Hat Yai City Safety Advice

[Ozfatboy]

Thought I would see if any locals can give me some advice.

 

I am an expat living in Bangkok and need to come to Hat Yai next month for ten days for the National Games and a little concerned about safety issues. Most of the Western Embassies say "Do Not Travel" into Songkhla and other Provinces in the Red Zone.

 

I know Hat Yai falls within this area and was wondering is it safe in the city. I know, no matter where you are, you can never really be sure but I don't want to put myself at any undue risk if the situation is not great down there.

 

Any advice and tips from local expats would be gladly appreciated.

[Rhys]

Hat Yai will be fine.....National games, Sports?  You're not going out to the outside the amphur muang, so fine... like anything don't go walking down a dark alley.  Lots of good western food down there.  Where is the stadium?  The Amphur or at PSU?

 

 

Cheers

[12DrinkMore]

I have been to Hat Yai many times, last time was a couple of months ago.

 

Never a problem, nice place, friendly locals and one humongously large shopping centre just outside the city.

 

 

[recom273]

Hat Yai is fine, I have lived here for 7 years.

 

There are token security checks on entering car parks or malls which are pretty ineffective but maybe off putting. 

 

You have more chance of being run over by some local pickup driving clown or flood than seeing any insurgency action.

[smotherb]

14 hours ago, Rhys said:

Hat Yai will be fine.....National games, Sports?  You're not going out to the outside the amphur muang, so fine... like anything don't go walking down a dark alley.  Lots of good western food down there.  Where is the stadium?  The Amphur or at PSU?

 

 

Cheers

While I tend to agree Hatyai is relatively safe, especially if you like the smell of cordite in the morning, but I wonder where the "Lots of good western food down there" is. 

[impulse]

Watch out for 10 year old kids zipping around on scooters at 100 KPH and you'll be fine.  

 

They're 100x more likely to kill you than any insurgent.  But they don't get the headlines...

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by impulse

[swissbie]

The Thai government advises not to travel in the districts of Thepha, Saba Yoi, Chana and Na Thawi, the rest of Songhkla province is declared as safe. Only in the above mentioned districts martial law is in use.

[Ozfatboy]

Thanks to all who replied, that helps a lot, I look forward to visiting a new city!

[digger70]

10 hours ago, smotherb said:

While I tend to agree Hatyai is relatively safe, especially if you like the smell of cordite in the morning, but I wonder where the "Lots of good western food down there" is. 

Yea, I like to know too.I live down there and have not seen any western food,There's something that looks a bit like it But not edible. 

No trouble with cordite smell Haven't had a bomb here since 2012.

[Stocky]

As all have said above, Hat Yai is fine, indeed given the situation to the south of us, and the consequent increase in security added police and army on the streets, it's probably a lot safer than many other places in Thailand. As also pointed out the probability of being killed by a bomb down here is likely less than winning the lottery, traffic accidents are a far greater and real danger.

 

There is some great food down here, both Asian and Western, take a read through the food topic pinned at the top of the forum page.

[weegee]

42 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Yea, I like to know too.I live down there and have not seen any western food,There's something that looks a bit like it But not edible. 

No trouble with cordite smell Haven't had a bomb here since 2012.

The only western food in Hatyai, is a picture in a book.....at your local Newsagent....

[smotherb]

1 hour ago, digger70 said:

Yea, I like to know too.I live down there and have not seen any western food,There's something that looks a bit like it But not edible. 

No trouble with cordite smell Haven't had a bomb here since 2012.

I have lived in Hatyai for almost eleven years. There are a few western restaurants, but even fewer which are tolerable. However, the lack of westerners in Hatyai speaks to the lack of western food places.

 

You have overlooked the two bombs in 2016 in Songkhla--about 25kms away--and the three bombs in Hatyai in 2014. We also have our fair share of murders by gun and just last week a yayhoo rode his scooter by a bar in which I was seated and fired what looked like a .45 auto several times aimlessly.

[Stocky]

13 hours ago, smotherb said:

bombs in 2016 in Songkhla

They were south of the military check point, down in Thepa, that's getting to bandit country. As for the 3 Hat Yai  IEDs back in 2014 they did little damage but wounded eight, Given there have been more recent bombings in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Trang, Surat Thani and Phuket then Hat Yai is no more dangerous than anywhere else in Thailand, however given we've more security personnel on the streets it's probably safer.

[smotherb]

53 minutes ago, Stocky said:

They were south of the military check point, down in Thepa, that's getting to bandit country. As for the 3 Hat Yai  IEDs back in 2014 they did little damage but wounded eight, Given there have been more recent bombings in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Trang, Surat Thani and Phuket then Hat Yai is no more dangerous than anywhere else in Thailand, however given we've more security personnel on the streets it's probably safer.

Read my initial post, I did not say Hatyai was particularly dangerous, I live there. However, another poster said the last bomb there was 2012, I refuted that statement.

[Stocky]

Relax. You and I both know where it was, but many people when they see Songkhla just think of Songkhla Town, not the province. 

 

.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Stocky

[phuketsub]

On 25/5/2560 at 5:23 PM, Stocky said:

Relax. You and I both know where it was, but many people when they see Songkhla just think of Songkhla Town, not the province. 

 

.

Your point really resonates with me. The name of the province should be associated with the province first, at least as far as the inner wiring of my brain works. It is not uncommon to be in Phuket, Songkhla or any other province and then see a road sign indicating the way to the province that you are already in.

 

I have done some research on this over the years and it turns out the 'distances' shown of roadside signs doesn't indicate the distance to the province, muang district line, municipal border, or anything else that the Western mind might presuppose. Rather it is the distance to a specific provincial pillar at provincial hall. It is almost as frustrating as the way street addresses are meted out....

 

[lemonjelly]

The most dangerous thing about Hat Yai are the pedestrian unfriendly junctions in the center.

[phuketsub]

13 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

The most dangerous thing about Hat Yai are the pedestrian unfriendly junctions in the center.

Yup. I was hobbling around there cane-in-sweaty-hand the other day. That intersection at Saphan Dum is very intimidating, and the traffic makes the motorists desperate to get through the next light change.

 

 

[lemonjelly]

54 minutes ago, phuketsub said:

Yup. I was hobbling around there cane-in-sweaty-hand the other day. That intersection at Saphan Dum is very intimidating, and the traffic makes the motorists desperate to get through the next light change.

 

 

The problem with hat yai is the cross junctions with pedestrian crossings where the traffic lights allow no time for the pedestrians to actually use the pedestrian crossings..... dodge n run is the only way to cross. 

[Stocky]

You do get a countdown these days, so you can better time your run. 

[Joosesis]

Just sharing....  my favorite restaurant in Hat Yai is a western restaurant:  The Basil https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297921-d3336954-Reviews-The_Basil_Restaurant-Hat_Yai_Songkhla_Province.html

 

Yummy!  I eat there every time I visit Hat Yai.

[Stocky]

You should write a review for the pinned food topic in this forum, then it won't get lost.

I've not tried the Basil as I've heard mixed reviews. Maybe we'll give it a go.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Stocky