Sawa dee ka~!!
Just back from Thailand trip & it was awesome~
After several stressful weeks, sis & i manage to get off a plane with family to just go relax in Hatyai, Thailand. If u want to plan for a family leisure trip, with lower budget, Hatyai is a place to consider. There are many transportation options to go from Malaysia to Hatyai, either by train, by bus or by plane (faster). Well~ with AirAsia, now everyone can fly ;)
departure :D
After arrival and ding dong ding dong through the airport, we checked-in to Tune Hotel @Hatyai.
The hotel location is very strategic, as it is at town centre & walking distance to the markets, shopping malls, restaurants & train station.
Spacious &comfortable room, with selection of facilities that u want to use at affordable price.
After settling down our luggage, we walked to the nearest McDonald's to fill our hungry tummies with
Shogun Pork Burger! *LIKE*
Spinach Pie! *SHARE*
We hung out at Lee Gardens Plaza. Here u can find branded stuff, restaurants, gadgets shops etc where u'll see many youngsters chilling out there too. FYI, u'll need to bypass a security counter check (include bag check) at the entrance of (most) the shopping malls. The tighten security could be due to previous bomb threats that happened years ago.
@Lee Gardens Plaza
Some food stalls below u can find outside Lee Gardens along the road.
Mango sticky rice @80baht (approx. RM8). Tasty! (recommended food in Thailand)
*LIKE *LIKE
Coconut ice cream @30baht
Exotic purplish-white color Jagung
(it's quite tasteless though)
The food sold outside Lee Gardens is quite expensive i'd say. U can get these food for a better price from Greenway & Khlong Hae Floating Market.
* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *
Next morning we head over to (金荣) Kim Yong Market for jalan-jalan cari makan. However, it was rather early (around 8.30am Thai time) and some stalls were not open yet. So we hop onto a Tuk Tuk to (好运点心肉骨茶) Lucky Dim Sum Bak Kut Teh restaurant.
U can easily get a Tuk Tuk anywhere at just 20baht/ pax.
tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk all da way~~~
Here we are! Lucky Dim Sum Bak Kut Teh!
U have to select the dish (raw food) u want, & the staff will steam for u.
U can order bak kut teh while enjoying your dim sum + tea ^^ burRPP!
Boss~! Kira~!
250baht for 4pax not bad huh~ :D consider cheap *LIKE*
After satisfied with our meal, we walked around. I walked..walked...walked.....OHHH!!
Clumsy me i have knocked a Thai man &he struggled to balance but felt on a silver baricade which hit his chest (more like ribcage)...ouch...uhh..felt so guilty T_T
Further walking, hey! we saw fooood that is pleasant to our eyes. so our legs naturally walk in to the shop &we ordered
1 plate of roast pork rice @55baht
The roast pork rice is very nice &can be found in 青记 Restaurant (near Lucky Dim Sum).
We dropped by Central before walk across to Odean shopping center. Central is a departmental store selling branded attires.
It was Haloween, so there were lots of "vampires" & "witches" walking round in Odean.
Odean shopping center sell mixture of branded stuff and general items.
Naraya handbags is quite popular in Thailand which u can get as souvenirs for friends
We went back to Kim Yong Market for lunch.
lovely chicken rice
stew pork with salty vege, nice~
green tea jasmine, not bad~
stalls around Kim Yong Market
After killing our feet with long walks, we went back hotel for rest, before heading to...
GREENWAY night market!!
Greenway (or known by the locals as 'Kinwei') is a good place to hangout where there are food courts and shops/ stalls selling clothing, pets, arts, & all kinds of interesting stuffs. The food is very cheap & tasty, with generous portion given. The place is very hygienic, and very organized. All food are served in polystyrene & everyone is to self-service thus clear the table.
Variety of food from A to Z!!
Don't forget to try TomYam in Thailand!! Awesome~!
My sis & i experience major breakdown of communication in Hatyai especially when ordering food, flipping through our wiki-thai-translation in our mind that doesn't work, we just use our fingers to point at someone else food which we wanted to order. When we communicate, we totally do not understand what they say, so we responded with our broken combination of Hakka+Hokkien+Cantonese+malay hoping to hit some right words in reply. @.@ mai kao jai (means don't understand). Some Thai do speak Hokkien & chinese though, which wipe our sweats away.
* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *
Breakfast on the next morning at a shop near Tune Hotel, to try on local food~
mixed rice, not bad~
After breakfast, we walked around to explore the town.
We dropped by a petrol station for drinks & snacks, and hey guess what?
check out the price for RON 95 in Thailand. We should be thankful in Malaysia~
Approx. RM 4.6/ litre petrol
We dropped by Haadyai train station
Grabbed 1 of these for snack whilst walking to the train station. These are really good, it's something like 'Apam balik' kuih with flavors of coconut floss & sweet potato as filling. Bon appetit!
We paved our ways to Robinson shopping mall to get some food & snacks souvenirs. It has a comfortable 'market' place like Cold Storage which u can get food at good price. All varieties are available there.
Next stop! The commonly-talked-about Kan Eng Restaurant (甘英饭店) which located opposite a temple, & near to BP Grand Suite Hotel.
Kan Eng Restaurant
Spicy Kerabu Mango with sotong
*ear caught on fire for awhile after gulping some green chilies hidden in the shredded mango
Stew pork leg with salted vege
(tasted ooh-la-lah~~ *LIKE)
Spicy (choking @1st drink) Tom Yam
*taste is very authentic
Omelette with generous portion of real crab meat in it
Some sugarcane & guava drinks to cool your tongue
The food was superb~! We ordered the above dishes inclusive of rice for 4 pax at the cost of 800 baht (approx. RM80). After this meal, u can just walk over to the next stall selling local specialty as the sign says 'don't forget to bring some local products for your friends'~ ;)
After walking like ostrich with our tiring feet, we went back hotel for a rest. Then off we go to....
Khlong Hae Floating Market!!
There's a temple over here. It's about half an hour drive on taxi from Tune Hotel to the market.
No...Stay Jumbo Stay...don't hit me with ur trunk...
"Kao loy?" (means 'how much')
This is how they pass the food & receive money by using a 'basket' hand out to u.
Clay products
fish snack
coconut drink in a Hello Kitty clay cup
Tom Yam! slrrrp~
Bihun
something like nasi kerabu
gelatine ang ku kueh
Lai chi drinks in bamboo cup
Mini sushi
(not fresh & sticky though)
Worms!!! ewww~~~
(too bad, i chicken out. Throat was shivering...Plan to try it next trip though!)
woops! my favourite post :p :p
Khlong Hae Floating market only opens from Friday to Sunday so u gotta plan your trip well.
Here is a video for greater reference :)
* * * *
I
Enjoying our last night at a dessert (tong sui) stall near Tune Hotel whilst observing the life at night.
* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *
What would i say about this trip?
It was an eye opening for me, not just culture/ food, but rather the education system, how government works etc, it leads me wanting to find out more that's where i hope for a 2nd trip to Thailand again. I respect the people there for their patriotic spirit towards their country, how they took it seriously by standing up in respond to the national anthem when the song was played. The place is very clean, hardly spot any rubbish on the streets, i don't see any beggar around too. If u stay longer in Hatyai, im sure u'll see something else when u mingle with the locals there. We did not go to Samila Beach to see the 'mermaid', nor in time to do massage, nor even go further to see the night life. Yet, i truly enjoy the quality time with my family this 4D3N, with all the laughter hee haa hee haa in the hotel, through out the streets, & in the restaurants~
I'm grateful to God :)
