Uncovering the secrets of southern Thailand

We embarked to Narathiwat from Trang province with a relatively large group – 6 of us in total. The drive took over 7 hours which meant we entered the deep south at nightfall. It was made obvious to us that we were in the deep south due to the military checkpoints, equipped with tanks and heavily armed infantry, every few kilometres. As we drove further in, it felt like we were the only car on the road. A distinct lack of streetlights made the road seem so dark, to the point that the unmanned roadblocks (intended to slow down any vehicles attempting to escape) seemed to creep up out of nowhere. 

The most poignant event of this drive occurred when we pulled up at one of the larger checkpoints where officers were stopping and checking each vehicle. The tension, which had been building prior to this, reached its pinnacle here, as past experiences with Thai police had made us all very wary. Luckily, this was not the police, and instead of an interrogation we were met with requests for selfies and photographs. This was a strong indicator that we were a very novel presence in these parts. 

Arriving at our destination close to 9pm, we were extremely keen to get out into the forest. This did not go as planned. We were stopped before we’d even driven through the gates of our accommodation. Further discussion with local rangers confirmed that we were not allowed into the forest that night. This felt like a sucker punch, especially as our time in Narathiwat was already so limited. With no preconceived backup plan, a lot of pressure was suddenly on myself (as chief organiser) to sort something out. As usual, I turned to my trusty friend Google Maps in order to find an alternative. However, it was already getting late and there were many tired heads after the long journey, so options were limited. In the end I settled for what seemed like a riverside path where a rubber plantation meets rainforest. 

Getting there was difficult. The backstreets were strewn with potholes and, compared to the rest of Thailand, Narathiwat had experienced heavy rain and severe flooding the previous week. The dirt road we drove on was nothing but giant puddles of mud at times. This was concerning because the last thing any of us wanted was to get our car stranded out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, we got out to test the mud and found that it was mostly made up of tiny stones which had been washed in, so we hopped back in the car and I carefully caressed it through the waterlogged road and up to our destination. 

It was not the night we hoped for, but not a complete waste either. We were unable to find access to high quality forest, but still found a couple of common snake species, as well as two amazing Gonocephalus dragons. Both species pictured cannot be found anywhere else in Thailand, so this was an awesome find as well as a positive indicator that we could find other exciting species.