Riding Through The South Of Thailand Betong & Yala

This was a new route that I had not taken before in Thailand. Very rare but usually the border crossing into Thailand was always through Bukit Kayu Hitam since there was always a rush of time to head north to allow more time spend in central part of Thailand.

This time round I had no rush to go north so instead I choose to do Betong, the southern most town and point in Thailand which also makes it the southern most border of Thailand. Betong had many trophy checkpoint for a traveler just because it was the southern most everything in Thailand.

Crossing into Thailand-Betong 

Betong Old Town

Betong Clock Tower 

The route however was beautiful. Raw nature immediately after leaving the border town, I could see that in the future, Betong could be a long weekend ride for my sanity when I need a break from work but cant go too far away. 

I spend the night in Betong and visited the famous marker of 0 km starting point but found out that it was actually built by a entrepreneur biker and not the Gov of Thailand.

Betong Route 410 - 0 km marker 

The marker became a novelty over time and now it was more like a pilgrimage for bikers and a cheeky checkpoint tourist destination in Betong. 

I had a good chat with the owner which was from Malaysia but had settle down in Betong for long time. When he found out that I was on my way to Central Asia, all the stickers that I was about to buy suddenly became a gift from him.

I spend the second night at a paid campsite in the outskirts of Betong so I could see the famous morning scenery of above the clouds in Betong and then it was slow ride through winding and curvy roads through the dense tropical jungle all the way to Yala.

The Tropical Landscape of Betong - Yala Province

Morning Cloud Mist of Betong 

Simple town Yala with barely any foreign tourist. It was one of those unknown places in Thailand that no tourist would go and only crazy travelers like me trying to find some niche hidden gems. 

Nothing really spectacular but with plenty of time in hand, sometimes these are the little simple gems of watching the normal lives of people flow by.

Yala

After Yala it was an easy ride to Hatyai where my mandatory stop to visit relative for a few days is always a welcome break.

Traveled on: Apr 2024