Also follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media reports. I hadn’t pedaled a bike beyond city limits for years. It further recommends only traveling through the region with the accompaniment of professional security services! Pattani’s 25th Special Infantry 15323 company, which had set up a command centre at Santikaram Temple in Muang district's Pakaharang subdistrict, had to quickly move their tents and redeploy on the road temporarily after 1-metre-high flood waters engulfed the temple situated in … But in practice, the main border crossing at Bukit Kayu (on the main road between Penang and Hat Yai) is safe and frequented by tourists from all over the world. The main city is probably the safest place in Pattani. By The Nation Several areas in Pattani province have been hit with severe flooding, with Barahok sub-district suffering the most due to heavy rains and runoffs from Yala province. I'd asked people before thinking about going there about the security situation. In the end, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani would be consolidated into a modern Thai state, but would never quite fit. TL;DR: All routes you're likely to use are tolerably safe. Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 in Thailand. There have been people who have posted on r/Thailand previously who have both visited and even taught in the deep south, and never had a problem. ... so travelers should practice safe sex. As a last name Pattani was the 152,628 th most popular name in 2010.; How unique is the name Pattani? While there is an umbrella agency for southern rebels, Mara Patani, other entities operate in the region, too, making it extremely challenging for authorities to entirely eradicate the threat of violence. Its capital was the town of Patani.. Petty theft like pickpocketing or bag snatching is more than common and you should expect it at every step. But please carefully travel, It seems like the same everywhere around the world that the crime comes through every part. While most victims are soldiers or government officials, both children and tourists have also been killed. Pattani, Yala, Narathiwas and parts of Songhla are NOT safe and must be avoided. This city is much more culturally and religiously aligned to the rest of Thailand when compared with the rest of Thailand's deep south. The provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani are majority Muslim-Malay areas that have always sat awkwardly within the modern Thai state. Additionally, Hat Yai is a tourist mecca: it is extraordinarily popular with Malay and Singaporean tourists letting their hair down in a city that still largely speaks their language. But the cities of Hat Yai & Songhkla City seem a world away from the troubles just down the road. So, weighing the options - and determined not to catch a flight - I decided to avoid Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, but still cross the Malaysian border into Songhkla Province, heading to Hat Yai before continuing north. If you wish to remain on travel.state.gov, click the "cancel" message. There's a ban on overseas travel from Australia.You can’t leave Australia unless you get an exemption from the Department of Home Affairs. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. When I went to Hat Yai, I noticed that many other travellers in the city - some who even live in Thailand - had no idea the conflict down the road even exists. It is not safe. How Popular is the name Pattani? They invited us to join the peloton, so we rode alongside penny farthings into the center of town and posed for group photos. Aneri Pattani From . Reply to this Out of 6,028,151 records in the U.S. Social Security Administration public data, the first name Pattani was not present. But of course seeing life under conflict is not the only reason to visit. To cap things off, as we cycled into the city, we stumbled across a vintage bicycle club doing their annual city-wide ride. Pattani, also spelled Patani, town, southern Thailand, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula.The town is located at the mouth of the Pattani River. Aneri Pattani, Correspondent, reports on a broad range of public health topics, with a focus on mental health and substance use. By The Nation Pattani launched its Puangmanee durian season today with promotions designed to lure the lucrative Chinese market’s hunger for this unique variety of the pungent fruit. To date, the conflict has cost almost 7000 lives, with attacks occurring almost daily in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, and occasionally in the southern area of Songhkla province. The ride began by passing a plethora of Buddhist temples, which dominate the northern parts of Songhkla province. Geography. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in these provinces as U.S government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to these provinces. For Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, there are genuine, daily dangers but little evidence of purposeful threats aimed towards tourists. You are about to leave travel.state.gov for an external website that is not maintained by the U.S. Department of State. The Pattani family name was found in the USA, and the UK between 1891 and 1920. There are high levels of ongoing violence in these areas, including terrorist attacks and bombings that result in deaths and injuries on an almost daily basis. The Thai government’s bloody crackdowns on protests are also believed to have instigated fresh rounds of recriminations, and fundamentally broke any chance of dialogue between southern leaders and Bangkok. Some parts of the country, however, such as the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla, are under a Level 3 ("reconsider travel") due to "periodic violence directed mostly at Thai government interests." There are quite a few budget and mid-range hotels around in which the price ranges from 500 baht to 1,500 baht or more per night. The name Pattani is the Thai adaptation of the Malay name Patani (Jawi: ڤتاني), which can mean "this beach" in Patani Malay language. Nurses at Albany Medical Center picketed on Dec.1, asking for more personal protective equipment. This excellent Wikipedia Timeline lists a few such attacks: A giant Buddha in Hat Yai. A map of Thailand's deep south. Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla Provinces – Reconsider Travel. Its old town is well preserved, and it has next to no tourists. Fun Facts about the name Pattani. But this agreement was one negotiated over a desire for territory, and did little to reflect the ethnic and religious makeup, or the desires, of local people in the provinces affected. There have been some concerns that the region is becoming a hotspot for ISIS or Al-Qaeda style extremists, but many experts believe such a threat is a 'Phantom Menace', and that such claims are either just lazy, click-bate journalism or deliberate, Daily Mail-style provocations. This crossing is still technically in the Do Not Travel zone, but has experienced few problems in recent years. As we arrived, we were handed waters and cokes by friendly paramilitary who were stationed at the city’s entrance to search incoming cars for weapons and terrorists. Don’t go out at night. Broadly speaking, the insurgency affects only the eastern bits of southern Thailand: Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Thailand is rated the least dangerous country in Southeast Asia for travelers. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE — BUREAU of CONSULAR AFFAIRS, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla provinces due to, U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations. But experts have argued that mismanagement of the southern provinces by then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s government destabilized a tentative peace. Thailand is safe for travel | Ryan Tang/Unsplash. Even Hat Yai gets bombs regularly. And while the first signs of unrest in the region date back to the 1960s, things took a turn for the worse in the early 2000s. You should take care, particularly in public places. Out of those who used, 99 percent were Muslim. Were a more secure peace realised - and peace in Southern Thailand made a real priority, not only of Thailand, but of the region - perhaps these restive states could one day stand to benefit from Thailand’s ever-expanding tourism appeal, bringing much need prosperity to a region desperate for a new beginning. For Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, there are genuine, daily dangers but little evidence of purposeful threats aimed towards tourists. Yes, it is highly militarised. Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. The border dates back to 1909 when British, then the colonial rulers of Malaysia, formalised previously unorganised borders with Siam. In practice, no, with a * that you're never going to be 100% safe there terrorism wise vs other places in Thailand. Thailand's borders are still closed for all foreign nationals with few exceptions. He’d just cycled 12,000 kilometers from Warsaw. I did meet one person, a Polish cyclist called Maceac, who had cycled through the more troubled provinces. The southern insurgency is not just made up of one opposition group. Though by the sounds of it, you are not keen on it anyway. This was about 50% of all the recorded Pattani's in the USA. I spent the rest of my afternoon lounging on beaches and eating street food before racing back to Hat Yai before dark. There is a history of social unrest and violent conflicts in parts of the country, but crimes in tourist areas are super rare. The Thai press daily reports shootings, bombings, and beheadings in that area. One can take Highway 4 (Thanon Phetkasem) from Bangkok to Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chumphon, then onto Highway 41 through Thung Song, Phatthalung, Hat Yai, Pattani, and Yala. Read the entire Travel Advisory. The department has enforced strict sanitary measures to make sure aquatic animal products were safe for consumption. While there was one bombing in Sadao in December 2014, it occurred at a nightclub and while related to the southern unrest, generally that area is safe. To attack foreigners would only serve to delegitimise their struggle in the eyes of the world. Thailand is somewhat safe to visit, though it does have its dangers. It's true: the separatists in southern Thailand have little to gain by deliberately targeting foreigners. Pattani luring China with its durian gems. Some areas have increased risk. If only because of this, Pattani would be well worth a visit. Patani (Malay Jawi: ڤتاني ‎, also sometimes Patani Raya or Patani Besar, "Greater Patani"; Thai: ปตานี) is a historical region in the northern part of the Malay peninsula.It includes the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara), and parts of Songkhla (Singgora). Stay safe and enjoy your travel! A TON of people visit every year from all over the world. February 4, 2007: a bomb was detonated outside a school, killing one. The population of the city is a little over 40,000 and is a mix of Malay, Thai, and Chinese ethnic groups and Muslim and Buddhist religions. Pattani was pretty diverse in the past. Though nowhere in Thailand is completely immune from violence, these cities have, in fact, been safer in recent years than other places in the country, such as Bangkok and Phuket, both of which have suffered from terrorist incidents in recent years. Bombing aren’t that common in the city. But in practice, the main border crossing at Bukit Kayu (on the main road between Penang and Hat Yai) is safe and frequented by tourists from all over the world. Colour: In Stock In 12 Weeks Quantity-+ In Stock In 12 Weeks ... Our delivery service is fully operational and we’ve implemented a few extra precautions to keep you and our staff safe. In 1920 there was 1 Pattani family living in California. The Thailand-Malaysia border provinces are traditionally no go zones for Western travellers. Periodic violence directed mostly at Thai government interests by a domestic insurgency continues to affect security in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla. In a statement today, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said continuous heavy rain since Jan 4 have affected 58,497 families in 32 districts. Culturally and ethnically connected to Malaysia, those who live in Thailand’s deep-south tend to speak a different language and worship a different God to those further north. And while people from overseas have been inadvertently caught up in their violence - notably in a 2006 attack in Hat Yai - tourists have not been specifically targeted during the nearly two-decade old insurgency. All in all, the area feels remarkably safe. The Pattani municipality issued the warning yesterday for people living beside the river and in nearby low-lying areas. Their enemy being the Thai state, they have targeted anything that represents the government. PATTANI (Jan 10): Severe floods following heavy rain in four provinces in southern Thailand — Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla — have claimed three lives to date and affected almost 60,000 families. In 2012, researchers at the Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board conducted a survey of 1,000 teens in Pattani, Thailand and found that 94 percent used kratom. The south is dominated by the Sankalakhiri mountain range, which includes Budo-Su-ngai Padi National Park, on the border with Yala and Narathiwat.. Etymology. A family enjoying the late afternoon sunshine in Hat Yai park. U.S. citizens are at risk of death or injury due to the possibility of indiscriminate attacks in public places. Their quest is one that is determined to be seen as legitimate. Pattani hit by heavy rains, severe flooding. If you stay in the city, you should be fine. 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