Blogs from Hat Yai, Southern Thailand, Thailand, Asia

Shopping in Hat Yai.... read more

After the initial drama of the hospital was over we had to settle down to the idea of spending the next week or so in Hat Yai so the stitches in Stan's fingers could be taken out by the same surgeon at the hospital. Also we need to stay in an air conditioned hotel to lessen the chance of infection setting in. Hat Yai is an inland city that’s a transport hub, you can basically get buses, trains and planes from here to anywhere in Thailand or Malaysia being so close to the border. It was a natural choice for travellers leaving the peace of the islands behind who wanted to move on. We decided to spend some time here experiencing the real Thai way of life. It certainly is an eye opener, we checked into ... read more

Geo: 7.00166, 100.47 It was all a bit fraught leaving Koh Phi Phi, because I had stayed an extra day I'm going to have to think of how to cross the border in time but the ferry to Koh Lanta doesn't leave until 11am plus I really picked the wrong route. From Koh Lanta I need to get another 2 car ferries back towards Krabi direction before I can head south which means I'm not going to make it but I'll try the best I can. My bike was secure on the ferry but I was really paranoid as there were no sides where they tied it only the back rail they tied it onto which meant I spent the whole journey watching it as the sea got choppier and we were getting more tossed about. ... read more

After a rather lengthy 7h sequence of taxi, ferry, sawngthaew, local bus, and lastly motorcyle ride, I finally marked my return to the Land of Smiles with my arrival in Hat Yai, the fourth-largest city in the country, and arguably the commercial heart of the Southern provinces. As a major transport hub, Hat Yai sees hordes of tourists and businessmen from neighbouring Malaysia daily, and walking around the downtown area, it almost seems like I hear more of the Malaysian-Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese) being spoken than Thai itself! On several occasions I was greeted by vendors in those dialects, rather than Thai. Quite clearly the Chinese diaspora has had a significant influence here over the years. Yet this didn't come as a particular surprise to me. I'd known my Chinese grandparents had a ... read more

Do pristavu sme dorazili uz o 4/00.Predpokladal som o 5/00.Na lodi som pockal do 4/30. Vonku este boli taxikari. Kam ides?Jest. tak mi ukazali ulicku s jedlom. Dal som si mini porciu ryzi a vysmazaneho prsa. Potom som siel pomalicky na bus stanicu. Zlodejska cestovka bola zavreta.Minivan o 6/00 nesiel,siel bus 6/30.Tak som siel s nim,bol o 40b drahsi ako minivan ale v tomto zlodejskom meste som uz nechcel stravi ani minutu. Jasne ,ze zo surathai sme vyrazili definitivne az o 8/00. Najskor sme sli cez cele mesto na bus stanicu, odtial na vlakovu stanicu,vzdialenu asi 10km a potom nazad uz konecne smer hat yai. Bus bol zaplneny do 1/4.Bolo tu dost miesta na nohy. Cestou sme mali jednu pispuazu. Ak teda nepocitam zastavky spirevodcov co si robili po ceste biznis, nakupovali jedlo a nevim co ... read more