It's been a Peaceful night here at Pura Nakhon Hotel and I can't find any fault with the room. The floor consists of standard tiles, but I do wonder why they add wooden legged furniture Which scrapes along the floor loud enough to awaken the dead. Well, it certainly can be heard in adjacent rooms. OK, it's just an observation while we put together what we have for breakfast. Unlike up north, where we were last week , breakfast is generally not including in the price here on a budget.
Today we have a simple, 3-hour journey, so there's no need to rush, but I would like to visit the railway station where there's expected to be activity around 10.00 am. We seem to leave with enough time, but as I arrive at the station a service with an overnight train from Bangkok has just pulled in. Still I manage to record something and as a bonus there is a local train ready to depart for Yala. Good luck with all the troubles they seem to keep having down there. Now let's hit the road and gobble up those remaining miles for today.
There are a few options for our journey. The easiest by far is to take HWY 403 then connect with the main HWY 41 but with time to spare, there is a scenic route along the coast. Then, another option is to skirt the amazing Songkhla Lake using the fabulous bridge around Thale Noi.
The Chaloem Phrakiat Bridge needs no introduction on my site. It's a great way to see this incredible expanse of wetland as far as the eye can see, so rich in wildlife. It's here in the margins that we stop for lunch at a stilt restaurant, it's rustic appearance blending in so naturally in the surrounding area. Suitably refreshed we continue towards Phatthalung keeping the lake in sight. I can't help stopping at one of the khlongs to watch a fisherman hauling in a huge net known as a 'yok yor.'
As we move further around the lake we stop at another attraction we've visited before: The Lampam Canal Viewpoint at the junction with the lake. It's all good but we must make progress. Inevitably though there is something else on the way as we locate an historic temple.
Wat Khien Bang Kaeo beside the lake, is an old temple from the early Ayutthaya period. It was abandoned presumably after the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767. Like many others it was rediscovered and work undertaken to renovate it some one hundred years ago. Today there are just a few relics of earlier times but even the more recent ones are interesting. It can be deduced that due to the large area occupied, that this was an ancient town. However, I need to put history lessons aside and locate the train station at Bang Kaeo. This achieved, after a successful visit, it's time to head straight for Hat Yai.
Hat Yai is a big city in the south Thailand and there's the inevitable traffic congestion. We persevere and arrive at Sukura Hotel where to my relief everything is fine.
It's a short rest then straight out to the railway station where services are waiting for the overnight journey to Bangkok. This takes time and we've yet to eat. Then, being not so familiar with this city we lose time finding a suitable place to eat, At least we have a rough plan for tomorrow which is bound to be another busy day due to more travel plans.
There remains some final preparations as we find ourselves at Lee Gardens Plaza in downtown Hat Yai to change some currency. It's quite late returning to the hotel where everything is as comfortable as it should be.

Source: Visit