A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. GL 
tion in which we were going. They were Malays, and both were 
armed with kris and spear. The usual enquiry “where are you 
going?” which among Malays is a mark of polite solicitude, not 
of ill-bred curiosity, elicited the information that they were bound 
from Baling to Kernei. Shortly afterwards we reached an open- 
ing in the forest which was occupied by a pool of dark-coloured 
water. It was a sombre, uninviting locking place, but is dignified 
by the Malays by the name of Tasek, or “the lake.” This is the 
boundary between the States of Patani and Kedah. 
“The lake” did not present sufficient attractions to induce us 
to prolong our stay there, and after a brief halt the journey was 
resumed. High ground was again in front of us, and two hills— 
Bukit Tumsu and Bukit Sempang—were successively passed. Seii- 
pang means “ cross-road”’ and at the hill so called a path branches 
off to the right, which leads, I was told, to Percha Deredah, a 
Siamese hamlet of some fourteen or fifteen houses on the Patani 
side of the border. leaving the hills at last, we descended to a 
clearing occupied by Siamese peasants. We were now fairly out 
of the forest, and evidences of life and industry were to be seen on 
every side. Ata Siamese kampong called Ayer Juang, we crossed 
a river (Sungei Rambong) by a good plank bridge and followed 
a path which intersected a wide expanse of open padi fields. The 
village of Rambong, which we did not visit, was left on our right 
when we passed Ayer Juang. Right ahead of us, and seen to great 
advantage beyond an open foreground of green fields, was the sin- 
gularly shaped mass of Gunong Wang, a large limestone moun- 
tain which dominates Baling. It stands alone and seems to rise 
abruptly from the plain, its white, precipitous sides being in places 
altogether free from vegetation for hundreds of feet while the 
summit and slopes are covered with a thick forest of stunted trees. 
The path seemed to improve as we proceeded, especially after we 
had passed a junction at which the track from Kroh and that from 
Intan (which we had been following ) unite. Presently the river 
Baling was reached and crossed, and we entered a Siamese kam- 
pong. Comfortable looking houses, flourishing plantations and a 
stone causeway, which led through the hamlet, gave this place an 
air of long-established prosperity such as I had not seen since 
