Southern Thailand's 'Uprising Express' – The Diplomat
Advertisement Thailand’s Insurgency Express is a colourful, old and shabby train that winds its way across the country’s southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Starting in Hat Yai, the economic capital of the south, the train ends its journey in Sungai Golok, a neon-soaked red-light city and smuggling hub on the Malaysian border. Since 2004, a brutal separatist insurgency has plagued these same provinces, making the train a recurring target for the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), an armed group that represents the Malay-Muslim majority of the southern provinces....