2 Days 1 Night in Hat Yai, Thailand

The busy working days made me couldn't catch up with life and that life included this blog. That's why I've been away for quite some time, soz not soz. Anyway, the hectic schedule also made me felt exhausted and wanted to escape the reality so my friends and I decided to go on a short vacation in Hat Yai, Thailand last weekend. Initially we wanted to experience the Songkran festival but unfortunately, they ended the festival on Friday in Hat Yai. But I enjoyed the trip nonetheless.

We went in a group of seven but actually, I only knew Jiha and Ed from the SL1M training while the other four were Jiha's friends whom I met for the first time on the day of the trip. I was nervous to think about how awkward we would be as it'll be a trip with total strangers but fortunately, it was easy for us to get close to each other since semua pon masuk air je perangai.

Meet the squad: (from left) Ed, Silah, Aida, Kak Nurul, Yana, Me and Jiha

It has been quite a while since I last went on a vacation with friends so I was looking forward for it but damn it I had overtime the night before the trip (thanks, boss), I ended up sleeping only for 3 hours. 

Day 1

I slept at Jiha's house that night so that we could travel together to Tasek Gelugor train station and meet the others there. We woke up at 4:30 am, to catch the commuter which would depart at 5:48 am. The journey from Tasek Gelugor to Padang Besar took about one and a half hours by commuter. We went directly to the Musolla for Subuh prayer and had our breakfast when we arrived Padang Besar train station since the ticket counter for the train to Hatyai only opened at 9:00 am.

We boarded the train to Hat Yai after passing Immigration of both countries and the train departed at 10:40 am. This trip marked my third time travelling to Hat Yai but it was my first time travelling there by train. I was amazed at how comfy the seat and how cute the interior of the train was though it's an old train.

ada kipas on the ceiling hokayy, plus air-cond so it was so cold on the train

The train journey took about one hour and we arrived Hat Yai at 10:30 am (local time, which was an hour late from Malaysia). We booked a hotel for our 2 days and 1 night stay at Singapore Hotel using Booking.com. It would take us about 15mins by walking from the train station to our hotel but since we were so tired and our backpack was so heavy, we decided to take Tuk Tuk instead. We chose Tuk Tuk for our transportation there because it was the cheapest and fun ride for travellers, especially since we were on a tight budget. 

pardon me, who was the only one feeling excited for riding this

I could say that I was satisfied with the hotel we stayed at, Singapore Hotel. The condition of the hotel was over the top for an affordable price. The room was spacious and so clean. The staff was so friendly and was a big help to us for being patient and layan karenah kami yang bermacam during our stay. It's no doubt that I will stay here if I went to Hat Yai again in the future (hopefully abang receptionist tu kenal I lagi teehee).

We took a rest for an hour and went for lunch and shopping at Hat Yai Plaza. Of course, barang-barang dijual memang harga runtuh. I spotted a bag and a shoe which I was interested in buying but managed to refrain myself. I definitely will go there again to buy those. But some of the sellers suka bebel (dan marah) whenever we discussed for discounts which made the mood of shopping was a bit down and turned to bengang jugak. 

The food court was located at the top floor of the Plaza. However, I think I won't eat at the food court again as I spotted a big fat mice in their kitchen after having my lunch (still thought of vomiting remembering it again).

 Hat Yai Plaza from the second floor

 the bag and shoe I refrained myself from buying and sometimes regretting it, lol

We spent almost four hours at the Plaza and went back to the hotel briefly to put our shopping bags away before going to the Floating Market. The journey to Floating Market by Tuk Tuk took us about half an hour, we reached the Floating Market at 4:00 pm. Initially, we thought the market didn't open yet as there was no one selling their goods on the sampan. Turned out that the sea level was high at that time so everyone was on the land, which was quite disappointing as there was no 'floating market' feeling. 

But the variety of foods was good as always. I regretted having lunch earlier because I couldn't fill my stomach with more foods at the market. So if you plan to go to the Floating Market, make sure you went there with an empty stomach.

After we filled our tummy and went souvenir shopping at the Floating Market, we went back to our hotel by the same Tuk Tuk we took to go to the market. You could tell your driver to wait for you while you went to the market as it would be quite difficult to catch new one there. Usually, the driver would wait for you for one or two hours, depending on your negotiation with them.

We didn't spend too much time at the hotel, only for two hours. We went to Asean Market after Maghrib prayer. For me personally, I liked Asean Market the most on this trip. The food court was clean and had variety of choices for you. The shopping area was way better and wider than the one at Hat Yai Plaza. There was also a recreational park for you to lepak with friends and family which was so nice.

I swear this is the first and the last time I ever did this pose, lol 

Well, might as well says that this trip was all about Hat Yai's markets as we didn't go straight to the hotel after Asean Market. We went to the night market near our hotel by walking just to window shopping because no money left for more goods, lol. Finally, we went to bed at 1:00 am, feeling so exhausted from all the walking.

Day 2
Since the train to Padang Besar would have seat number, we went to buy the ticket in the morning, at 8:00 am by Tuk Tuk. We went touring the hotel area after we bought the tickets and we had our breakfast at Salma Restaurant. I would fully recommend you to try their Nasi Kerabu as it was the best in town.

Our train was at 1:00 am but we went there an hour early. The train to Padang Besar, the same one we rode heading to Hat Yai took us about one hour and we reached Padang Besar at 3:00 pm (Malaysian's time).

Expenses (without miscellaneous):

Day 1
Singapore Hotel, 1 night Per head: 170baht. (Jiha booked this, I don't know the actual price)
Commuter Tasek Gelugor - Padang Besar: RM10.40
Train Padang Besar - Hat Yai: 70baht
Tuk Tuk Sg Hotel - Hat Yai Plaza: 20baht
Tuk Tuk Hat Yai Plaza - Sg Hotel - Floating Market - Sg Hotel: 60baht
Tuk Tuk Sg Hotel - Asean Market - Sg Hotel: 40baht

Total: RM10.40 + 360 baht (RM46.21) = RM56.61

Day 2
Tuk Tuk Sg Hotel - Hat Yai Train Station - Sg Hotel: 40baht
Train Hat Yai - Padang Besar: 70 baht
Commuter Padang Besar - Tasek Gelugor: RM10.40

Total: 110baht (RM14.20) + RM10.40 = RM24.60

Grand Total: RM56.61 + RM24.60 = RM81.21

Since I didn't take note on how much I spent on foods and miscellaneous, I couldn't list down the things I bought but I did notice that I spent approximately RM150 for the whole trip. Though it was just a short vacay, with time mostly spent at markets, experiencing the culture and spent time with friends was what I loved the most on the two days trip. Can't wait for my next, proper vacation.

Soz not soz for the long post.

When and where was your last trip with friends?

Till then,
Lya.