Betong

Betong (เบตง) is a city in deep southern Thailand, quite close to Yala. The Betong city centre is surrounded by mountains, resulting in a cool climate and high rainfall with frequent fog in the morning. It is therefore dubbed "the city in the fog with beautiful flowers". The food is outstanding and the city has a lot of tourist attractions.

Understand
The word betong (เบตง) is Malay, meaning 'bamboo'. The district is at the southernmost point of Thailand, about 140 km from Yala, on Highway 410. The road between Than To and Betong winds on the hillside, affording the scenery of the lake, forest, and rubber plantations. Betong is a large developed district. Malaysian tourists often visit the area because of its proximity to the border.

Get in
Betong has a newly-built airport, which Nok Air flew to from Bangkok. However this route was cancelled in 2023 due to low demand. As of October 2023 no scheduled flights use this airport. If you're flying, fly to Hat Yai. Fares from Bangkok start at THB 1000, with multiple departures daily.

From Yala, one can take the van or taxi that operates hourly from across the Yala Railway Station. From Hat Yai there is an air-conditioned van to Yala and Betong. . The service departs at 08:00, 10:00, and 13:00. This journey takes around 4 hours.

Get around
You can get around Betong city by songthaew which is very cheap. Moreover, if you want to get a bit further from the city, you can rent a songthaew or motorbike-taxi.

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Do

 * Massage: Despite being a small town, Betong sports a large number of massage parlors. Some have pictures of the masseuses available so you can pick and choose one. Prices range from 250-350 baht for a two hour ancient Thai massage and 300-400 baht for a two hour hot oil massage.
 * Sport: Go to the Betong Public Stadium and Sport Complex to exercise or work out. Betong teenager favourites are basketball, swimming, and tennis.

Buy

 * Betong Soya Sauce (ซีอิ๊วเบตง)
 * Betong Noodles (หมี่เบตง)
 * Watercress (ผักน้ำเบตง)
 * The ZON duty free shop on the Malaysia-Thailand border. Cheap, since it's duty-free, but not as cheap as other duty-free shops in other places, like major airports.
 * Dry market, also on the Malaysia-Thailand border. Lots of small stalls sell various knick-knacks which make good, cheap souvenirs.

Eat
Betong is known for food, especially Betong-Chinese food which is mostly cooked by Hakka-Chinese. Betong is also known for Thai traditional food and Muslim food. Many mouth-watering restaurants are around Betong Market and close to Betong clock tower. Betong Noodles (หมี่เบตง), the egg noodles that are very tasty. Betong Soy Sauce (ซีอิ๊วเบตง) is made from soy beans with a special method.

Tourists can also enjoy the wide variety of Betong specialties. They are: chopped Betong chicken, prepared with local chicken and ladled with Betong soy sauce; steamed Chinese carp in plum sauce - the fish is raised only in Betong and can be prepared for several dishes; khao yok (เคาหยก) is made from fatty pork roasted with taro; phak nam (ผักน้ำ) is a vegetable that grows in flowing streams found only in Betong, and is prepared for a soup or stir-fried.

Drink
The four southernmost provinces of Thailand are muslim-majority areas, so alcohol is far from ubiquitous. Most teenagers will go cafes to socialise. You can find alcoholic drinks in KTV lounges, clubs and hotels.

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Go next

 * Head north to Hat Yai: The centre of business and shopping for southern Thailand.


 * Head down into Malaysia: destinations include Penang, Ipoh, or Kuala Lumpur.