Hat Yai

The city of Hat Yai in south Thailand's Sonkhla Province.

Food  Trip  Nightlife  Shopping  Market  Hotels  To Phuket  To Bangkok  Bus Terminals  Train Station  To Malaysia  To Singapore  To Penang  To Islands   Sleepy Songkhla

One of the first amazing visual experiences is to see a total Chinese dominance in Hat Yai at least in downtown. 

The city is also the transportation hub for south Thailand clearly expressed be 3 big bus terminals serving coaches for various destinations in the whole country. 

This is the fourth largest city in Thailand (by population) , third is Nakhon Ratchasima & fourth is Chiang Mai in the north also not far from the border.  A smaller airport offers domestic and international connection to Singapore and Malaysia, local flights are mainly to Bangkok, there is no flight to Phuket but the distances are manageable by bigger and smaller buses and vans which make it quite easy to travel. Also the road coming from north is mostly 4 lane it is not as good anymore since almost no maintenance has been made the last ten years.

If you are in search for some exotic beaches this is the wrong destination because at Hat Yai are no beaches make another trip if you prefer the ocean front.. 

• The nearest sandy waterfronts are at Songkhla City which needs an hour drive, actually the best is to head for Satun's Pak Bara on the west side and take a ship to Ko Tarutao and Lipe they. 

They have marvelous beaches on the islands but avoid the National Headquarter's bungalows they are dirty, rotten and you will cheated badly from the guys who run this place.

• This is Thailand's deep south visually dominated by Islam and Chinese with many mosques and Buddhist plus Taoist Temples. 

Most traveler coming to the place are from Malaysia and Singapore for extended day trips with excellent cheap shopping and dining experiences mainly with Chine food plus an interesting nightlife with bars, lounges, go-go dancing, massage, karaoke for hotels pls. use the booking icon.

• Have a look here for Nightlife with Girls and Ladyboys.

Beside of shopping in the department stores the outdoor street markets are for sure more interesting although they don’t have the diversity of the big malls. But bargaining with the traders has it’ charm, the fact is that almost all of this cheap good. from clothes to shoes and more are made in China this stuff is taking all South East like a Tsunami. 

At the main highway 4 east of the city center several big mall have opened in recent years such as Tesco Lotus and Centralworld. Close by is the Van Terminal and opposite another small bus terminal serving Hat Yay to Pahuket, actually this is the best coach line for Phuket, they leave hourly from 6 am to 7 pm.