Sounds more like a freaking great trip!

@Paul ******

your eagerness to show that you know more than someone that actually has been in and out of these so called dangerous provinced for the last 30 years show that you have an agenda. Either that or you have fallen for media BS. The fact stands, you are more likely to fall off a balcony in thailand than to get bombed in those 3 provinces.

@Paul ******

an obvious case of false sense of security. You feel safe in the CR yet not in east of Hatyai. My full blown born in CR in laws will always say avoid going up to areas you claimed are as safe as anywhere else, so its your word against theirs. As many times as you have travelled to the Golden Triangle, Ive been in those so called 'dangerous' provinces a thousand folds. Blown out of proportion.

Singaporeans dont generally speak malay, but sensible ones will use when it is the best option. People in dan nok speak way better malay than english, so why the hell not?

Prachuap is still in the south, just not deep so its not a wonder large groups of people there still can speak in malay. Thai malays are still found there but get way less past that point.

It seems like you have an agenda trying to so desparately prove that those provinces are unsafe for travel. I would have been killed in my 30 over years of going there if it was true. But you can believe what you want. 🤣🤣🤣

@Paul ******

Dan Nok is a sub-district of Sadao, as it is a small town in Sadao itself. Locals call it and acknowledge it as Dan Nok. The pharmacy there? Its called Dan Nok Pharmacy. Locals living there call it Dan Nok as Ive mentioned, thais from outside the region wont call it dan nok, because they dont even know its called that, so they start generalizing by calling it Sadao or even worse, Songkhla.

Sensible Singaporeans will also use Bahasa Malaysia in dan nok, if they can speak it, as it is also their national language. The national anthem of singapore is in Bahasa Malaysia.

One thing you said true, as you go up north, less and less people speak in Bahasa Malaysia, for example Hat Yai, you hear less people speaking in malay however most of them still can speak the language when faced with it. I have known large groups of people that are able to speak in malay until Prachuap Khiri Khan. History tells why this is so.

@Paul ******

The rest of the country sees only occasioanal shootings - illegal guns have always been a problem for the whole of thailand, 'occasional' and your attempt to downplay this fact does not make other parts of thailand any safer than the south. I have mentioned above, depending on which part of thailand you are refering to, each place will have its own heightened risk. That doesnt make it any more dangerous or vice versa than other places.

Chiang Rai is no more like to be a location for a shoot out than CM or BKK - false, shootouts happen often here, just not in the city area as CR is a big province. Go and take a look at the records, youll find that CR has way more shootouts than CM or BKK, military point of view. Again, this is different type danger, a danger nonetheless. As much as I can say CR is peaceful place, which is where my wife is from and Ive stayed in CR for nearly 10 years, I know of the dangers here that exist in other forms.

You are generalizing things massively and blowing this safety issue out of proportion. Ill say it again, you are as safe anywhere in thailand, statistically.

@Paul ******

"The shootings between drug gangs arent a daily occurance and could occur anywhere." Same goes for bombings in the deep south, it not a daily occurance and it could happen anywhere. Bangkok got bombed before, Chiang Mai got bombed before. When you bring Mae Sai in as an example, I could very well bring Dan Nok, Padang Besa, Betong and all the border towns to support my view that they are VERY safe and that is what I exactly did in my OP.

@Paul ******

again, not true. Dan Nok is a small town in Sadao. Calling it Dan Nok because we really meant Dan Nok isnt at all wrong, in fact it is way more specific and accurate. And again, locals in Dan Nok call it Dan Nok. This isnt similiar to the Bangkok vs Khrueng Thep name where locals only call it by the latter.

What makes you say we speak in english in Dan Nok when most of us can speak in Bahasa Malaysia and we know for a fact that the thais in Dan Nok can also speak in Bahasa Malaysia? What is stopping us from using Bahasa Malaysia in Dan Nok when it is a language way more common than english? I speak 100% in Bahasa Malaysia when Im in Dan Nok, regardless my mother tongue or what I use most frequently in Malaysia, because it is the only logical thing to do in that situation.

@David *******

true, dan nok is just a friendly neighbourhood quick fun place for malaysian men, dont need to speak thai as nearly every thai there can speak Bahasa Malaysia and you dont even need to exchange money there as Ringgit is widely accepted in all those joints. Its really convenient. Malaysian women like to pop over to dan nok too for quick authenthic thai food.

@Paul ******

I can now clearly see you a selective reading issue. "But then again, there arent as many farangs in the deep south as central thailand" doesnt ring a bell?

What is absurd is accusing me of having an agenda just because my opinion doesnt fit your narrative. You claim to have been thru hatyai a few times and a bomb exploded im that duration. I pass thru the south like eating rice because I have a '02' Malaysian IC and only need a border pass to go anywhere deep south and I have yet to experience such a thing. In the news, yes, over 30 years of personal experience, none. I drive from Chiang Rai to Kuala Lumpur every 3 - 4 months once and back, and Im perfectly fine. Now what agenda do you think I have in mind?

And when we say Dan Nok, it is because we really meant to say Dan Nok as Dan Nok is a small town in the district of Sadao. Not only "Malays" call it Dan Nok, even the local thais call it that when they want to specific.

Also to say that there are no bombings above hatyai is a blanket statement as there were bombings in quite a few places, doesnt have to be for the same reasons but bombings are bombings. Shootings also happen from time to time in Chiang Rai as we are near the Myanmar border where drugs and weapons go in and out, so acccording to your reasoning, Chiang Rai is a dangerous place? Thats absurd. To say that it NEVER happens above hatyai is totally false. Every place in thailand has its own risks depending on what is going on, but I dont rank the deep south as being more dangerous than other places statistically. Your opinion might differ but I stand by what I said.

Many more farang deaths in central thailand than the south, so statistically youll be fine. But then again, there arent as many farangs in the deep south as central thailand. Dannok, Hatyai, Padang Besa, Satun, Betong should be as safe as anywhere else, if not safer.