Hello! Finally have time to update on my spontaneous trip to Hatyai during Hari Raya long weekend. I bought the ticket after the announcement of the holiday. Thankfully there are still few tickets left for me to grab! I went there with my sister and the whole trip costs us about RM850 (include a lot of shopping).
Here's a breakdown of my spending (exclude shopping):
ETS ticket from Taiping to Padang Besar = RM84 (per person)
Train ticket from Padang Besar to Hatyai = RM10 (roughly.... it is actually 80 baht)
Hotel (Aloha hotel) = RM80 (per person)
Food (calculating main meals only) = RM80 (1 breakfast, 1 brunch, 1 lunch, 1 dinner)
Transport to floating market (by Tuk Tuk)= RM18 (roughly... 300 baht for 2 person)
Transport from central festival to lee garden= RM12 (roughly.... 100 baht for 2 person)
Transport to bus terminal = RM12 (roughly.... 100 baht for 2 person)
TOTAL: RM296 per person
RM300 for a 2D1N trip to Hatyai, Thailand! And by taking ETS, we avoided the raya traffic jam! Happy =D
Let's talk about the itinerary in detail. This post will be on Day 1 as there are a lot of photos to share =)
Our journey started at 6.20am, taking ETS from Taiping to Padang Besar, Perlis (Border of Thailand). The journey took us about 2 hours 50 min. That's why I love ETS. Speedy journey during peak season.
Selfie on ETS! =D So excited!
We reached Padang Besar KTM station around 9.10am. If you follow the exit sign, you will exit to Pekan Padang Besar. If you want to take train to Thailand, you should turn left when you get down the train and go to the end. With my experience, you can follow the crowd if you take the morning train here. As a lot of people will be taking the connecting train to Hatyai which is at 9.50am. If you are not confident, you can just ask people around you. (Survival tips: Ask whenever you feel lost. People are willing to help and guide you. If you fail at your first attempt, try another person. =D)
So we were stucked here for about 40 minutes as the officer doesn't allow us to go into the immigration office. Duh.... They passed us the arrival/departure card to fill in while waiting. People who waited with us were as frustrated as us but we have no idea what happened and just have to wait. =(
You have to fill in the Thailand arrival and departure card. So.... Please bring a pen along with you. Being very careless, I took out my pen from the bag in the morning and left pen-less at the waiting area. Luckily I get to borrow a pen from a kind lady who was standing in front of me that time. Nice people everywhere. *feeling positive*
The train to Hatyai arrived at 9.40am and we were still stuck at the platform awaiting to go into the immigration counter. So nervous..... Then, I saw people holding the ticket to Hatyai and I still haven't get the tickets! Luckily, a lady told us to go to the end of the platform to get the ticket first.. If not, we will not be able to get on board. So grateful that the lady told us before the officer allows us to swarm into the immigration office.
Ta-daa! Bought this ticket for 80baht.
Then, after I bought the ticket, the officer finally allowed us to go in. We queued up and get verified by immigration counters of both countries (Malaysia and Thailand) in the same office. After getting our passport chopped, we immediately board on the Thailand train to Hatyai.
The more ancient looking train but it is comfortable. Not like our old KTM train.
After an hour, we reached Hatyai Railway Station, which is located not far from the central and just 2 streets away from our hotel.
Brought empty luggage along hehe...
With sis. Exhausted face as we woke up too early to catch the train.
Aloha Hotel is not far from the railway station. Just 5 minutes walk distance.
Surprisingly, the service was great and we get to check in early at 11.20am! Woohoo! Lucky us!
One special requirement of this hotel is that they requested to keep our passport throughout the stay. I tried to get back my passport as I feel insecure but the receptionist assured us by giving a receipt for us to bring around. So yeah.. Throughout my visit in Hatyai, most of the time I'm passport-less.
So this the room that we stayed for a night. Not much comment about this room. It's slightly old but clean. They let us choose whether to have king size bed or twin bed, so we chose the King! =P Quite spacious. It would be cheaper if book earlier.
After that, we headed out for brunch! Without buying SIM card this time, we navigate ourself around with a map! I downloaded a map from internet and used it throughout the trip. And... we managed to survive and didn't get too lost! *CLAPS*
FIRST STOP: Chok Dee Dim Sum 好运肉骨茶
I've looked up and down on the web to search for good lunch place and I saw this restaurant in almost all blogs. So, I've decided to give it a try! Dim Sum & Bak Kut Teh for brunch! A lot of people commented that the dim sum here is cheap and nice. Hmm... Let's give it a try. We decided to walk to the restaurant from our hotel and it took us about 20 minutes to search for direction.
After 20 minutes walk under the hot sun, we found the restaurant!
We were directed to the shop opposite, which is owned by the same restaurant. Another dining area.
Thankfully, it has air conditioner to cool us down before enjoying good food =)
I ordered a cup of iced coffee as my daily caffeine dose. But it is kinda disappointed. Oh well.... Let's wait for the food!
We have to ordered the food at the counter at the main shop, which is, we need to cross the road to get our dim sum ordered. Whereas, for bak kut teh and drinks, we can order at our table.
Food came faster than we expect!
Tourist photo =D
The Bak Kut Teh is just so-so to us. A little too salty.... But the pork rib is very soft! There are good and bad in a bowl..
Let me show you close up of the dim sum. ^_^
Super cute prawn dumplings (虾饺)
Corn with some meats (玉米卖?)
I don't know what is the name.. but it's minced shrimp wrapped with seaweed.
Fish Roe Dumpling (鱼卵卖)
Salted egg yolk dumpling (咸蛋卖)
My all-time favourite - custard bun!
Look at the salted egg yolk! Yumzzzz
Guess how much this meal costs us?
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It is only 300 Baht!
Ohhh---Emmmm-----Geeeee!!! So cheap!
If we were to order same dishes in Malaysia, we will need to pay at least RM50.
Address: 58 25, Soi Lamai Songkraw 1, Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla, Thailand
Opening hours: Daily 6am-12pm, 5-10pm
Second Stop: Shopping @ Odean Shopping Mall, Central Mall, Lee Garden Plaza
After brunch, we walked all the way back to the central for some shopping. Time to burn some calories before we have second round. We explored the malls, but nothing seems very attractive to us. The malls are a bit old and perhaps supermarket is the more happening place as I see many tourists grabbing snacks and instant noodles to bring home.
We walked along the street and spotted a coconut ice cream stall. Every thailand trip needs to be completed by coconut ice cream. The must-have dessert. =)
Ta-daa! This coconut ice cream (50 baht) is just alright.
THIRD STOP: BIG C Supermarket & Klonghae Floating Market
After walking around lee garden plaza, we decided to find a Tuk-Tuk to Big C Supermarket for a scroll before heading to Floating Market. Then, we faced a problem. No Tuk Tuk driver wants to drive us as we have 2 persons. Luckily, another group of travelers decided to join us and make it group of 5. So we get a deal to get to Big C and floating market for 300 baht per group for a return trip. Yes. The driver waited for us at Big C and also floating market, then sent us back to the hotel. Quite worthy to me.
Big C Supermarket is just like TESCO and other supermarkets. But this is where you can get cheaper snacks. If you want to buy a lot back, then maybe you can consider coming to Big C. If just 1 or 2 packets, don't have to come all the way. Save the Tuk Tuk fare and get those at 7-11. =D
We spent about 30 minutes at Big C Supermarket, then headed to floating market, which opens over the weekend, starts at 3pm. We had 1.5 hours to explore the floating market. So....... We quickly jumped down the Tuk-Tuk and walked towards the crowd.
They have a market area, which sells food, clothes, shoes, etc.......
And here's the floating market area. If you are expecting similar floating market as in Bangkok, this might disappoint you. It has its own style.
Boats are parked nicely and you can walk around and choose which stalls to buy from.
It is not shaded, so expect to be exposed under hot sun.
Tips: Bring along an umbrella. This will helps you to block the hot sun. Prevent sunburn =D
