Part 2 Food Haven Hat Yai

11 Mar 2012 – One Day in Hat Yai

Hat Yai

Hat Yai is big with many buildings especially hotels and restaurants scattered everywhere in town centre.

As we planned to stay a night in Hat Yai and travel the next morning to Phuket, we thought we should do the booking of tickets first. So, we took a tuk-tuk (our first) to the Hat Yai Bus Terminal. But soon we realized that the actual town centre was near the train station and there was nothing much happening around the bus terminal. So upon checking the availability of buses and prices for vans, we returned (tuk-tuk again) to Hat Yai to find a place to stay. Local buses leave for Phuket every hour, so we found out.

We had earlier heard about Lee Garden Plaza and got our tuk-tuk to drop us there. So, by 3pm we checked into our room at the 19th floor of Lee Garden. We paid RM130 including breakfast for 2.

From our floor, we got an aerial view of Hat Yai.

Hotel room

The hotel

We freshened up, dumped our bags and headed for lunch. There is something about Thai food that I find hard to describe – it’s just so tasty. Throughout our stay, we had very good experience with Thai food and every single one of them was delicious.

chicken cooked with cashew nut

Coke the old way

Do you know that a Thai meal is not complete without a finishing dessert. I think the Thais are masters of desserts. They also experiment a lot with their fruits.

Mango with sticky rice (glutinous rice)..yummy

Since we were very hungry, we entered a nice looking restaurant and ended up paying RM60 for lunch. We could have had the same food at a stall with less ambience for half the price. But being cautious for the kids and this being our first visit to Thailand, I wasn’t sure about trying food at the smaller food outlets.

My breakfast

Rishi with the Coconut Milk Ice-Cream

There is a culture of eating fruits here that I don’t see in KL. Our dessert was Fresh Coconut Milk with Ice for RM2 which we bought from a vendor outside the restaurant. We loved it.

Tuk-Tuk

There is nothing much to see in the town centre other than the many shopping malls. So we hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Sleeping Buddha and the Floating Market.

Harish comfortably seated in the tuk-tuk

We all liked the tuk-tuk. It was small but cosy, and you can stretch your leg on the seats if it’s not full. You also have the wind blowing on your face on both sides while your head is shaded by its roof.


We hired a tuk-tuk for 550baht for a half day tour to the Sleeping Buddha and Floating Market.


Sleeping Buddha – Hat Yai Nai Temple

The temple

Buddha reclined

Said to be the 3rd longest reclining Buddha in the world, at 35 metres long, we didn’t want to miss it. There was nobody at the temple when we got there. There is no entrance or camera fee. We wanted to light up incense sticks but we changed our mind when the lady manning the counter asked for a 1000baht as donation. We later donated at the altar of the Sleeping Buddha.
The Buddha was huge and smiling but somehow there was a feeling of neglect here. The place was not vibrant and looked kind of deserted. We didn’t see any monks at the temple ground. I did notice some Buddhist monk houses nearby.

Behind the Buddha is a mausoleum, we didn’t realize it was one until we saw photos of deceased people lining up the walls. There seemed to be some kind of a locker system which I assume is where they have interred the remains of the deceased. We were very uneasy in that room it’s like you have invaded someone’s private resting place, so we made a fast exit.


Khonghae Floating Market

The market is about 30km from Hat Yai town. It seems it operates only on weekends 3pm onwards. It was a Sunday so we were lucky.

The floating Market

Each boat has one lady hawker

There were a whole row of stalls selling food and drinks, fruit juices, souvenirs, clothes, stones, fried insects, Thai desserts etc.

Steamed stuff..ready to be eaten

More food waiting to be bought

Looks like 'ketupat'

We stopped at many stalls just to watch them prepare the desserts. There is creativity in preparation and presentation of food, drinks and desserts, very interesting to watch.

Drinks tied in half plastics

We stopped long at the fried insects section...

Maggots?

Fried critters, anyone?

Cockroaches ...

Soon we came to a bridge and from here, you can see costumed pretty ladies selling many type of food from their boats down by the river. The boats are docked in a systematic line.

Pretty woman

These floating hawkers row in and set up their stalls and at the time of my visit, there were about 50 docked in. Surprisingly, they were mostly ladies. They use a long bamboo stick with a small bamboo tray tied at one end to receive money and return balance. Very clever.

note the colour of the water

suppose it will be nicer at night

Although I was awed by the whole scenario, I could not hang around long due to a bad smell that lingered there. I don't know if it was the river or the raw fish...All the same, this place is worth the visit and experience.


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By the time our tuk-tuk dropped us back at the hotel, it was almost 7pm. Hat Yai, at night, came more alive than it was at day time.

Hat Yai at night - taken from the hotel room

This is the time the mobile food vendors come in with their trolleys and set up their business at busy spots. There were plenty of them in front of Lee Garden. The whole street in front of the hotel turned into a thriving bazaar.



The vendors in front of the hotel

Since we were spoilt for choices for food, we tried many different types; char koey teow, lye chee kang, tea Thai style, nasi lemak, mango with sticky rice (best ever), buttered bread, fried sweet potato, steamed tapioca with coconut milk and fried squid. I don’t think I have ever stuffed so much food for dinner ever before.

We loved their tea. The water is boiled with pandan leaves. The aroma of the leaves really adds to the taste. You can opt for milked tea or plain tea. Teh tarik addicts must not give this a miss. It's worth the try especially the hot milk tea – it’s so good.

There is a lye chee kang stall in front of the hotel that lets you choose the items that you want in your bowl. The seeds, jelly, cendol, cincau, dates that come in multiple colours look so enticing that again, you must give it a try.

Funny sign at the hotel reception - do people really do this?

The next morning, N and Rishi went for the buffet breakfast at the 10th floor of the hotel. They were lost in the world of Thai food that they forgot to take any pictures. They both loved the food.

Hat Yai Bus Terminal

Cafe ala StarBucks at the bus terminal - we tried iced mocha, and yes,very nice..


We checked out at about 10am and took a tuk-tuk to Hat Yai Bus terminal.



Some tips :-1. Hat Yai is a shopping and food haven. If you go with your family and kids, there is really nothing much to do after a day.

2. The price of most things are the same as KL.

3. The town centre is near the train station and not the bus terminal. Most hotels are located near the train station.

4. Tuk-tuks always start at 100baht – especially if you don’t look like a Thai. But do bargain.

5. The food at some outlets are cheaper than others. See where the crowd is.

6. To charge your phone and camera, get a Thai adaptor. It’s available in 7-11 outlets.

All pictures are copyrighted. I can be reached at sivakay2009@gmail.com.