Betong – A Motorcycle Road Trip to Thailand Yala Province
Ann and I love road trips. And I love it even more if it is on 2 wheels. When one of our pals Yazid, suggested a motorcycle road trip to a little town called Betong in Southern Thailand Yala Province, we packed our bags, started our motorcycles and off we went.
My Beloved BMW GS Adventure & Yazid’s Honda GSXR750 in the background
We started our trip in Singapore. We travelled to Malaysia via Tuas to the North-South Highway. We exited the highway near Ipoh and rode the Gerik Highway to Pengkalan Hulu where the Malaysia-Thai border is situated. The overnight ride with three pit stops took us more than 10 hours.
- Related: Our Himalayan Motorcycle Adventure of a Lifetime
- Related: My Epic Motorcycle Road Trip in India
If you are riding to Betong do bring the necessary paperwork for your vehicle such as insurance, log card and of course your passport too.
- Check out: Travel Insurance Simple & Flexible
Fill up the arrival form at the checkpoint, and prepare to pay RM2/person. There is also someone at the border counter who can also fill up the forms for you if you are feeling lazy.
Malaysia – Thailand Border
History of Betong
The word Betong is loosely translated to Bamboo in Malay. The district is the Southernmost point of Thailand and is situated in Yala province. The distance from Singapore to Betong is about 740km.
Clock tower in central Betong | image: Flickr
Betong is surrounded by mountains which results in a cool climate in the city! The high rainfall and frequent fog in the province gave the nickname, The City in the Fog with Beautiful Flowers. As of 2005, the city has less than 25 000 inhabitants but surprisingly they have many tourist attractions that are in the record books!
Mandarin Betong
image: Flickr
Mandarin Betong is situated right smack in the city centre and it is the tallest building in the city that you cannot miss it. It offers one of the best accommodation in Betong backed by reviews from fellow riders.
VIP Parking
The rooms are comfy, have great views of the city and they even have an outdoor pool. When we checked in, the Hotel Manager even gave us a parking spot right in front of the hotel entrance! That is what we call great service. 🙂
The hotel has everything you need to make your stay a pleasant one.
Check out Mandarin Betong rates HERE!
Things to do in Betong
Piyamit Tunnels
After the long ride, we rested and the following day we hired a personal tuk tuk driver to bring us around Betong. The first location was the Piyamit Tunnels. This tunnel was built by the Malaya Communist Division 2 in 1976, winding through the mountains for more than 1 kilometre.
It is used to store food, ammunition as well as to protect the Communists from air raids.
Currently, it is being used as a museum. There is an exhibition of the way of life of the Communist soldiers back then which is open from 8 a.m till 4.30pm daily.
The museum is a great location for war history buffs.
Betong Hot Springs
After the long day at the Piyamit, our driver brought us to a Hot Spring. We soaked our sore feet. It is believed that the hot springs can cure many ailments from muscle pain to skin irritations. Some of the tourists also bought quail eggs to boil them at the location.
At the hottest spot of the hot springs, the eggs can be fully cooked in under 7 minutes!
our pal Yazid soaking his feet and wandering away
World Largest Mailbox
mail order babies anyone?
As we said earlier, for a small town in Thailand, Betong holds many records. One of them is the World’s Largest Mailbox. It was built in 1924 as a communication post where a radio is placed on top of the box and mail slot below it.
The mailbox attracts tons of tourists every day and of course, Ann and I just had to pose a photo at it!
The Largest Bronze Buddha in Thailand
image: Flickr
The second record Betong holds is the Largest Bronze Buddha in Thailand. It is located on a hilltop at Betong city centre on the grounds of a temple named Wat Phutthathiwat, Thanon Rattanakit. Although it is made of bronze, the Buddha is covered in gold colour.
It is about 40 metres high built to commemorate the 69th birthday anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen.
Yazid at Wat Phutthathiwat, Thanon Rattanakit
Betong Mongkhonrit Tunnel – The First and Largest in Thailand
image: Flickr
The 3rd record is the first and largest road tunnel in Thailand. It is a curvy tunnel that connects the city centre to a town in the South East. The tunnel is 268 metres long and opened on 1st January 2001.
The tunnel is used for vehicles but many tourists would walk in and take photos.
Siberian Swifts
image: Boleh Bokeh
One of Betong iconic symbols are the Siberian swifts that escape the cold weather of Siberia to migrate to Betong during September to March which is the cool season. The swifts would fly all over the city at dusk to rest on electricity and telephone lines as well as the houses.
One of their favourite spots would be near the clock tower and the hustle and bustle of the birds make a great Instagram worthy photo!
Massage
For a small town, Betong has many massage parlours scattered all over the city. After a long day of walking, a foot massage is the order of the day.
Prices are cheap too! And do tip your masseurs. It goes a long way for them. 🙂
Thai Pancake
A trip to Thailand is not complete without eating the Thai Pancake. Although it is not common in this part of Thailand, we manage to find one street vendor selling the pancake.
Ann, of course, goes crazy buying her fave banana Thai pancake and ended up stuffing our faces throughout the trip.
Seafood Stall
For a province that is landlocked and far from the sea, Betong has one of the best seafood stalls. From oysters to shrimps and lobsters cooked in Thai signature style the seafood was simply mind-blowing.
The food was so good we kept topping up new dishes. And don’t forget to order the home pressed sugar cane juice too!
We are not sure of the name of the stall, but it is situated near the clock tower beside a sleazy bar. 😛
Wet Market Beef Noodle
Betong Market
One of the best breakfast foods you can find in Betong is the Thai Beef Noodle Soup. We found one situated at the Betong Market at level 2.
The Beef Noodle was so fantastic that we had two bowls each! Do come early as the market closes by midday.
All in all the 3 of us truly enjoyed our motorcycle road trip to Betong, the small city in Thailand with many record holding attractions and great food as well as cool weather.
We will definitely return here again given the chance but I already sold off my beloved BMW GS Adventure bike. Maybe it is time to get another motorcycle, Ann?
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I think a motorcycle trip would be an amazing experience. To visit these sites on two wheels would be a trip of a lifetime.
Betong looks like a must visit place. Nice pics, great description. Loved traveling with you.
What an awesome experience! That tunnel with the lights looks magical!
I absolutely love Thailand, but being on a motorcycle while I was there definitely terrified me!
I love that you traveled by motorcycle and it sure looks as if you had a fun adventure. Visiting a few massage parlours would be a must for me!
Betong looks amazing! So much to see and do. I would definitely carve out some time for the hot springs though. I do love to soak my feet in them after a long walking tour.
I would love to go there one day. It sounds like you had quite the adventure.
It seems like a fun road trip in Thailand! I hope I can do this on my next trip.
Your travels are always amazing. I am not sure I could do the tour of the tunnels. So depressing on what the soldiers went through.
What a beautiful way to see Thailand. I don’t know if I can do it the scenic way on a motorcycle but it is beautiful nonetheless
This trip looks amazing! Im so jealous of all the cool photos!
It’s nice to just up and take a trip when you feel like it. We haven’t done that here for a good long while. I’m ready!
The nighttime colors look amazing especially on the clock tower.
I had a great time in Thailand when I visited a couple of years ago. Would love to revisit Thailand. Thanks for bringing back those memories.