Day 16, Tuesday, 19th March - Yala

Yala Limitations....... It's been a comfortable night at Baan Thongdee, and we can improvise over the lack of amenities nearby. The main subject for today is how to proceed now we are in Yala. The city itself has no established history to speak of. It used to be part of the Pattani Kingdom and became independent of Bangkok for a while after the fall of Ayutthaya. This means there are fewer ancient temples or archaeological site around Yala, so as a landlocked province almost all the attractions here are natural. The problem with that is there are few attractions easy to visit. We will however, start in the town and see how far we get.
Yala Railway Station....... Yala Railway Station is located in Sateng Sub-district, Yala City. It is a class 1 station around 1,040 km from Bangkok. It opened in November 1919 as part of the Southern Line Khlong Sai-Balo section. The railway extended to Su-ngai Kolok in September 1921 to connect to Malaysian railways.
I arrive at this station believing that it's the only Class 1 Station I hadn't visited in Thailand and accordingly I have to record something here. However, this something gets deleted as I've just missed a service. Time will be better spent mopping up in the city. I start with some obvious attractions before we proceed further.
Yala Central Mosque....... Yala Central Mosque is the province's main mosque, completed in 1984. The mosque was built in the Western architectural style, adapted to suit the structure of the mosque. Approximately 30 wide steps in the front of the mosque lead to the upper terrace. The roof is square with a dome in its centre.
Other City Attractions....... Within view of the mosque is the clock tower. By now I've decided to head west where there are some attractions but still in the city, we stumble on more. We find ourselves on the bank of the Pattani River and that alone is worth a stop. Here we locate some amazing Street Art then in the distance is the Black Bridge that the railway uses to cross the river. It's time to move out of town.
Phra Phuttka Saiyat Wat Khuhaphimuk....... Phra Phuttka Saiyat Wat Khuhaphimuk is located in a peaceful location beside the Pattani River. On a towering rock next to it is the cave entrance which requires over 100 steps to reach. At Wat Khuhaphimuk the reclining Buddha image is located near the inner wall of the cave and surrounded by many stucco Buddha images of various sizes. The main image is believed to date from 757 A.D. in the Srivijaya period and measures 81.1 feet (24.72 m) in length. It is believed to have originally been the Reclining Vishnu as apparent from the Naga's hood over the head but was altered to a Hinayana reclining Buddha.
From here there are a few more natural attractions near the provincial border with Songkhla but I can check these out later as we will be passing this way tomorrow. After lunch near the temple we head back into the city and I call in at the City Pillar Shrine.
City Pillar Shrine (Chao Por Lak Muang)....... The pillar shrine is characterized by a pole that measures 105 centimeters in diameter. The pillar is placed on a round base and carved in Thai patterns, then lacquered and gilded around the base on the upper floor of the shrine. In the centre is a sculpture of an ancient warrior holding a shield and sword. It is believed to be the spirit of one of the generals of King Taksin the Great. As for the top of the city pillar, it is carved into a 4-faced Brahma. His Majesty graciously bestowed the top of the City Pillar on May 18, 1962, and since then, it has become the spiritual home for Yala people.
Backtracking....... I now head to the railway station once more. This time I decided to wait for a service to Bangkok while another service waits for departure later. I'm happy with that.
I am now running out of ideas. Anything more will need us to extent our distance from the town. We head first to a natural feature on the provincial border with Pattani. Here is a lake and wetland area.
Tasik Air Tawar....... Tasik Air Tawar is a viewpoint actually in Pattini Province. It is a viewpoint for the wetland but unfortunately with low water levels there is little to see here. Moving around to the Yala side of the lake is a buffalo grazing area again with only distant views of the lake. Then reaching an area designated as a campsite we finally reach the water's edge.
I feel as if I'm scraping the barrel with time remaining and decide to head south to Tawan Ratsami (Sunray) Waterfall not knowing if it's worth visiting. On arrival, I do reach the falls but there is not a lot of water flowing at the moment. While there may be a bit more time tomorrow, for today I just give it up. Let's head back into the city.
A Bird in Hand....... Thailand is well known for its roadside vending and for once I indulge, purchasing a whole watermelon and this is just the start. In the city I notice spit cooked chicken sold on the roadside. Here they prepare charcoal spit roasted as well as barrel cooked chicken. Prepared with exotic spices they are so hard to resist and a whole bird ends up in a bag. Never have I seen such a quantity of birds prepared in one place before and oh what smells. We pick up rice and salad and that will do nicely and help my budget too.
Effectively now my visit to Yala Province is over and I'm pleased with my coverage relative to what Yala has to offer. Tomorrow is a day of transition as I book accommodation back in Songkhla Province.
Next Page.