The Deep South - Those Provinces That Shall Not Be Named
Thailand's Deep South: Adventures in the Land of "Maybe Don't Go There" So you've done Bangkok, floated through the markets, rode elephants in Chiang Mai, and taken those perfect Instagram shots on the beaches of Phuket. You've even explored Isaan on a road trip and rode on the Death Railway in Kanchanaburi. You're basically a Thailand expert now, right? Well, hold onto your Chang beer t-shirt, because there's a whole section of Thailand most tourists pretend doesn't exist: the Deep South. I'm talking about Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, three provinces that make your average travel agent as well as your embassy nervously change the subject. "Have you considered Koh Samui instead? Very nice beaches!" Why It's Got a Bad Rep Let's address the elephant in the room (and no, not the kind you ride for questionable tourist photos). The Deep South has been dealing with an ongoing insurgency since 2004. Muslim separatists in this re...