Speaking at a recent seminar titled “What I Say When I Talk about Phuket”, Weerasuk noted that the number of conventional tourists visiting Phuket has stabilised, perhaps due to the global economic situation, but said tour businesses should meanwhile continue improving their services and responding to complaints.

Currently 60 per cent of the island’s visitors are engaged in “foreign individual tourism” (FIT), a segment difficult to monitor and collect data on regarding people’s behaviour and preferences.

These are travellers who tend to avoid the primary attractions and stay in unregistered hotels, under the radar of state agencies and private travel associations. They base their choices on the advice of “influencers” found on social media.

To offset the impact FIT travel has on conventional tourism businesses, Weerasuk suggested that the Phuket Travel Association open membership to entrepreneurs newly setting up shop on the island and everyone living or just visiting there, as well as local businesspeople.

It could thus continue adding to its travel database and gauge the number of tourist arrivals more accurately.

The scale of the hotel business must be pinned down, he said. It should be determined whether such operations are legal and all should be identified on GPS maps – with a red pin for those unregistered, a yellow pin for those in the process of registering and a green pin for those registered.

With a comprehensive picture, measures could be taken against the illegal accommodations.

Weerasuk said it’s too expensive to travel around Phuket via public transportation, a result of poor management and poor law enforcement. It’s a drawback widely discussed on social media, which could be beneficial in forcing transport companies to address the issue.

He also recommended that the Phuket Chamber of Commerce coordinate efforts to establish a one-stop-service office where investors could receive guidance.

And the tourism association should develop ways for visitors to submit complaints online and search social networks for consumer advice in dealing with problems that arise.

Weerasuk said Phuket is a great location for filmmakers, in itself a boon to tourism, but it needs its own set of regulations as to where movies can be shot safely and legally.

He suggested that tour businesses, increasingly reliant on Chinese visitors, broaden their capabilities in Mandarin, seek out and hire travel agencies in China to bring them customers, and ensure low prices while improving services.

Weerasuk believes the next big sources of tourists will be India and Russia, while the market elsewhere in Asia should also be cultivated because it’s been overlooked for too long.

He warned, though, against cutting prices too low in response to increasing competition. It will harm the industry in the future, he said.

He encouraged Phuket’s tourism management agencies to develop and promote more unique activities and food specialities across the island, tapping government expertise as needed.

Perfect for family gathering on this special day, Expedia Thailand is introducing a list of 10 interesting holiday destinations, where you can treat your beloved mum as a princess.

Amatara Wellness Resort, Phuket

Overlooking the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea, this wellness-oriented sanctuary provides the all-inclusive holistic wellness retreat programmes designed to rebalance the body, mind and soul.

Far away from chaos, vacationers can enjoy luxury accommodation, delicious nutritious food and beverages at the Retreat, along with personal training and healthy activities. There are several pampering spa treatments, rebalancing physiotherapies and mindful holistic treatments, but the highlight is “the Thai Hammam Experience”, a mixture of traditional Turkish and Moroccan bathing with gentle Thai spa therapies.

Staycation: From Bt4,111-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt1,800-plus

Anantara Siam, Bangkok

This five-star resort in the concrete jungle is home to the luxury Anantara Spa, where guests can unwind with exotic Thai wellness traditions and trusted ancient Asian therapies. Pamper your mum with treatments that harness advanced Western spa wisdom, including a range of facials by Biologique Recherche designed to detoxify, oxygenate, sculpt and lift.

Staycation: From Bt4,700 to Bt134,000-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt2,200-plus

Anantara Chiang Mai Resort

Mesmerising Chiang Mai spa journeys in soothing surrounds, this resort is designed to resemble a sanctum and guests can experience the 90-minute “Lanna Ritual” that combines Thai, Burmese and Chinese techniques and the 90-minute “Anantara Signature Massage” using Eastern and Western massage techniques to stimulate the circulation, relax muscles and free energy blockages.

Staycation: From Bt6,360-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt1,999-plus

Evason Hua Hin

Six Senses Spas at Evason Hua Hin offer a layered approach that unites a pioneering spirit with treatments that go beyond ordinary. You will find an intuitive mix of science and human awareness, where the hi-tech and high-touch approach defines a service that is crafted around the individual.

The spa has recently introduced a family-orientated series of wellness classes designed to be carried out together. A family can start the day with a yoga lesson, learning to stretch and support each other while having fun and getting fit.

After breakfast, you can ride a bike to the morning market and explore the local area. Then, return to the resort and register for the Alchemy Bar session to create your own body scrub, followed by a 75-minute scrub and massage. The day ends with a massage workshop and a reconnecting family meditation.

Staycation: From Bt2,284-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt1,950-plus

Millennium Hilton Bangkok

Eforea spa at Millennium Hilton Bangkok offers a wide range of facial, full body treatments, hydrotherapy and beauty treatments.

You can satisfy your mum with a manicure or pedicure in our full-service nail salon and get her some quality skincare products to recreate the salon experience at home. Other family members can head to the fitness centre and take advantage of cardiovascular and weight training equipment and yoga sessions.

Staycation: From Bt3,570-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt1,750-plus

Burasari Phuket Resort & Spa

Steps away from the happening Patong Centre, the award-winning Spa Burasari has a blend of Eastern and Western culture. The treatment menu includes steam treatments, singing bowl ritual and massages to provide pure relaxation.

Staycation: From Bt2,200-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt1,200-plus

Phulay Bay, a Ritz Carlton Reserve

Surrounded with a tropical jungle and the limestone hills, The Spa at Phulay Bay gives you a realm of traditionally inspired Thai, Asian and European treatment experiences.

It has aromatherapy steam rooms, outdoor vitality pool and the terrace sauna for healing pleasure. Vacationers can enjoy the Signature Phulay Bay Scrub using a unique blend of peeling ingredients rich in nutrients. The body is gently exfoliated to remove dead cells and stimulate blood circulation, while homegrown lemongrass gives the long-lasting radiance on skin and its tangy fragrance refreshes the mind.

Staycation: From Bt10,500-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt3,500-plus

Pullman Pattaya

Set between pristine lotus ponds and spanned by natural wooden walkways, Aisawan Spa boasts the striking treatment rooms and the idyllic outdoor spa villas that allow guests to experience the essence of nature.

Revel in the fresh, clean air as it flows in from the ocean, guest can enjoy the perfect touch of a soothing massage and the spa products are made with natural ingredients.

Staycation: From Bt2,400-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt350-plus

Divalux Resort & Spa Bangkok

The Divalux Resort & Spa is famous for its Praan Spa, a centre of ultimate relaxation and healing.

It’s the epitome of Thai culture and heritage, with its interiors emphasising Thai luxury and royalty. The Praan provides a multitude of services, some of which include spa, facial massage, Thai massage, foot massage, aroma massage, Onsen and steam.

The spa also has a shopping corner offering lotions, shower gels, shampoos and conditioners in four scents, namely Siamwood, Homsuvarn, Gincitro and Coval.

Staycation: From Bt2,800-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt2,800-plus

Melati Beach Resort & Spa

Melati Spa reflects the exotic beauty of Thai tradition through its incorporating contemporary designs and provides an extensive array of wraps, scrubs, massages and facial treatments.

Its award-winning “Indigenous Coconut Experience” treatment has used natural ingredients and traditional herbs as well as modern massage techniques to create a totally unique form of relaxation. The spa also features a manicure and pedicure salon, yoga sala, beauty sala, waxing studio, private treatment room with shower and children’s spa room.

Staycation: From Bt6,372-plus per night

Spa treatments: From Bt900-plus

Find out more at the Expedia Thailand Travel Blog.

 Offering 2 dorm–type rooms with bunk beds and one private room with twin beds, Pickbaan is the perfect place to enjoy a delicious taste of local life.

Lamphun is the smallest province in Thailand’s north and because it’s located just 20 km from Chiang Mai, is often overlooked by tourists. Nowadays, thanks to the secondary destinations campaign being promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, new guesthouses and cafes are opening across the town and more tourists are stopping off for a night and sometimes or longer.

Situated in the heart of the city not far from the City Hall, Pick Baan is a Thai style wooden house – raised on stilts and with an open space underneath.

Pickbaan owner Uraiwan Chaipipat spotted the classic house not long after she and her family moved from Bangkok to Lamphun. Having closed the family restaurant and trying unsuccessfully her hand at vegetable farming, she was looking for a new project to occupy her time.

“Running the food shop was our family business and everyone helped with the cooking, waitressing and cleaning. But my parents were old and finding it difficult to cope. When I saw the house, I thought it would be perfect for a hostel even though Lamphun had few tourists at the time,” says the former event organiser who decided to start a new life in order to have more time to take care of her parents.

Uraiwan’s first step was to inform the provincial authority about her plans. That done and approval granted, she set about to run her own business in a way that wouldn’t stretch her capabilities while also not costing her too much money. That, philosophy, she says, is very much in line with the self–sufficiency economy, which she learned from taking part in the “Phor Laew Deethe Creator” project that selects young entrepreneurs to find the true definition of sufficiency (phor phiang) through their own endeavours.

Uraiwan runs the hostel very much in her own way. She doesn’t have time to stick around at the front desk nor does she want to hire staff. “I don’t live there either, so I needed to find a solution to handling reservations and Booking.com was the answer,” she says.

“I am not a tech geek. I’m online via my phone and I don’t have a computer. Booking.com has an application that helps me to run the reservation system as well as respond to customers,” she says.

Pickbaan has partnered with Booking.com since the end of 2015 and bookings started coming in not long after the agreement was signed. At that time, Pickbaan had just 3 beds but more have been gradually added. And while Pickbaan worked with a few platforms early in its life, the others have all been dropped in favour of Booking.com which, Uraiwan says, is the best fit for her lifestyle.

“Booking.com has a great mobile application that makes my life easier. It’s easy to use and I can check it anytime, anywhere. Other applications tend to be more complicated,” she adds.

Each room in the Pickbaan’s wooden house has a shared bathroom and toilet. The common area is equipped with a microwave, a toaster oven and a

refrigerator. Guests are asked to keep the place clean and quiet. Alcohol and cigarettes are not allowed on the premises and guests are requested to turn off lights to save energy. Breakfast is prepared by her family and features simple dishes like congee with minced pork prepared to traditional recipes for a true homely feel.

“We take care of our guests the way we like to be treated and in our own style,” she says.

She contacts her clients through the app and adds her guests to the hostel’s Line group once when they check in. Guests will experience the traditional way of living as part of the local community, chatting with neighbors and wandering around town and Uraiwan can come to their help through Line if they happen to get lost. Travelers can also ride a bicycle around town and book trips to Li, Mae Tha, and Pa Sang districts.

And, best of all, Uraiwan has plenty of time to look after her other guesthouse Baan Kai Muan, which is also on Booking.com, and her recently opened coffee shop in front of Pickbaan.

“She is able to make the most of the benefits offered by Booking.com, and particularly the Booking assistant, which helps to deal with customers. We provide the guest’s contact information to the owner and we also help to deal with requests from customers because Booking.com is available in 43 languages,” says Parichat Haehne, regional manager for Thailand and Indochina at Booking.com.

The room rate is cheap at only Bt750 for the private twin bedroom and Bt500 for a bunk bed including breakfast cooked and free wifi. The shared toilet is in the house itself while the bathroom is downstairs like in old style Thai houses. Guests get a towel, a pha khao ma for man and pha thung (Thai style sarong) for woman.  

Since using Booking.com, Pickbaaan has been attracting more visitors from overseas with occupancy now roughly equally divided between Thais and foreigners though the latter tend to dominate during the low season (May to September).

Most of the guests stay one night before moving to the next destination, usually Lampang.  There’s a bus stop in front of the guest house where visitors can board a bus to Chiang Mai, a mere 40-minute ride on the old road which goes through beautiful scenery on what is called the Rubber Tree Road for its hundreds of rubber trees on the sides.”

With Lamphun one of the 55 provinces being promoted as the secondary destination by TAT, competition has become higher. A new guesthouse nearby with more rooms and modern facilities has opened but Uraiwan works closely with the owners, with referrals between the two now common.

“We talked and decided we are not rivals, but neighbours. I’ll send guests to them when they might not feel comfortable at Pickbaan guesthouse or when it’s full. They do the same,” she explains.

Even though Pickbaan is now recognised among travelers, Uraiwan says that she doesn’t have a plan to expand her business although she is planning renovations based on comments from the guests on Booking.com.  And even when travellers try to book direct, she refers them to Booking.com

“Even though I have to pay commission for Booking. Com, I think it’s worth it. Being in Booking.com helps to promote Pickbaan to a wider group of tourists in the meantime, their system helps me a lot in running the business.  They even notify me when I should run promotions. For example, during Golden Week in Japan, they suggested I offer a campaign for Japanese tourists.”

Reservations can be made at www.booking.com/hotel/th/pickbaan–pikbaan.th.html.

Bangkok

Buddhists are invited to take part in candlelit processions around the ubosot of Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan today, Asarnha Bucha Day, from 9am to 8pm while tomorrow they can join an alms-giving from 4 to 6.30pm during which colourful flowers rather than rice are offered to the monks.

The temple is also holding an exhibition of religious icons and a showcase of flowers and unique wicker works crafted by local artisans.

Families can enjoy a puppet show, Thai musical performances, workshops on traditional fragrant lotions and perfumes from several kinds of Thai flowers, and also learn how to create paper and fresh flower garlands as well as floral jellies.

Boats parade along a canal in Ayutthaya carrying Lenten candles to Lat Chado Temple.

Ayutthaya

Today, the Ayutthaya Aquatic Phansa Festival returns to Phak Hai district of the old capital and visitors can dress in traditional costumes to celebrate Buddhist Lent Day just like their ancestors did.

Like every year, the residents carry the wax candles by boat along Lat Chao canal to the temple. During the day, visitors can enjoy a variety of local delicacies and sweets as well as fun folk games at the Lat Chado Market.

Saraburi

Wat Phra Phutthabat Ratchaworamahawihan in Saraburi maintains its traditional alms-giving ritual with pilgrims invited to offer flowers to the monks today and tomorrow.

This year, the much-loved event travels back to the past by reenacting the royal processions of the Ayutthaya period, when the kings were carried on a palanquin to the temple to pay their respect to the footprint of Lord Buddha. Also on view is an exhibition of Dok Khoa Phansa flowers, handcrafted products, the Royal Candle procession and various cultural performances.

Royal processions from the Ayutthaya period will be reenacted at Wat Phra Phutthabat Ratchaworamahawihan in Saraburi.

Ubon Ratchathani

In the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, craftsmen young and old show off their creativity in the annual candle festival that wraps tomorrow.

Twenty-metre-high carved candles and wax creations relating scenes from Buddhist mythology and folklore will be paraded around the city pillar shrine and this year visitors can also enjoy a light and sound show, a night candle procession, folk dancing and a food and craft fair.

Nong Khai

Sitting on the banks of the Mekong River, the town of Nong Khai welcomes Buddhists from both Thailand and Laos with processions of colourful wax creations tomorrow night.

Running from 6pm to 10pm, Prajak Road will be turned into an entertainment venue with many cultural performances and folk dances, the processions themselves and an extravagant light and sound show.

Roi Et

Today, students and local residents join candle processions from 14 temples to celebrate Buddhist Lent Day.

The festival starts with the daily ritual of alms-giving to the monks and a showcase of beautifully carved candles in different sizes and designs.

With its breath-taking scenery and empty swathes of golden sand, Natai Beach in Phang Nga makes the perfect haven for rejuvenation. And the pristine natural idyll now comes with all the comforts of home thanks to a new cluster of beach villas courtesy of Ideas 1606 ltd.

“Veyla Natai Residences is a boon to people looking to spend quality time with their family,” says Prapavadee Sophonpanich, who founded the luxury property developer in 2008.

“Named after the Sanskrit for ‘beachfront villa’, the Veyla project invites residents to ‘Craft Your Digital Life’ with a blend of soothing natural surroundings and sophisticated modern living,” she adds.

“The combination makes Veyla Natai Residences a great place to holiday,” gushes Prapavadee, whose popular Veyla Khao Tao Residences (2009) in Hua Hin, and Veyla Cha Am Residences (2015) just up the road, are both commercial successes.

The new project taps an ecologically diverse locale in Phang Nga blessed with a clean sandy beach, mangrove forest and tropical rainforest, and located just 30 minutes’ drive from Phuket Airport.

Veyla Natai Residences encompasses 15 luxury villas scattered across a 5.8-rai beachside plot. They come in two designs. Veyla Beach villas boast two storeys overlooking the Andaman Sea with a footprint of 725-780 square metres. Total usable space of 615 sqm harbours three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living, dining and pantry spaces, a private swimming pool, a terrace, a sky bridge and a moon deck.

Veyla Sea villas offers three storeys with sea view, a 361-374sqm footprint and 585sqm of usable space comprising three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living, dining and pantry spaces, a second-floor swimming pool, a terrace and a “Secret Garden”.

Elsewhere the 530sqm common area known as the Veyla Sand has a 25-metre swimming pool with a jacuzzi, a Moon Deck, fitness centre, outdoor cinema, sun deck, outdoor lounge, and DJ station. Served up at the food zone is the Chef’s Table, kitchen & bar, fine sunken dining and The Hidden Bar.

The villas are design and fitted out by Architects 49 House Design Co, with Sanitas Studio responsible for the landscape. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.

Among customers who’ve already signed up is Vasu Surattiantra, founder of Panpuri Wellness.

“I travel to Phuket frequently so I have been to Natai Beach a few times. It is very beautiful, clean and peaceful – perfect for a vacation home,” he explains.

Another, Varavuth Jentanakul, already owns a pad at Veyla Cha-Am in Phetburi.

“I like its unique design, which is modern and perfect for digital lifestyle,” he says of his new purchase. “Veyla Natai Residences offers beachfront villas with a full view of the Andaman Sea at your doorstep.

“It’s a great choice for investment because Natai is a peaceful beach which attracts Thai and foreign visitors.”

The project gives guests the opportunity to explore the wonders of the Land of Smiles and gain unique insights into the art of photography.

Hotel guests will be taken by limousine to the Leica Galley Bangkok at Gaysorn Village for a personal viewing and tutorial with a specialist on photographic perspective, movement and composition before joining internationally renowned photographer, Kristian Dowling, manager and senior instructor of Leica Akademie, on a guided walking tour of the city’s colourful old town district.

For more than 140 years, travellers have stayed at the legendary Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. A haven of calm on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the hotel is timeless yet contemporary and the ultimate Bangkok address.

Leica too has a long history of focusing on distinction and innovation, offering a unique experience through its series of renowned cameras and lenses.

The package is valid until December 15 and is based on double occupancy and a minimum stay of two nights. A 14-day advance booking is required. It’s priced from Bt33,000-plus and includes luxurious accommodation, daily breakfast for two, One Leica Sofort instant film camera and an instant film double pack (20 exposures), private gallery tour at the Leica Gallery Bangkok in Gaysorn Village with an exhibition specialist, a two-hour walking photography tour with a Leica M camera and Leica Akademie manager and senior instructor, Kristian Dowling and limousine transfer to and from the walking tour.

Find out more at www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok.

Prayut gave the instruction while on an inspection visit to the project site during his official trip to Phuket on Monday. He was briefed on the problems of the deep seaport and observed the on-going enhancement of the facilities.

Prayut was welcomed by Thiranan Sripong, the managing director of Phuket Deep Seaport Co Ltd which won the concession to operate the port.

The port was built by the Harbour Department in 1988 on a 105-rai plot belonging to the Treasury Department, which awarded a 30-year concession to the Phuket Deep Seaport Co Ltd. The harbour front was initially 360 metres wide with a 1.30-kilometre waterway leading from the open sea.

Since the Phuket Deep Seaport won the contract on April 30 last year, it has been expanding the port’s capacity by building a large carpark, a duty free shop and other shops and expanding the quay by an 60 additional metres as well as enhancing the depth of the waterway to allow cruise ships to dock at the port.

Thiranan told Prayut that the construction works were 24 per cent complete though about 40 per cent behind schedule due to the monsoon winds.

Thiranan said his firm wanted to seek government help to urgently enlarge the waterway and to expand the area for large cruise ships to turn and dock and well as building a wave barrier from Koh Tapao Yai to the port so that large cruise ships could dock at the port directly.

Thiranan said a lot of cruise ship firms wanted to extend their routes to Phuket but its deep seaport’s waterway is not deep enough the ships to dock. Currently, cruise ships have to anchor in the sea and use tenders to transport passengers to Phuket, making it inconvenient to tourists who had to wait around 45 minutes for their turn. Besides, transferring tourists to and from small boats could result in accidents, Thiranan added.

Thiranan added that to turn Phuket deep seaport into a homeport from cruise ships, the government must provide facilities for tourists to quickly clear customs and immigrations and provide cheap and reasonably priced transportation to tourist destinations on the island.

Thiranan said there are about 38 cruise ship companies in Asia operating some 80 ships, making about 7,200 trips to various locations in Asia per year, including 200 trips to Phuket. He noted that Bali in Indonesia and Long Bay in Vietnam are Phuket’s main rivals.

It found that one in three hotel room nights in the world is also booked via mobile.

Expedia Thailand recently released the results of the 2019 study conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar Research Partners, indicating that travellers are increasingly making their plans and bookings on their mobile devices.

Nowhere in Asia-Pacific is this more common than in India, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From a total of 600 Thai respondents who had taken an average of either 11 personal or 10 business flight per year, 67 per cent said they were “extremely likely” to book their flight tickets on a mobile device, 18 per cent said “somewhat likely” and 15 per cent “least likely” or “not likely”.

When it comes to hotel bookings, 70 per cent of respondents said they were likely to book using a mobile device, 18 per cent somewhat likely and 12 per cent least or not likely.

According to a new market research study by AppsFlyer, a mobile attribution company, mobile users in the region will account for half of global app installs by 2020, which is three times more than in any other region.

Growth is forecast to gradually decrease as the market matures, but will be sustained by substantial increments in media costs and mobile use, as well as the overall number of paid campaigns, apps available and mobile users.

“Our travellers are looking for speed, travel choices and mobile savings when they plan and book for travel,” said Lavinia Rajaram of Brand Expedia.

Expedia’s tips for booking trips include booking flights three weeks in advance, waiting until the weekend to book flights to unlock fare savings, and booking on a Sunday to enjoy savings of up to 20 per cent (Friday is the most expensive day of the week to book).

Friday is the best day of the week to travel, with savings of close to 5 per cent, while Sunday is the most expensive.

Find more such tips at https://travelblog.expedia.co.th.

Flights to Medina will depart from Narathiwat, Suvarnabhumi and Krabi airports and can accommodate at least 4,325 pilgrims.

The airline has allocated nine flights to depart from Narathiwat, two from Krabi and four from Suvarnabhumi airports. The aircraft will be Airbus A330-300.

“THAI has been arranging flights for Hajj since 2005 in line with a Cabinet decision for the Transport Ministry to arrange annual Hajj transfers. The pilgrimage is organised by subcommittee under the Hajj Committee of Thailand, overseen by the Interior Ministry, which coordinates with the governments of Thailand and Saudi Arabia,” THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said.

He added that the airline continues to place emphasis on passenger comfort and convenience, safety standards and on-time departures. Plus, inflight meals will all be prepared in strict adherence to Islamic dietary requirements, he added.

Departures will take place from July 4 to 8 and from July 22 to 24, while return flights will leave Jeddah airport from August 17 to 31.

Hajj pilgrims interested in flying THAI can obtain more information from the Hajj Organising Association of Southern Thailand or from the THAI sales office in Bangkok’s Larn Luang area by calling (02) 288 7367. Passengers can also call THAI in Hat Yai at (074) 233 433 or Krabi (075) 701 559 from 8am to 5pm on Monday-Friday except public holidays.

One of these is Krue Su mosque which, in addition to serving as a memorial to the 32 gunmen killed by the military in 2004 as they sought sanctuary, is a magnificent structure fashioned out of red bricks in a striking mixture of Middle East and European architecture.

Located seven kilometers from downtown Pattani, the mosque was erected in the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah and became a popular hub for merchants from Persia and Europe in the 18th century, though its domed roof has never been completed.

Krue Se mosque combines the architectures of the Middle East and Europe.

Designated an historical site by the Department of Fine Arts in 1935, its structure was restored twice in 1957 and 1982. Inside, it is lined with magnificent pillars and arched doors in gothic style, while its base boasts the shape of the upside-down lotus.

“Built by artisans from the Middle East, Muslim villagers still come to Krue Se Mosque for prayers. Even now, we don’t really know why it was never completed. Perhaps it’s because Pattani went through several wars or maybe its structure wasn’t strong enough to bear a huge domed roof,” says retired teacher Attaporn Areehatairat, who serves as our guide.

“Chinese merchants were the first to come Langkasuka Kingdom for trade and Krue Se district is a good place for the younger generation to learn about history. Pattani was acquired by the Dutch before falling into the hands of Siam when two of our cannons were transported to Bangkok as a present and are now installed in front of the Ministry of Defence headquarters.”

Just 15 minutes by car from Krue Se mosque is the fishing village of Pare. Located in Barahom district, it welcomes visitors with an interesting, one-day programme of eco-cultural tours that include strolling around the area on foot, boarding a long-tail boat to the mangrove forest or enjoy a handicraft workshop.

Standing on the estuary of Laem Tachee and Laem Sai Khao, this area was the biggest harbour during the Ayutthaya period and crowded with sea merchants from Holland, England, Portugal, Japan, China and the Middle East.

Farida Abdulloh and her neighbours show off their creativity through a collection of handmade keepsakes. 

We arrive just in time for lunch and are greeted with an enticing feast of southern delicacies like spicy salad of seasonal aquatic plants and mashed fish, sweet pepper filled with fish and steamed coconut and deep-fried Khor Ngae fish that go well with the yellow curry.

After eating, we head to a learning centre, the ground floor of which has been turned by the owner, Farida Abdulloh, into a boutique offering a wide collection of handcrafted home decor items, fashion accessories and beautifully embroidered apparel. The designs, she tells us, are inspired by the ancient motifs painted on Ming Dynasty ceramic ware discovered in the village.

“Most residents fish to earn their living while the younger generation has mainly left to work in Malaysia. Our hamlet is home to historical sites and is rich in nature. Last year, I teamed up with neighbours to offer customised, eco-cultural tours and a home-stay programme to promote tourism. I also formed a group of housewives to create a collection of unique handcrafted souvenirs using traditional embroidery techniques,” says 30-year-old Farida, who also serves as village head.

“A sightseeing tour is priced at Bt400, including food and a workshop and Bt800 for those who want to travel along the river into the mangrove. Both offer a great opportunity for visitors to learn about the way of life here and Pattani’s long history.”

Visitors are invited to explore the graves of Sultan Ismail Shah, Ratu Hijau, Ratu Biru and Ratu Ungu at Pare village. 

Farida joins our guide Attaporn in leading us to the old graveyard, where Sultan Ismail Shah was buried alongside his wife. He was the first sultan of Pattani and a convert from Hinduism to Islam. Nearby, another burial ground was reserved for the sister queens Ratu Hijau, Ratu Biru and Ratu Ungu who ruled Pattani between 1584 to 1635.

“The Muslim cemetery is normally built near the community. Sultan Ismail Shah’s tombstone was engraved in Arabic and mentions Muslim beliefs and looks like the summit of Mount Meru,” Attaporn explains.

“According to Islamic belief, a grave should face north and be close to the sea. The gravestone for men has a square or round shape while that the one for women is flat.”

The house of Uncle Aree Maha, 76, brings our sightseeing tour to an end and is a true treat for the eyes. He demonstrates how to carve a selection of astonishing coconut graters. Made from Takien Thong, santol and jackfruit wood, his graters boast unique Melayu designs, mostly inspired by local flowers. He also produces the Indonesian bamboo musical instrument known as the Ja Pee that can double as a drum and lute.

IF YOU GO

>>Pare village is in Barahom district, Pattani. The sightseeing tours ranges from Bt400 to Bt800.

>>Find out more by calling (093) 580 2702, (081) 969 1207.