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Pak Phanang - Singha Nakhon Well, our route today is in the South where the no-vote ballot was overwhelmingly more popular than the election candidates. It's the first leg of our journey around Songkhla Lake. Starting from Pak Phanang town of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, drive east until you reach Hat Siam T-intersection on the seaside. From there, turn left and drive north along the shoreline for 17 kilometres and you'll reach Laem Talumphuk. All the other places of interest depicted in today's map are south of this T-intersection. From Hat Siam, follow Highway 4013 southwards to Hua Sai, and then Highway 408 to Ranot. From Ranot, which is a part of Songkhla Province, you'll be travelling along a narrow strip of land that separates Songkhla Lake on the west from the Gulf of Thailand on the east. Twenty-two kilometres from Ranot, turn right onto a side road next to Wat Chumphon. The more famous Wat Pha Kho is less than a kilometre down that road. From Wat Pha Kho, instead of coming back to the 4013, continue southward via Rural Highway 2082. After less than 17 kilometres you'll arrive at a small intersection. Here, turn right and you'll get to Khu Khut Waterbird Sanctuary in a couple of minutes. (In case you want to know: if you turn right at this intersection, the road will take you to Sathing Phra.) After visiting the sanctuary, move on along the 2082. This section of the road is not so smooth but the good thing about it is you'll see several old, southern-style houses along the way. Sixteen kilometres from the intersection at Khu Khut, take a right turn onto a road labelled as the 3077. This road keeps you close to the eastern shore of Songkhla Lake. Drive on for another 16 kilometres, and you'll reemerge on Highway 408. Turn right and in a few minutes you'll reach Singha Nakhon. About a kilometre and a half from Singha Nakhon, Highway 408 shifts right. But you can go straight via Highway 4222 to Khao Daeng ferry which links Singha Nakhon and the town of Songkhla. From the ferry, there's a narrow road that can take you further to the big Muslim community at Ban Hua Khao. To get to the Khao Noi Fort (F2 on the map), the simplest way is to retract along the 4222 to Highway 408 and drive for just a kilometre or so in the direction of Tinsulanonda Bridge. Go slowly otherwise you might drive past the roadside fort without seeing it. |