Thailand is home to a large variety of delicious fruits, seasonal such as durian, rambutan, mangosteen, longan, lychee etc. and all-year-round, such as papaya, guava, coconut, orange, banana, pineapple etc. In Betong, among the popular native fruits are orange, durian, rambutan, mangosteen and longkong.

The Temporary Bazaar
(Written 31 August 2005, National Day of Malaysia)

Due to the “isolated” location of Betong and thus higher cost of transportation, goods sold in Betong are generally more expensive (and limited variety too) than other places in the Southern provinces, Hat Yai or even Bangkok. For example, items like garments, furniture, computer wares etc.

As there is no proper shopping centre in this town, occasionally, the district office will set up temporary bazaar in Betong town which lasts from one to two weeks, with hawkers coming from various parts of the nation. The bazaar normally gets going from around 10:00am and continues until 9:00pm at night.

The first Thailand-Malaysia Games (17th-19th August 2005) organized by Yala Institute of Physical Education under Minister of Tourim and Sports, coordinated and supported by Municipality of Betong, has been smoothly run and ended last Friday. The opening ceremony was officiated by Arzan Wannoor MP, Adviser to the Prime Minister. The slogan for this event is “Friendship Beyond Frontiers” and the objectives are to strengthen the friendship between the two neighbouring countries and to promote tourism and economic activities of Southern Thailand.

First Date!!! Hello from Betong!

Hello, I am ST, a charming Malaysian Chinese lady. I have been living and working in Thailand for more than two years. To know more about me and my life in Thailand…date with me on thai-blogs!!

Ok, firstly let me give a little introduction about where I live.

I live in Betong. There are altogether five Malaysian-Thai border towns and Betong is one of them. Betong is located at the Southern most of Thailand and the town is only 7km from the Malaysian-Thai border. It is a district (amphur) of the Yala Province with an approximate population of 50,000, of which about 15,000 are living in the town. It is made up of multi-races with approximately 40% Muslims, 30% Chinese and 30% Thai. It was the base for the former jungle fighters of the Communist Party of Malaya and is considered as one of the most Chinese populated area in Thailand, and has the highest average per capita income among the three Southern provinces, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani.