You Should Drop By Hatyai

[thaivisitor]

I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules and if I did, I hope the moderators can please let me know.

I live in Hatyai and I only see a small percentage of westerners here compared to the many Asian tourists. Probably because, many are not aware of the attractions of this city.

So I want to tell fellow friends here more about Hatyai.

[thaivisitor]

Hatyai – anxiously referred to as the Land of Dreams where local women from all over Thailand come to seek better lives and men from all over South East Asia come to have their sorry hearts broken.

Hatyai – eagerly referred to as the Anchor of Activities where sex is as common as shopping and visiting massage parlors is as common as visiting temples.

Hatyai - jokingly referred to as the City of Fakes where men wear fake Rolex watches, fake Dunhill belts and fake Bally shoes while women carry fake Louis Vutton bags, wear fake Channel blouses, fake Levis jeans and put on fake Christian Dior perfumes. To say the extreme, you can even find women with “fake” beauty, from their nose jobs to their double eyelids, from their breasts to their private parts. Even virginity can be faked!

Being the third largest city in Thailand and one of the most common getaway for Asians, it is a pity that Hatyai has never been listed as a tourist destination for the Western tourists.

[Rinrada]

Good personal information always welcome..but beware of spamming.....so let it flow.

[wimpy]

So, why should I go there?

[thaivisitor]

About Hatyai

Situated in the South of Thailand, Hatyai is the gateway to the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Singapore. It is a mere 60 kilometers from the port of entries of the Malaysian/Thai border at Danok and Padang Besar. With the influence of the Malaysian and Singaporean tourists, Hatyai is typical of many busy Asian towns, comprising a busy commercial centre with large modern department stores and high modern hotels mixed with streets of low traditional shop houses and ancient Thai temples.

Location Of Hatyai

Hatyai, a district of Songkhla is the largest city in the South and third largest city in the country. With a population of about 200,000 people, Hatyai has significantly grown from a small sleepy town in the early seventies into a commercial, transportation, communication, educational, and tourism centre.

Hatyai is a modern city where you can enjoy a convenient lifestyle with a taste of the cosmopolitan. A vibrant mix of Thai, Chinese and Malay influences makes Hatyai a pleasure to visit with a variety of cultural and entertainment diversions, from temple visits to one of the most modern and exciting nightlife that never seem to sleep.

Hatyai also provides some of the Thailand’s best shopping. With street vendors to modern department stores, shop houses to mega stores, you can find almost anything here from cheap handicrafts to expensive branded goods.

Typical Street In Hatyai

Accommodation is quite simple with a wide range of hotels, rest houses and even service apartments for longer stay periods. There is a wide variety of eating places from street hawkers offering bowls of spicy noodle soup to luxury restaurants serving all kinds of foods from all over the world.

Getting around town via tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis is cheap and traveling from one end of the town to the other takes around 20 minutes. Getting out of town is also quick and easy with the many tour agencies providing cheap transportation by minivans. Hatyai has a busy train station, a convenient bus station and a modern airport.

Hatyai is one of those places in the world where getting away for a weekend is a simple matter of buying a ticket and off you go.

[thaivisitor]

SCENES OF HATYAI

SPICES

SONGKRAN

CHINESE NEW YEAR

TEMPLES

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

[thaivisitor]

SOME PLACES OF INTEREST

Samila Beach

About the beaches that lined the coast of Songkhla, Samila Beach is the most popular among both locals and tourists. This timeless well-known beach is characterized by the most famous view of a Golden Mermaid Statue with the islets Koh Noo and Koh Maew in background. A pleasant way to enjoy an afternoon.

Songkhla Zoo

The Songkhla Zoo is an open zoo, established with the primary purpose to preserve Thai wildlife and to eventually return them to the wild. The zoo covers a large hilly area with an asphalt ring road that guides to the respective animal enclosures. The various animals are grouped separately and you can find the basic animals like tigers, lions, elephants, etc.

Ton Nga Chang Waterfall

In Ton Nga Chang Waterfall, a river descends through 7 cascades covering almost a kilometer in height and a large upland area which is also home to the Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary. A popular place for the locals to have a picnic, the waterfall derives its name from the third level where the river divides into 2 streams resembling the two large tasks of the mighty elephant.

Wat Hat Yai Nai

Wat Hatyai Nai is the site of Phra Phuttha Hattha Mongkhon, the third largest reclining Buddha in the world, measuring a grand 35 metres in length, 15 metres in height, and 10 metres in width. Revered by both Thai and foreign tourists, the temple ground is also a favorite site for Loy Krathong festivals where hundreds of people will gather in the night to release their Krathong into the nearby river.

Historical Tunnel, Nam Khang Mountain

Nice sceneries of mountains and forest surround the history of the historical tunnel where members of the Malayan Communist Party once lived as well as the lives of residents are very interesting and worth a study. Run by ex-MCP members who actually lived there before.

[OlRedEyes]

"Come to the South for a Blast!"

[cdnvic]

"Come to the South for a Blast!" 

Was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring up that garbage. Ever venture out at night in certain neighbourhoods of London, Toronto, Los Angeles, Rio, etc? You're far safer in the south of Thailand were you aren't likely to be stabbed, mugged, or swarmed and beaten.

cv

[tom yum goong]

My feelings on Hat Yai.

Best shopping in Thailand outside of BKK.

Easy to get around.

Great food.

But not that much to draw western tourists i'm afraid. Unless u want a "massage", but plenty of that in BKK and other places.

I like the feel of the place but if i didnt live in the South (Phuket), i wouldnt bother going there.

[ProfessorFart]

I like Hat Yai a lot. My 3 most recent trips have all gone on longer than I had planned.

For me its just a nice city to wander around. There are some very interesting corners to be found there as well as all of the trappings of modern life. I like the wide streets which give the place a feeling of real space especially when compared to other cities in Thailand.

Its somewhere I'd certainly consider living one day.

The Vegitarian festival in October is also far better than the far more touristy one in Phuket.

[skylar]

Hat Yai is a pretty good place to go for a short trip if you want to tune out from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The first thing that struck me was that it was such a normal place; none of that tourist stuff.

I met up with some friends and went out to a few places. The Pubb was pretty dire - full of Malay tourists sitting slumped in their seats watching a male and female singer singing ballads - I found myself focusing on toothpicks after 10 minutes... The Curazon is much better. It's meant to be a Latin dance place, but pop and rock songs were being played with not much dancing happening. The atmosphere was good and ran into some interesting company!

There's also another pub, the name of which I can't remember (too much to drink, I think) that played decent music. It was easily the best place out of the lot for music, atmosphere and food.

I wouldn't encourage tourists to take the waters at Samila Beach - it's is probably one of the worst Thai beaches I have ever seen! The water's oily because there's a shipping port nearby. But the bronze statues are great to see and the monkeys on the side roads are entertainment.

[sierra01]

"Come to the South for a Blast!" 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring up that garbage. Ever venture out at night in certain neighbourhoods of London, Toronto, Los Angeles, Rio, etc? You're far safer in the south of Thailand were you aren't likely to be stabbed, mugged, or swarmed and beaten.

cv

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree, stupid comment. I've past through on a few occasions, stayed a few nights, and always liked it. The Southern troubles must put people off going there, even though there has been very little in the way of 'trouble' in Hat Yai. It's become another Belfast, nice place but.......

[Soph]

I Love Hat Yai, lived there for a year and it is a great place to live in - I would reccomend it to anyone. Good food, good shopping, nice bunch of farrangs, good transport, everything is nice and the people are lovely too. I miss Hat Yai!!!

[fox]

For your info, Hatyai, South Thailand is a very popular and attractive destination for Malaysian

and Singaporean visitors. Before the Southern states insurgency recently.......... no fewer than

five thousand visitors from Malaysia and Singapore would cross over the border to Hatyai daily.

Some go in by car, motorcycles, tour bus, bus, van and some just walk in.

Now the numbers have dropped because of the Southern insurgency.

The main attraction there is the sex related industry and the fantastic night life.

For family people, it is the shopping, sight seeing, food hunting, and other interesting activities.

The hotel pricing is really very reasonable and there is a five star hotel right in the heart of the

city. Most of the hotels are 4star and 3star, and there are also some cheaper quest houses.

For me, from my Malaysian home, I normally drive in by car. It would take me about five hours,

driving on the new Malaysian super (double lane) highway, plus stopping for rest and food,

on the super highway, then duty free shop, and then right into Bukit Kayu Hitam (Malaysia)/

Danok (Thai) Immigration check point......... and next I will be shopping in Lotus Tesco, Hatyai.

[thaivisitor]

I like Hat Yai a lot. My 3 most recent trips have all gone on longer than I had planned.

For me its just a nice city to wander around. There are some very interesting corners to be found there as well as all of the trappings of modern life. I like the wide streets which give the place a feeling of real space especially when compared to other cities in Thailand.

Its somewhere I'd certainly consider living one day.

The Vegitarian festival in October is also far better than the far more touristy one in Phuket.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The streets in Hatyai will have a face lift as the government is planning to "red0" the electrical system for the whole city.

Presently, all or most wire cables are founb outside along the streets, etc. The project is starting soon and may take more than a year, but when completed, all cables, etc will be underground and will be very much neater like in Singapore.

[thaivisitor]

Hat Yai is a pretty good place to go for a short trip if you want to tune out from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The first thing that struck me was that it was such a normal place; none of that tourist stuff.

I met up with some friends and went out to a few places. The Pubb was pretty dire - full of Malay tourists sitting slumped in their seats watching a male and female singer singing ballads - I found myself focusing on toothpicks after 10 minutes... The Curazon is much better. It's meant to be a Latin dance place, but pop and rock songs were being played with not much dancing happening. The atmosphere was good and ran into some interesting company! 

There's also another pub, the name of which I can't remember (too much to drink, I think) that played decent music. It was easily the best place out of the lot for music, atmosphere and food.

I wouldn't encourage tourists to take the waters at Samila Beach - it's is probably one of the worst Thai beaches I have ever seen! The water's oily because there's a shipping port nearby. But the bronze statues are great to see and the monkeys on the side roads are entertainment.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you meant "Malaysian" tourists as Malay is a race.

The "other" pub could be West Side?

Anyway, these are smallers pubs right in the middle of the city. There's also Kiss Channel, Water Bar and Or Kar Club Part 2 to name a few which are all at least 5 to 10 times bigeer than pubs like the Pubb or Corozon.

A couple of Discos like Disco Palace or Paragon which can equal Hollywood in Ratchada too.

[lopburi3]

I like Hat Yai a lot. My 3 most recent trips have all gone on longer than I had planned.

For me its just a nice city to wander around. There are some very interesting corners to be found there as well as all of the trappings of modern life. I like the wide streets which give the place a feeling of real space especially when compared to other cities in Thailand.

Its somewhere I'd certainly consider living one day.

The Vegitarian festival in October is also far better than the far more touristy one in Phuket.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The streets in Hatyai will have a face lift as the government is planning to "red0" the electrical system for the whole city.

Presently, all or most wire cables are founb outside along the streets, etc. The project is starting soon and may take more than a year, but when completed, all cables, etc will be underground and will be very much neater like in Singapore.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That should be interesting the next time there is 2 meters of water in the streets. Or is that also being taken care of?

[thaivisitor]

That should be interesting the next time there is 2 meters of water in the streets.  Or is that also being taken care of?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The past few days had been quite "worrying" for me as I lived by the river. Although, there were times when it rained for hours in Hatyai, the City itself has not been affected.

The fear is the surrounding areas in Songkhla which are higher ground than Hatyai and that waters from these areas may flood into Hatyai.

The last couple of days were on alert as the water level reaches the edge of the river where normally it is at least 10 feet below. The drainage system in front of my house were also brimming where it is normally dry.

Some areas outside the City which I passed by were flooded up to about a couple of feet but it was not damaging or anything like that. Maybe acouple of blocks type, not 10 blocks.

Today, the river subsided and the drainage level went down by at lest 15 inches eventhough it rain for a couple of hours in the wee hours of the morning.

But we're keeping our fingers crossed as the radio reported storm from 13 to 16th.

[lopburi3]

The big flood came from the West side mountains trying to get to the lake last time. Water was up to second story downtown. At that time construction was blamed (no drainage due to new roads blocking runoff) but city is lower than everything around it so I would think there is still a danger. Glad it looks better today.

[jackr]

Yeah, some clever individual emptied the water through the city and all the drains were blocked up with plastic bottles etc. The city filled to about a 3m depth and something like 800 people were drowned or electrocuted. They found loads of people dead in cars at undergroud parking lots days later. It absolutely pissed down that year for weeks on end.

Hat Yai as a city is a bit of a featureless bore, with not much going for it apart from the nifty markets between Niphats 1 and 3. Take away Lee Gardens Plaza and the cinemas and there ain't much to do apart from the obvious allure of the Pink Lady et al. Some nice countryside around the city, although CM knocks it on its bottom. Songkhla is the big attraction in the province...bags of character and not too many farangs. Must admit, I find the locals down there much more friendly than the northeners and the women are hot!

[skylar]

I think you meant "Malaysian" tourists as Malay is a race.

The "other" pub could be West Side?

Anyway, these are smallers pubs right in the middle of the city. There's also Kiss Channel, Water Bar and Or Kar Club Part 2 to name a few which are all at least 5 to 10 times bigeer than pubs like the Pubb or Corozon.

A couple of Discos like Disco Palace or Paragon which can equal Hollywood in Ratchada too.

   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Er, nobody was dressed in swimwear in any of the places I mentioned... even Body Glove is so 90s . And I'm pretty sure the tourists were ethnic Malays as they looked neither of Indian extract nor Chinese... and there were heaps of them.

[fox]

You are right, when you say, ' Malays '....... it is an ethnic race when refering to Malaysia.

In Malaysia, we have Malays, Chinese, Indians and other Indigenous people.

As a nation and citizen, we are called " Malaysian ".

In other words........ Nationality : Malaysian. Race : Malay/Chinese/Indians/Others/etc or as the case

maybe.

Most of the tourists (90%) visiting Hatyai are Chinese Malaysian.

I am a Chinese Malaysian.

[skylar]

then I'll have to work on telling people apart, then... oops... well at least I didn't mistake them for Indians :b

[thaivisitor]

I

     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Er, nobody was dressed in swimwear in any of the places I mentioned... even Body Glove is so 90s . And I'm pretty sure the tourists were ethnic Malays as they looked neither of Indian extract nor Chinese... and there were heaps of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

kekekekeke,

the picture on the left and centre is Kiss Channel and on the right is Paragon. All taken recently meaning what you see, is now what you can get.

As for the races, well, even Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese look different from Chinese from China as many of us are not "fair skin". In fact, we make be also mistaken to be Thais by the unsuspecting.

[thaivisitor]

Yeah, some clever individual emptied the water through the city and all the drains were blocked up with plastic bottles etc. The city filled to about a 3m depth and something like 800 people were drowned or electrocuted. They found loads of people dead in cars at undergroud parking lots days later. It absolutely pissed down that year for weeks on end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can I know the source of this information? I haven't read about this anywhere.

I know there were people who died but these are in the villages, not in the city. As far as foreigners are concern, I thought that only 1 tourist died and that was due to a fall.

[lopburi3]

The wife and I were in Hat Yai about two weeks after the flooding and told (by several persons) that people died in elevator into the basement of Lee Gardens Plaza when they went down into the water not knowing so don't believe it was only the villages where people died. It was a flash flood and many were taken by surprise. Both Central Hotel and Lee Gardens underground areas were completely destroyed. Two week later streets were green and smell of mildew everywhere. All vehicles were completely under water (even those on streets) and you can imagine how they smelled a few weeks later.

[thaivisitor]

The wife and I were in Hat Yai about two weeks after the flooding and told (by several persons) that people died in elevator into the basement of Lee Gardens Plaza when they went down into the water not knowing so don't believe it was only the villages where people died.  It was a flash flood and many were taken by surprise.   Both Central Hotel and Lee Gardens underground areas were completely destroyed.  Two week later streets were green and smell of mildew everywhere.  All vehicles were completely under water (even those on streets) and you can imagine how they smelled a few weeks later.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am aware of the flood back then as I went to evacuate my dad who was trapped in Asian Hotel.

I've heard talks of people dead by being trap in lifts, etc, etc but no one was able to verify it as truth. I was not able to get any reports or newspaper articles on that. Only has seen those whereby villagers died, that's why I'm trying to see whether whether the "trap in lifts" stories are true or not.

In fact, the stories now has it that LGP is now even haunted by those that died there!!!!

Stories tend to get out of hand. During the Tsunami, there were tremours in Hatyai too, and some wall tiles outside LGP came off and I was there the following day and saw workers putting on new tiles. But stories now abound that LGP is unsafe as it cracked during the Tsunami outbreak.

Edited December 18, 2005 by thaivisitor

[lopburi3]

We did stay in the LGP and did hear of the ghosts from every taxi driver we used when they found we were staying there. If I recall rightly it was an entire family in the report. It did give me some nightmares - but with a sixth floor lobby you have no option but to use that set of elevators.

[lopburi3]

Yeah, some clever individual emptied the water through the city and all the drains were blocked up with plastic bottles etc. The city filled to about a 3m depth and something like 800 people were drowned or electrocuted. They found loads of people dead in cars at undergroud parking lots days later. It absolutely pissed down that year for weeks on end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can I know the source of this information? I haven't read about this anywhere.

I know there were people who died but these are in the villages, not in the city. As far as foreigners are concern, I thought that only 1 tourist died and that was due to a fall.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a quote from the BBC of the death toll in Hat Yai during the 2000 flood:

Officials said 33 had died in the last week, mostly from drowning and electrocution after power cables fell into waters near victims.