This travel writing article is based on my sojourn to Narathiwat, Thailand. The said province is the most closest province to Kelantan. More often than not, Kelantanese come here for Thai foods and to experience its culture and history. Against these backgrounds, the writer shares the narrative of his recent visit to the two national parks in this province which worth visiting.
Mentioning Narathiwat, many could easily conjure up delicious Thai’s food and faces of friendly people. As for taste buds’ person, images of assorted food could easily whet their temptations. They would be eager to go there when they have information about new restaurants or cafés that offer what they craze for. Naturally, politeness and hospitality of local people could easily touch every visitors’ heart. In Narathiwat, when ones got lost in the middle of the city or somewhere, asking any one of the locals, he or she would tell the way of getting to the destination and it is not uncommon for them to lead the exact location by their cars or motorcycles to ensure the lost ones arrive at the right destination. It seems to be the greatest concern for them that one’s should not go wrong. They do this for nothing in return, just sincerely from their hearts.
Apart from these two pull factors, Narathiwat offers a lot more; Its natural environment is spell- bounding and captivating visitors. Its two National Parks – Aomanao National Park and Hala-Bala National Park are worth visiting, must-see places for nature lovers who always yearn for peaceful and calm environment.
The Ao Manao-Khao Tanyong National Park is about 6 kilometers to the south of Narathiwat Town, it takes only 11 minutes’ drive from the said town. This park is situated by the South China Sea. Apart from the local people, this park also gradually attracts international tourists due to its attractiveness and uniqueness. The park’s beach is divided into two segments –its rocky terrain and hill, which borders on Thaksin Ratchaniwet Palace to the south and four kilometers white sandy beach, stretching to the Nara river confluence that separated it with the town.
If you like, you can walk to a viewpoint on a small hill. While walking you would hear the sound of monkeys, whooping from a distance tree. Walking under the shade of canopy of lush greenery offers soothing experience. You would easily encounter different kinds of insects, reptiles and mammals on the forest floors, blending and camouflaging themselves with tree trunks and brown fallen leaves as natural ways of survival. If you do not see carefully enough, you could not easily differentiate. What a pleasurable excitement to watch a dark brown millipede, moving slowly to a destination that she only knows? The trampling of your feet on the bare ground doesn’t disturb her, unless you gently touch her, she would curl herself as a defend mechanism for protection. While you get soaked by sweat, you feel so relief and relaxed when you are surrounded by nature. It is a panacea from the hustle and bustle of never ending work at the office or at home which sometimes too stressful to handle and to cope with. The view from the top of the hill is so breathtaking. A gentle slap of sea breeze on your face and body can soothe tired legs. You could easily forget the heavy task of climbing to reach the peak. While heading down is another story, feeling accomplished could easily melt tiredness of ascend.
On the other hand, its beach is more suitable for those who do not wish to walk uphill but looking for a relaxed kind of activity instead. You could easily spend quality time with family and friends on the beach. Ao Manao white sandy beach never fails to attract visitors. On the Southern part of the beach, you could see huge stones protruding, like a stony cape, and during a low tide you can easily cross it to go to another beach.
We spent one night at Ao Manao Resort which is situated a stone’s throw away from the beach and went to the beach at dawn, slightly after subuh prayer. Attaching the phone to the tripod that faced to the sea, we recorded the rising sun and activities unfolded. In the nearby lagoon; a depression which naturally created by a combination of the art-work of waves and sand, a school of fish swimming to the edge of the water, simultaneously splashing, and disappearing from our views. On the sandy ridge, young European parents pitched a tent. We saw a boy, age around 5 to 7 years, wearing a collarless t-shirt and shorts running barefoot along the stretch of the beach behind us, his mother carried her younger sister to the nearby restroom. His father was also visible near the tent. They slept and camped under the moonlight in the open area of the beach. As for kids, that kind of exposure and experience could naturally nurture them to have a high sense of natural environment. Indeed, inculcating a deep love for nature should start from a very young age.
We knew the sun starts to rise when the first glowing orange streak appeared on the horizon against the dark grey sky. A lone fisherman in his boat silhouetted in a distance, casting fishing nets, catching the early morning fish to eke his family living. We heard the soothing sound of the waves lapping the shore, washing up all sorts of things on the beach; drifting woods, empty bottles, plastics begs, derelict fishing nets as well as seashells. The sun gradually rising, exposing its radiant colours, now the morning was broken. The beach which avoid of visitors now came to life; a group of family, bringing their children to the lagoon, a few were walking leisurely while another jogged on the path parallel with coastal line, and a few others rode bicycles at the dedicated lane. Fresh and crispy morning was the perfect vibe to begin the day. We went to the edge of water, collecting starfish at the beach near the stony area. The local authority erected plethora of wooden structures like swings, a wooden stair and other wooden structures for visitors to take selfies, wefies and pictures later as Instagrammable-worth photos to be shared with online friends in social medias.
About half an hour later, we left the beach to go back to the resort. Our time-lapse video captured the dawn, the sun rise as well as other activities on the beach. What a memorable experience. We took nothing but pictures and videos and we left nothing but unforgettable memory. After a quite shower, we left the resort to Narathiwat town for breakfast and lunch as well as visited a few touristy places nearby and revisited the beach back in the late afternoon when the temperature got cooler as the sun setting down in the western sky.
As in the morning, the beach presented a lively scene, bustling with visitors from all walks of life. During our visit, we saw a group of local school children, coming with two fully-loaded chartered buses with colourful and striking paints. They were under their teachers’ supervision. Some of them can be seen sitting on the concrete path under the shade of casuarina trees that offered respite from the hot sun. They ate the food that they bought from the nearby footstalls under the shades. At the nearby coffee shops, across the road, other visitors mingled with the local people chatting and gossiping and at the same time treated themselves to some snacks. Every now and then their faces looked at the distant sea. We rode further and parked our car when we found the best spot; on the grass, under the shade of casuarina trees that offers best sea view. Nearby, a middle aged-man, crossing his legs, sitting on a foldable chair engrossed in the reading, seemingly oblivious of what was happening around him. In front of him was a flip-table with a white mug on it. What a heaven! We decided to take a stroll on the beach. Sitting on a dead-drifted wood, we looked at the South China Sea, the sound of lapping waves gently pounded against beach was a constant rhythm on our ears. The coming waves created foaming water, hurling on the sandy beach and retreating, and coming gain, happened continuously. In Malay we got a popular song, where a part of its lyrics goes “Ibarat Ombak dan Pantai, Berpisah Tiada”, that can be literally translated as “like lapping waves and beach, inseparable”. We had an option to bathe but did not opt for it as we didn’t want to take any risks. Later, a young well-built man wearing shorts and his wife with a bucket hat accompanied by two little kids walked to the beach, in search for a perfect location. We also saw a boy carrying a plastic hoe and a girl with a red plastic bucket where later they dug up some sand and put it in the bucket. A spice of life of a happy moment for the family. At the upper part of the beach, a few rode bicycles on the 4 kilometers paved lane meandered along the sand dunes through row of shady casuarina trees. After trampling around the beach, we called it a day and left the beach at almost sun set. The natural environment and attraction of the national park, including the beach are so spell-bounding. We regretted for only staying there a day. If we had time, surely we could spend a few days here, a slice of Earth’s paradise in Narathiwat.
While Ao Manao-Khao Tanyong National Park is situated by the sea, Hala-Bala Wildlife Santuary is on the western side of Narathiwat. It is nestled at the border district of Yala and the district of Jeli, Malaysia. It is dubbed as “the Amazon of ASEAN”. You have two options to go there. First, for those who stay in Jeli and Tanah Merah can access it through the Integrated Custom and Quarantine Service (ICQS) at Buketa. You only need to go towards Waeng. Second, for those from Kota Bharu, Rantau Panjang and Tumpat, you can cross Thailand through ICQS Rantau Panjang, and from Golok, go the west of the town to Waeng which situated about 20 kilometers away. Thailand has a good road that connects one town to another. From these two towns, you will drive on two-lane roads. Leaving the main Golok-Waeng road, you will pass small towns and villages and small-scale rubber plantations and would end with small village road until you arrive at Hala-Bala Research Centre. Once arrived, you will be greeted with a two-hornbill statue overlooking a tropical rainforest. An accommodation for visitors perched on a mount opposite the entrance. It was modern in design but minimalist enough that it doesn’t disrupt the beauty of the area. The rangers stopped us and told us to pay for the entrance fees, but when we mentioned to them that we were UMK lecturers and come to pay a short visit to study flora and fauna of the park as well as to look for future collaboration including students’ internship at the station, they agreed to let us in and to show us around the station for free. What a relief. A middle aged-man man, where some of his close family stayed in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan rode his motorcycle, leading us to the station. He was more than happy to be our guide, proud to show us what the station does for research to conserve and preserve flora and fauna of the Wildlife Sanctuary.
Luck struck us when we arrived at the research station where we were greeted by a male Rhinoceros Hornbill, which could be easily discerned by its enormous orange bill with rectangular shape, handsomely, perching on the roof of a carpentry work section of the wooden structure. Instead of flying, he was too lazy for that and was just jumping from one roof to another. He looked so tame. According to the staff, it is common for the station to host an injured hornbill. A poor bird would be treated, fed and looked after. Once recovered. it would be released. Instead of flying back to the forest, some prefer to stay around the station and frequently come at meal time. After sometime, it would be released back to the sanctuary. What a sad separation between a human and a bird, but releasing it would be the best decision. In the wild, hornbills enjoy full freedom, flying here and there in a flock in the protected areas. Naturally, Hornbills form monogamous pairs, staying together with a partner for the whole life, from laying eggs to incubation, a female bird stays in a seal hole or cavity of a tree a while the male partner brings food until the eggs cracked and produces chicks. The incubation usually takes 40 days.
Down the hill, we visited pitcher plants section. While it looked rather abandoned, our eyes managed to spot a few beautiful pitcher plants with their cups overhanging on the small trees. Pitcher plant, which is also known as a monkey cup is a carnivorous plant where its cup is actually a trap; partly filled with liquid that produces a special smell which attracts small insects to venture inside that cause them to fall down and drown deeper into the cup. Dead insects are source nutrients for its survival. A variety of pitcher plants species are available at the research station. The most attractive one was a reddish-purple colour. We snapped photos as memory to bring home and to share with friends. Apart from that, we could also climb an observation tower to see and hear the sound of nature. But because our visit was short, we didn’t have the luxury of time for that activity. Instead we went to the nearby river, dipping our hands and washed our faces with cool and fresh water. We wished more rivers at home was like that, however, it will only be an unfulfilled dream unless everybody looks after our rivers and maintain their natural ecosystems. After spending about an hour time around the station, we left to the Sirindhorn Waterfall at the vicinity.
The roaring thunders of water greeted our presence when we parked and turned off the engine of our car. A few local visitors were also there, including a group of teenagers who visited the cascade with motorcycles. We approached the cascade and carefully climbed up a granite rock, subsequently up to a hill to find the best spot. Negotiating our feet on slippery stone with caution, slippery rock is dangerous. A flat bed rock was the best spot. The views from there was breathtakingly beautiful with tumbling foam water of cascade river, lush green forest, white nimbus clouds and blue sky stretching as far as the eyes could see created a picture-perfect view. We cautiously positioned ourselves on the rock and took photos for keepsake amid the calming river and forest ambience. On the riverbanks on both sides of rivers covered by tall dipterocarp trees, around 40 to 50 feet under the shades of trees with no or little sunlight could penetrate the ground, it created a cool environs. On the ground, a few species of plants thrive. A few we knew by names, but many of them we didn’t. In the meantime, the rainforest is the most efficient mechanism to infiltrate rainwaters and to protect soil from erosion. Roughly up to 80 per cent rainwater can be infiltrated and gradually flows to the ground which later creates natural springs, as a source of an ephemeral river. As a whole the area is a water catchment. Nature offers the best for man, while several layers of trees are the best mechanism to protect us from the sun. Tropical rainforest produces oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide. No wonder we felt so energetic when we stayed there. Indeed, Hala-Bala is a sanctuary that promises imperturbable tranquility. Sadly, it was time to go home. Hopefully, to come here again, staying a few days to explore the wild of the sanctuary, including watching hornbills on the trees. Our visit unfolded only a minuscule of the beauty of the park, surely not enough to quench our thirst of nature.
These two national parks are nature’s getaways. Thai people are very proud of their jewels. We learned two interesting lessons from our visit. First, national parks do not necessarily need to be located deep in the jungle as it can be near a town, amid of human settlement. By so doing not only we can protect our heritage but also frequently visit it as it is more accessible. Second, those who work with the park should be friendly and always willing to give the best service to visitors to ensure they know the importance of environmental conservation and protection. Next time, when you visit Narathiwat, you can include visiting these two national parks in your travel itinerary. They won’t upset you.
