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.

hat yai, thailand
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.

Hat Yai, Thailand
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. 

Hat Yai, Thailand

hat yai, thailand
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).

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

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, thailand
 Hat Yai Plaza from the second floor
hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand
 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.

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

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.

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

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

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

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).

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

hat yai, thailand

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.

Post a Comment

24 Comments

  1. RM150 for a short vacay, seems like it's the cheapest oversea travel.. Could consider this with my housemates later.. hihi..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeap just a short escape, you definitely should try visit Hat Yai

      Delete
  2. The Songkran Fest is nothing compared to those foodsssss!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know right! They worth so much more than the festival XD

      Delete
  3. Been wanting to read the report for your Hatyai vacation and seriously this is such a great escape. Why so cheap??? and you got some shopping done too. So many foods too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeap just RM150 for the whole trip. It could exceed more if I were to shopping like crazy but fortunately I could manage myself haha

      Delete
  4. my best friend pun baru balik dari Krabi baru-baru ni

    ReplyDelete
  5. 2 hari pegi hatyai pun dah ok kan..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Seriously it's only cost you RM150? IT'S QUITE CHEAP>
    WOULD LOVE TO GO THERE WITH MY FRIENDS. hehe thanks for sharing! it really looks like a nice place to visit and glad that you had a good time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's really cheap if you could plan your trip properly. Hope the way I did it could help you in any way for a reference. Go lah on your first gaji nanti :)

      Delete
  7. Tung ah pergii hatyaii.. hmmm

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kalau pergi travel tak shopping sangat memang boleh save banyak! Murah tu spend rm150 je untuk whole trip 😄

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betul tu. Kalau memang plan untuk shopping rm1k pon belum tentu cukup XD

      Delete
  9. Murah tu Lya, spend RM150 untuk trip ni. Best rasa kalau pergi travel dan murah kan 😊 teringin nak pergi Floating Market tu haa, nampak banyak makanan Lya makan kat sana ek. Hihi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pergi la, sekali seumur hidup pon okay Hatyai tu hihi. Yeap, makan kat Floating Market tu je, ada kerusi meja untuk duduk makan :)

      Delete
  10. May I know do we have to book the train ticket online or we can buy it straight away from the counter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know if there's online booking for the train ticket. I just bought the ticket straight from the counter

      Delete
  11. you miss to visit Chang Puak Camp and ride cable car at municipal park..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ahaa yeap, didn't have enough time for that. will go there if I were to visit hatyai again in the future :)

      Delete
  12. Kalau pergi bagpack 2 org perempuan saja okay kan ? Or still kena pergi with at least 1 guy ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah, boleh je pergi berdua only girls. Cuma perlu berjaga-jaga lebih je and always carry pepper spray. But so far dah dua kali pergi, I think takde masalah pergi only girls.

      Delete