work in the numerous rubber and palm oil plantations I passed on the way here.



Bank

Always nice to have a 15bt coconut on the way home.

I was locked out of my UK bank for 4 months. Nightmare trying to get this sorted. It involved Chinese Police and Thai Lawyers. And money.

I've also opened another bank account in Hat Yai. Work has been very efficient in processing the visa. They sent me to Malaysia after only being here two weeks. A few weeks later I had a work permit. This is not typical .... grease lightening.

Krungthep

I had a week off and had to buy something online to test the new bank card so I bought return flights to Bangers. A chance to see me old mate Matt. A great couple of days catching up and sampling all the Kok has to offer. A great view of Hat Yai on the way back. I could clearly see the school.

School

I love this photo. I ride about 500m to school each morning. I have to go through a traffic light with palm trees and men walking cows. Beautiful. In China I had to walk past scowling people hawking up greenies to a bleak backdrop of drab tower blocks and suffocating smog. Canny difference eh?






A fellow teacher invited me up to the "infinity" pool on his condo rooftop. Canny view. It seems infinite. Well at least as far as the horizon.

Fell off the wagon a few times in October after ten months abstinence. Gutted. Need to get back on it.










The first two months in the new job have been excellent. I've built a solid rapport with the students and have settled in to the new routine nicely. Thai kids are a breath of fresh air compared to their Chinese counterparts. So much more fun. Although I miss the challenge of more advanced topics I'm enjoying the ease of the material. Here's a few teachers planting flowers. And here's me smashing a penalty past an eight year old girl. She had no chance.

I'm writing this in a local coffee shop (for local people) listening to Oasis not look back in anger .... odd. Afterwards I'm off to the gym (30bt/session) with loadsa ripped Thai dudes (roids?) ... then I'll be jogging around Jaranakorn Stadium. I've got used to the staring there ..... there aren't many falangs in the Hat. Just the way I like it. Laters.