Do any other forum members drive a car in Hat Yai? What is up with the parking situation there? I've driven in a lot of big cities before, but even though it's was hard to find a parking in them at least there were some rules to the game.

 

Hat Yai is insane. I got blocked in by double-parkers three times in one day on Monday. And when the guilty parties appear after wasting my precious time, they just act like it's another day at the office...they don't even apologize.

 

One of them even gave me a retarded soldiers salute as if I was pulling rank on him by asking him to move his rusty contraption, which was also causing a bottleneck on a main road.

 

And where are the cops? Don't they know they can get money by writing tickets?

 

Who's in charge there? It's not a built up city like Manhattan...why don't they just make some parking lots? There is still plenty of free space. Even the parking lot at Robinson's there aren't enough free spaces because they have an ongoing tent sale in what used to be a prime parking area.

 

Phuket still takes the cake as the perfect storm for bad driving overall, but Hat Yai is still the second most frustrating place to drive in the South, imho.

 

 

 

 

????

 

No, thankfully I don't own a car here, what's the point!  I just use local transport including a handful of local cab & tuk-tuk drivers I can call - parking is then their problem not mine. Wife has a scooter so no issues there.

 

Yes, it's generally chaos, double parking is common, especially on the wide roads like Sam Sip Met, and no they don't seem to care.

 

As for traffic cops, we see them at rush hour manning the major junctions with a whistle, but beyond that they've obviously got revenue streams enough. The amount of riders with no helmets zooming around, often under the very noses of traffic cops, is indications enough of a well fed constabulary.

Well, I just got back from a week in Phuket and it has gotten much, much worse in terms of parking there. Someone told me that one trick for Haad Yai is to simply push the offending, blocking vehicle out of the way as the owners leave the cars in neutral when they block? Has anyone else tried that? I am sure I will get a chance on my next trip into town...