Hatyai 2011

I really enjoy my Hatyai trip. Eventhough my dream destination is actually Bangkok, been in Hatyai somewhat satisfied me nevertheless. I shop..shop..shop and eat..eat..eat! Lots of cheap & artsy stuff for sale and i really wish i have more money to spend. I was being skeptical and short sighted, only change RM300, but end up spending RM500 plus!

Hatyai is only a small town. Being the nearest town between Thailand & Malaysia (Kedah) borderline, Hatyai is full of Malaysian (mostly from northern states) during weekends. So you can imagine a small town full of people, mostly tourist from your own country. Here are some of my interesting finds about the small town:

• Food (esp in restaurants) are relatively expensive. Fried chicken bought at street vendor cost me RM6. But i still buy them because they are delicious!
• Other stuff such as clothes, shoes, bags, handmade items, accessories are much more cheaper, maybe 50% cheaper than you can get here. Those stuff selling at The Curve bazaar, Uptown bazaar or online blogshops are extremely overpriced, you can get the same design & quality with a fraction of the price tag. So i was really devastated that i brought so little cash!
• Been told Thai iced tea is good. So it was the first thing i ordered. Sweet as hell! More like 'susu pekat ice'. But still, if you can abaikan the sweetness, the tea is quite good, has a strong tea taste and pandan taste as well (they boiled water with lots of pandan leaves)
• Desserts are cheaper. Swensen's ice cream only RM9.90 per glass! Donuts as good & fancy as J.Co are only RM1 to RM2 per piece! 
• If you ride a motorcycle, only the driver wears helmet. Penumpang kat belakang (sampai 3 orang pun ada) do not wear helmet. If not all, majority are like that. 
• Even you can see muslims who clad hijab almost eveywhere, surprisingly i did not spot any mosque, surau or even hear azan. 
• I am pretty sure that the fast food (KFC, McD) over there are non-halal but still, i saw thai muslim (because they wear hijab) eats there.  
• At 7eleven and hypermarkets, they are lots of junk food, chocolates, drinks, instant noodles of various brand and flavour. Was really tempted to buy them but no confident enough of the halal status. Sigh, i wonder how you all can resist living in oversea country restrain yourself from buying or eating those stuff!

Ok lah, enough with the rantings. Here come the pictures, caption included. Enjoice!

Thailand border

Waiting to be stamped

One of the temple we passed

Tuk-tuk ride to town

First lunch in Hatyai. Lidah masak merah, tomyam, kerabu = RM65. Pricey!

Delicious & cheap donuts. I Like!

Lion paws slippers! My son bought a pair in blue

Cute bow slippers for me! Feeling cute gitewww! hahaha

Monkey + Dania = Cuteness!!!

Fondue at Swensen's. Cost us only RM25

Expensive but yummy chicken. RM6 each.

Fat prawns. From RM10 - RM20. Yummy!

Fat squids. Eggs included inside. Come with hot chili sauce. Sedap sangat!

Insect buffet spread ;P

Fear Factor anyone??

Crunchy grasshoppers. Teringin nak rasa satu..tapi takut! 

Boat market. Recommended place to visit!

Almost all food sold there are RM2 each.

Cute containers, to filled with drinks. RM2.50 each

Nice looking sushi but did not taste as nice.

Colorful jelly. Sayang nak makan!

Telur burung puyuh. My favourite!

Interesting way to store drinks, don't you think so?

Big C. Largest hypermarket in Hatyai.

Crunchy baby crab. Rasa macam serunding. Sedap!

Some of my haul. Too bad too little money! :(

Overall, me and family had a blast in Hatyai. Wonderful city, exotic food, fantastic shopping. Looking forward to go there again next year. This time gonna bring more money!