Slow Travelling in and around Hat Yai

When I told people that we were staying in Hat Yai for 9 days, almost all of them were confused.

“Isn’t that too long?”
“Got things to do meh?”
“Won’t you be bored?”

WJ and I have always preferred travelling slower as travelling allows us to take a breather from our hectic life in Singapore typically filled with work and family. If we rush through our vacation trying to squeeze in as many countries or cities or places to visit in a week, we’d need a vacation from our vacation. And this is through firsthand experience!

So as we grow older (and hopefully wiser), we’ve decided to pace our vacations slower so that we can actually enjoy them and relax.

Hat Yai was a great place for a slow vacation. There are plenty of markets and cafes for good food, countless places for relaxing massages, and it’s close enough to travel out of the city to nature parks or islands for something a little different.

Where we went

Thale Noi Waterbird Park

This was the highlight of our trip and also the most memorable part! The Waterbird Park is in Phatthalung and not in Hat Yai or Songkhla (the province where Hat Yai is situated), but it’s close enough even if you’re visiting Hat Yai for only a few days.

We woke up a few hours before sunrise and met our driver at our hotel. We only booked him 2 days before, and it turned out that he had the VIP van on hand so we were upgraded! Only the two of us were in the luxurious 12-seater so we made ourselves very comfortable and went back to sleep.

A few hours, a toilet break and a cloudy sunrise later, we arrived at the Thale Noi Waterbird Park. There were no other visitors in sight, which might have been a warning in foresight. But we were loving the quiet and emptiness then. And as it’s a bird park, the quiet meant that they wouldn’t be scared off by sudden loud noises if other visitors were too rowdy.

Since there were no other visitors, we had one of the longtail boats all to ourselves. Our driver also joined us and sat at the back so that he could be our translator with the boatman. And then off we went!

We were there on 23 January, and the recommended best time to visit is from February to March so that you can see both the pink waterlilies in bloom and the migratory birds. Too bad we couldn’t have gone a few weeks later because we only spotted a couple of pink waterlilies! Most of them hadn’t started to bloom yet. It would have been even more magical with all of them in bloom!

But we saw so many birds in their natural habitat and the scenes were so beautiful. Storks, herons, waterhens, swamphens, swallows, ducks, seagulls, and so many more! They were swimming, flying, fishing, and running over the marshes, and it was so peaceful watching them while in the boat gliding over the water.

Water buffalo at Thale Noi Waterbird Park

We also came pretty close to a few water buffalos minding their own business. Our boatmen stopped the boat for a while for us to watch them, and their cute little calf kept looking at us in curiosity.

Then nearing the end of the ride when we turned to head back to the tier, the skies darkened and we looked like we were heading directly towards a storm. Our boatmen quickly passed us some disposable plastic ponchos (they were used and had several holes in them), and we slipped them over our heads. I got stuck for a while and had the hood plastered onto my face from the wind so it was hard to breathe, but I finally managed to get it worn right before the rain came down hard.

Being seated right in front, I got hit by the rain and wind the hardest and I could feel the rain finding all the holes in the poncho and punching through relentlessly. One of my eyes was closed almost throughout the journey back as the rain got into it. The ride back to the pier was definitely… interesting.

After we got back to the tier, our guide was shocked by how wet we were (especially me as my entire bottom half was drenched and also some parts of my back and sleeves. Apparently, we didn’t have poncho-wearing skills and should have crouched and stepped on the edges of the poncho so that our whole body would be covered. Life lesson learned!

Songkhla Old Town

The Old Town reminded me a little of Penang with its many murals, old shophouses and cool cafes.

We also wanted to visit the Songkla National Museum, but it was closed the day we visited. For the next time we come, then!

Phra Maha Chedi Tripob Trimongkol (Stainless Pagoda)

The Stainless Pagoda was a little hard to get to as it seems most Grab drivers found it out of the way, but it was worth the trip. We’ve never seen any pagodas or temples built similarly before.

And when we went up to the top of the pagoda, there were windchime-like sounds. It was very relaxing just to stand and enjoy the twinkling music caused by the wind!

Wat Chue Chang

We came across the Buddhist temple while on the way to Kim Yong Market, and its pretty painted exterior caught our eye. We went in to explore and take a closer look at the details.

Koyo Island

Again, Koyo Island is not in Hat Yai, but it is in the same Songkhla province and close to Hat Yai. We visited the island for a day trip mainly to cafe-hop and relax.

The reclining Buddha in Wat Laem Pho was enormous!

Our plan was to ride a Grab to The Proud Koh Yor, a scenic restaurant and cafe, to chill and catch the sunset from the temple. But it was virtually impossible to book a ride! After trying for almost 30 minutes with no progress, we decided to walk the 45 minutes there. We must been the only guests to have ever walked there because the security guards looked so confused when they saw us huffing and puffing up the extremely steep hill to the base of the restaurant!

But the view from The Proud Koh Yor was well worth it, and as it was a weekday, there were just a few other groups there.

Markets

It is Thailand, so of course, exploring the markets is a must!

Khlong Hae Floating Market

It might be called a floating market, and there are vendors on boats selling street food, but there is also a huge other section on land! We had a lot of fun trying different snacks and had the crispiest tornado potatoes ever. Although… That could also be because we were the very first customer of the day of that vendor!

Wat Khlong Hae and the Shwedagon Replica Pagoda were also within walking distance from the market and visible across the river. We explored the temples and it was so serene compared to the bustling floating market!

Greenway Night Market

Greenway seems more young and trendy if you’re looking to buy clothes, toys and get a manicure. There’s also a food court with a pretty good selection of local food.

ASEAN Night Bazaar

If you’re looking to get generic clothing and souvenirs, this would be a great place to hone your bargaining skills. We just walked around and didn’t buy anything, but had some good food on the second level.

There is also an amazing massage place just opposite the bazaar, The One Beauty Massage – Hatyai Center. It’s more pricey than most other massage centres in the area, but it’s clean with good decor, the air conditioning is strong and the masseurs were good. We went thrice!

Hat Yai Walking Street

We were spoilt for choices here with countless street food stalls!

Kim Yong Market

If you’re looking for snacks, fruits and even dried herbs, this is the place for you!

Santisuk Market

It was great for walking around to feel the lively atmosphere, but not really up our alley for shopping as it was mostly electronics and generic clothing. There were many fruit stalls too though.