Stocky

Thai Lion do fly from Bangkok DM to Jakarta daily as do Air Asia.

Well it's really a matter of what it's worth to you.

The indoor market by the clock tower on Thanon Phetkasem is called the 'Plaza' and is indeed very popular with Malaysians, including large size Indian families, so you might find what you want there.

But as said you need to haggle.

Outside of the opening match the semis and the final they're generally the runts of the litter.

There's a World Cup chart available from the Bangkok Post website that gives details of the games to be shown on Channel 7.

Sure is, im wondering why Hat Yai has been lifted before CM !

Hat Yai has a heavy military presence on the streets and in the region anyway, the curfew was overkill - and as said, Hat Yai isn't Red Shirt territory.

Well the curfew has now been lifted in Hat Yai.

It's not western tourists that make up the numbers in Hat Yai, sure we get a few backpackers on their way north or south, or on their way to Koh Lipe, but the vast majority of tourists are from Malaysia and Singapore and look no different than the locals.

Hat Yai is very popular with Malaysians and Singaporeans with direct flights from KL and Singapore as well as bus and rail links. It's a favourite destination for shopping trips and to party, with many families visiting, it's not men just looking for a "bit of massage and extras"; they don't get much further than the border town of Danok.

The bombings in May had already dented tourist numbers, the coup and curfew have just aggravated things. Hopefully the curfew will be dropped in Hat Yai before the World Cup starts.

Hat Yai is on the edge of the war zone, not in it, generally I'd say Hat Yai is safer than most large Thai cities because of the extra police and army presence.

Our house backs onto the U-Tapao River in Hat Yai and the amount of rubbish the local people dump into the river is a disgrace.

All that heads down to Lake Songkhla and then out to sea.

This kind of "dome", of concrete, may be suitable here

...certainly the termites won't find that very appetising.

I'm sure the local termites will appreciate all that nice wood!

But it would be nice to have some competition on the Singapore route.

They're all fairly new Airbus A320s on Tiger, none is older than eight years most are 2 to 3 years old. You should try flying some of the Indonesian airlines if you want old - Sriwijaya have several 737's that are 20 to 25 years old.

NokAir - strewth I missed that, must have been zero publicity. Phuket Air were good I flew with them a few times.

People heading to Koh Samui. Several have tried the Phuket route, most recently Happy Air, but it never seems to work out.

I got flights for 3 to Hua Hin and back for THB 5,970.

I predict a minor bank run in places such as Phuket as the oil and gas and mining guys take their money with them.

As a mining guy I keep peanuts in my Thai accounts, my money is in Singapore. Most offshore workers do the same - Thailand isn't a place where smart people put their money.

As for me as I'm married to a Thai and come in and out on a multi non-O I'm not affected.

Phetkasem Road is now open.

Everything back to normal in Hat Yai.

Hi guys,

Great pics, but topic running here too:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/724076-bomb-blasts-rock-hat-yai/

That one is full of politics and little information.

I'm from Malaysia and will be travelling to Hatyai next week.

My concern now is it safe for me to travel to Hatyai at this moment?

Appreciate any advise on this.

Hat Yai is safer today than it was yesterday. Security had gotten lax which is why they managed to plant the bombs yesterday and get away. They've tightened up security again and put many more security personnel out on the streets. I wouldn't cancel your visit.

Very quiet in Hat Yai city centre tonight. Plenty of extra soldiers at main junctions and a few extra road blocks. The bridge across the railway line on Phetkasem Road is still closed to traffic so you need to use either the underpass on Sripoovanart Road or the bridge at Rattakarn Soi 6.

Don't think there was any warning. I'm a kilometer from the Police Station so heard the bang and watch the smoke. It was next door to the station proper in the car compound. The first bomb was outside the 7-11 near Hat Yai University.

Will there be others, certainly at some time or other we get them every couple of years, they step up security for a while then it goes slack again and they sneak another bomb in. It will keep going until such time as the Thai Government tries to tackle the problem beyond just adding more guns. Current government doesn't give a toss as there's no votes for them down south.

Thai roads are more dangerous in Hat Yai than bombs.

The one on Ponpichai Road which I think is down near Hat Yai University.

Phht.

Travelling on Thailand's roads is far more dangerous. No I'm not overly concerned for myself or my family.

I'm about a kilometer away, I thought it was a blown transformer as all the ups's started beeping and clicking. Then I heard it was a bomb. There was one earlier outside a 7-11 in town, I didn't hear that one but I'm told there are five people injured.