Hat Yai: Southern Thailand's frontier market town

Hat Yai is the capital of Thailand's Songkhla province. The city is perhaps best known for being the last major Thai settlement on the route to Malaysia's Georgetown / Penang. However, Hat Yai deserves to be much more than just a dot on a map or a passing sign on an express train journey from Bangkok to Malaysia.

The Hat Yai train station which connects the city with other parts of Thailand, including Bangkok as well as the Malaysian city of Butterworth

Hat Yai is a travel destination in its own right. If the number of Malaysian voices one hears around Hat Yai is any indication, Malaysians seem to agree.

The city is a combination of street markets and many cultural attractions. The reclining Buddha, the Guan Im Temple and the Four Faced Buddha are just a few of the monuments sprinkled around the city.

A view of the 'small' reclining Buddha

The Reclining Buddha Temple, said to be the second largest in Thailand

A lazy visitor relaxes at the steps of the Guan Im Temple, dutifully guarded by a golden royal dragon

Note there are no mosques in the above list. Odd, given Hat Yai's population is approximately 40 percent Muslim (it's hard to find accurate statistics online). Nonetheless, for Pakistani (or Pakistani origin!) visitors, there is a particular place of worship in Hat Yai not to be missed: the aptly named Masjid Pakistan or Pakistani Mosque!

The notable Masjid Pakistan or Pakistani Mosque located near Hat Yai's main train station

According to a local inside the mosque, the Masjid Pakistan was originally constructed about 50 years ago by three wealthy Pakistani merchant residents of Hat Yai. The philanthropists bought the land and funded the mosque's construction. Subsequently, in the early 1990s, a major expansion of the mosque was carried out, also spearheaded by the descendants of the Pakistani families but with the larger community's involvement.

Perhaps the greatest part of Hat Yai's charm lies in its small town feel coupled with a unique demographic mix. The city's population is less than 200,000 and includes sizeable Chinese and Muslim populations. In fact, Hat Yai is unique among Thai cities in that the combined Muslim and Chinese populations outnumber the 'traditional' Thai population.

Colorful examples of Peranakan architecture on a Hat Yai street

The mixed population results in a unique cuisine blending Malay dishes with the Thai penchant for chilli. As with the rest of Thailand, the food alone is enough to entice a traveller into Hat Yai.

A wall mural of a dragon painted on the walls of a Chinese temple

Since the start of a low level Islamist insurgency in 2001, many travellers have stayed away from Thailand's southern provinces for security reasons. Certainly, there have been scattered incidents of violence in the past. But Hat Yai is much too enchanting to avoid simply because of the activities of a few misguided souls!

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Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries in his career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. Imran can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.

Pakistan's Peshawar: Gandharan relics, warriors and food all wrapped in Pashtun hospitality!

In only a few days Peshawar and its people have won me over! The City of Flowers history, tradition and warm people have more than compensated for the awful dark skies and rain which welcomed me to the provincial capital earlier this week.

Street side stall holder proudly displays his selection of food. Peshawar's food, especially kababs, is divine 

During the last few years, Peshawar has disappeared from the radar of most travelers, Pakistani and international alike. The Taliban Trail of Terror has replaced the Hippie Trail. Still, in the intervening years the city seems to have lost none of its charm. (I must confess my last visit to Peshawar was at least twenty years ago – so long that I don't even remember the exact year!)

For those interested in history and religion, the Peshawar Museum hosts the world's largest collection of artifacts from the Gandharan civilization, which flourished for almost one thousand years, c. 1500 to 500 BC. Gandhara was an ancient kingdom centered around the regions of modern day Peshawar and the Swat Valley. The Gandhara Kingdom was a center of Buddhism, Hinduism and Greco-Buddhism. Greco-Buddhism is “the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE.” (Source: Wikipedia)

The entrance to the Peshawar Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of Gandharan artifacts

Other aspects of Peshawar's history can be found in the Storytellers Bazaar or the Qissa Khawani Bazaar. The bazaar dates back at least two thousand years. More recently, in 1930 the Bazaar was the site of a massacre by British colonial authorities of unarmed civilians agitating for independence against British rule.

The imposing Bala Hissar Fort, which sits regally atop a hill, symbolizes the city's strategic and military importance for invaders and defenders as the gateway to India (through the fabled Khyber Pass). It is believed some sort of a fortification has stood on the elevated site since the seventh century. The present structure, used as the Headquarters for the Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps since 1949, was built in the 1830s by the then Sikh rulers of Peshawar.

Peshawar will be done a great injustice if I don't mention the great 'frontier' food found in every nook and cranny of this city. Simply put, anyone leaving Peshawar without trying local barbecue specialties like chapli kababs, seekh kabas or Kabuli pulao cannot claim to have visited Peshawar! Stay away from the fancy restaurants, instead make a beeline for the 'hole in the wall' cafes sprinkled across the city.

Kababs being marinated and barbecued / cooked on coal at a streetside cafe

Perhaps more than the rest of Pakistan, Peshawar has suffered tremendously due to violence perpetrated by Islamic extremists. Nonetheless, Peshawar is a city like no other. A city of warriors, food and people with big hearts. Not surprisingly, despite the recent ravages of terror, the city's soul remains intact. That soul will surely touch any visitor to the ancient Gandharan city of Purushapura (aka Peshawar). 

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Imran is a business and management consultant. Through his work at Deodar Advisors and the Deodar Diagnostic, Imran improves profits of businesses operating in Singapore and the region. He can be reached at imran@deodaradvisors.com.

Singaporeans: please get a hobby and be happy!

Singaporeans are the unhappiest people on earth. True? Maybe, maybe not. Singaporeans are amongst the wealthiest humans living on our planet. True? Absolutely.

Measured by per capita income, Panama, the happiest country on the planet, is the 90^th wealthiest country in the world. Using the same measure of wealth, Singapore ranks at number five. 

Singaporeans lead 'First World' lives. Singaporeans travel the world, waste food, contribute to global warming, worry about things like the welfare of animals and indulge in all sorts of other behavior only available to people with lots of money.

And yet Singaporeans are unhappy.

Few will argue humans should live in abject poverty to pursue happiness. However, it does not necessarily follow that greater prosperity equals greater happiness.

But the bottom line is Singaporeans are wealthy. So why are the super wealthy residents of this super-efficient city-state so unhappy with life? It doesn't make any sense. Or does it?

At this point, I will step into some murky waters. Many of my comments below are based on anecdotal evidence and personal observations during my (almost) fifteen years of life on the Little Red Dot. (Hey, it's my blog and I am entitled to opinions.)

Let's talk about hobbies.  

Wikipedia, the source of all modern knowledge, defines hobby as "a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time. Examples of hobbies include collecting, creative and artistic pursuits, making, tinkering, sports and adult education."

Leisure time – what's that? Does the concept exist in our super efficient 'kiasu' society? (We all know what 'kiasu' means, right?)

Singaporeans have little or no spare time. Or at least make little or no free time ('me time') from their otherwise busy lives. It's simply not possible to have any interests outside of work unless one has time.

Time requires the semblance of a 'work-life' balance. Such a balance requires Singaporeans to demonstrate strength of character. 

Character – huh? What does an individual's character have to do with 'work-life' balance? Well, as long as we chase the current equivalent of the 'Five C's' as the Holy Grail of existence there will be no balance in our lives. If our self-worth depends upon owning the latest electronic gadget, Louis Vitton handbag or other material possession then having to run faster and faster on the treadmill is inevitable. Splurging beyond one's means on big ticket items like cars and condominiums mean debt related stress permeating our entire life – and keeping us unhappy?

Make some time and get a hobby. Do something other than chase the dollar.

A hobby does not have to be expensive. It can be as simple as reading (borrow books from Singapore's great library system). Or spend some quiet moments in a green space every so often.

Surely, the pursuit of wealth is a legitimate life goal. Yet, becoming obsessive about materialism and allowing social pressures to dictate our wants is often a sure path to misery. Instead, it might be helpful to ask ourselves, 'How much money is required for me to be happy? Will the new phone [handbag, car, condo, etc.] bring me happiness?'

Reaching peace with our desires is one way to achieve happiness. Buddha figured that maxim out many centuries ago.

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Imran is a business and management consultant. Through his work at Deodar Advisors and the Deodar Diagnostic, Imran improves profits of businesses operating in Singapore and the region. He can be reached at imran@deodaradvisors.com.