Blogs from Hat Yai, Southern Thailand, Thailand, Asia
into the jungle and rest of koh phangan
Published: March 13th 2012Asia » Thailand » Southern Thailand » Hat Yai
March 12th 2012
It's been already almost two weeks since the wedding ... time flies when ur having fun ... however as you probably already know the journey i decided to take wasn't about the wedding, however to find and conquer back some inner peace and quiet ... however this was a little hard with the bride and groom and their 17 friends / family and the two boys ... when i arrived i think we were 10or 11 people and every day new people arrived up till the day before the wedding when 2 of Daniel's oldest friends Martin and David arrived as a surprise (they had told him they had no money, no time, that they couldn't come (i was even bitching and moaning about them, that i couldn't believe they weren't present...), so this was a ... read more
November 5th 2011
I've been long want to do a trip anywhere around Malaysia during my semester break but after planning a date and location, there will be something or someone that will be having a problem and we need to cancel our trip. Well, despite all of that I still eager to go on with my own plan and finally instead of road trip across Malaysian state, I would go to Hatyai in Thailand by train from KL Sentral across few East Coast Malaysia pass the border and reach Thailand. Since this is my first solo trip(and my first time to Thailand). I really don't have any idea what should I do or where should I go. This is where online forum and travel blog come in handy. TripAdvisor Lowyat Forum Seat61 Preparation : ... read more
Balmy, Palmy south east Asia - Emails of August 2011
Published: October 15th 2011Asia » Thailand » Southern Thailand » Hat Yai
October 10th 2011
Dirk Jan I will go to the Netherlands tomorrow morning (night trains all booked out already) Of course I'll also have email when I'm over there, so if you need anything booked, I can still do that (pending being offline when travelling of course). Mel We are in Hat Yai, in the Cathay Guesthouse. There is a ladyboy sitting in the corner of this room, like a guardian of the book swap. I should be able to get all the good books, because most of the other guests are western guys, who are giving the ladyboy a wide berth. Lucky (s)he isn't in the internet corner. That would really hinder the other guests. Today we bought lunch in the market, and hung around at a really nice cafe beside it. We will go there together, when ... read more
August 29th 2011
The day starts like any other; I wake and check to see how long before my alarm goes off. I have half an hour. I check my e-mails and draw some maps, I still have a few minutes so I turn my alarm off and have a long hot shower. My jobs for the morning are simple; dress, breakfast, travel munchies, laundry and pack. My laundry isn't ready when I check out so I breakfast at cafe 88 and treat myself to waffles & ice cream, Thai money wont be much use to me in a few hours. It's raining so I use the mart across the road instead of 7-eleven. Laundry is done and there's confusion about whether I've paid already or no. I leave them to sort it out when I go pack. My ... read more
July 3rd 2011
Our day began with a jam packed car – eight people to be precise. We headed to Hat Yai, dropping off three people on the way. After an hour long journey we arrived at one of the biggest shopping centres in Hat Yai called ‘Big C’, where we had a typical lunch (for us, not for Thailand) of pasta… yes it feels like the healthy eating has been ruined, to add to that we’re currently eating a bowl of deformed aero bubbles. At the shopping centre, Hollie bought some oreos for one of her friends, but coming home to a suitcase full of ants, we decided to eat the oreos and buy more substantial presents later on in our holiday! When we had been round the Carrefour in Hat Yai, Jess purchasing some flip flops as ... read more
Entrée en Thaillande, par la porte de côté
Published: February 2nd 2011Asia » Thailand » Southern Thailand » Hat Yai
February 2nd 2011
Enfin arrivé, en Thaillande, c'est le jour de Noël, finit les tracas, c'est un pays que l'on connait L'entrée de la frontière se trouve au milieu de nullepart. Sans guichet automatique ni bureau de change. Nous voilà sans monnaies locales et à 100 km de Hat Yai, notre prochaine arrêt. Nous prenons le premier bus venu, bondé de gens et de marchandise, sans rien dire. Au bout de plusieurs kilomètres, la préposée nous demande le paiement de 90 Bath pour le transport. On lui présente 3.00 US. Nous tentons de lui expliquer que le montant était l'équivalent. Mais elle semblait confuse, n'ayant aucune idée de la valeur de ces billets. Après quelques minutes d'hésitation, elle nous fait signe d'attendre, Ce que nous faisons avec plaisir car l'autobus roule toujours et nous approchons de la ville, Aucun ... read more
January 31st 2011
Today's distance: 96km + 30 km from Langkawi ferry Total distance: 650 km Time on bike: 6.5 hrs Talk about getting in shape ... their comes a point in bicycle travel as you ride your way into shape and your body accepts this is the fitness level it will take. Getting to that point is not easy, as your body is fighting every step of the way! I more or less started out this trip 30 pounds overweight and seriously out of shape. The last major bicycle trip was a year ago in India, but since then it's been a relatively sedentary and stressful lifestyle (yes, at the same time) in Shanghai. With serious headwinds the whole way over, today's ride was a real workout. The road itself wasn't very spectacular, nor was the scenery, but ... read more
January 31st 2011
Before heading off on a flight to Surabaya Indonesia (home of the famous Mt Bromo Volcano), time to recap the stats on the first week of this biking adventure. If you don't like numbers, you might want to skip this page. As a math teacher I'm obsessed with numbers, so be it. Total km cycled: 660 Avg km per day: 73.3 Total weight lost: 3kg (6.6 pounds) Most dangerous place: Yala Tamest place: Langkawi Friendliest people: Narathiwat Most boisterous places: Sungai Kolok, Betong, Hat Yai --- all of them are border towns Free train rides: Sungai Kolok to Yala COSTS -- Hotels Day 1: Sananwan Palace (Bangkok) -- 450 baht / night (10/10) Day 2: Sananwan Palace Day 3: Bang Saen Beach Bungalow -- 300 baht / night (6 / 10) Day 4: Sananwan Palace Day ... read more
June 24th 2010
Thailand - May 24th - June 18th, 2010 When we first flew to Bangkok from Kathmandu, we chose not to stay due to the political protests that were going on at the time. Now a month later, after a violent end to the Red Shirt demonstrations in which scores of people were killed, we were coming back. Although the worst was over, Bangkok was still under curfew and evidence of the violence was still littered around the government district. Nonetheless, the clean up was under way and things were getting back to normal and tourists were slowly trickling back in. After our 6 hour bus ride from Siem Reap, we ended up on Kohsan Road, one of Bangkok’s touristy areas, and also the place where our Pad Thai addiction began. Instead of seeing the sights of ... read more
April 26th 2010
I really can't believe that I've been in Thailand for 3 weeks now! The time flew by. Well in the middle of last week during our student teaching it wasn't flying by. It was intense! We would find out what our teaching topic would be and what school we'd be at mid-afternoon the day before. Then we'd all be up until the wee hours preparing all our materials and lesson plans, get up and be on the road by 7am, teach and then repeat. It was a great challenge and super fun. My favorite place was at an orphanage. The kids had a ton of energy and although I think they may have learned very little English, we had a blast together :) I feel more like an artist and actress than a teacher, getting up ... read more
