3 Days 2 Nights in Hatyai

Hat Yai is the largest city of Songkhla province that located southern of Thailand which near to Malaysia border. It is considered a more affordable short weekend gateway to visit. I visited Hat Yai in 2012 and briefly blogged about it.

Getting there

There are several ways to get there including flight, bus, private van, car (self-drive) or train. My friends and I opted for 2 hours self-drive from Penang Island to Bukit Kayu Hitam. We parked our car inside the parking lot in The ZON Duty Free Shopping Complex which costed RM16/day. It took about 5 minutes walk from The ZON to the Bukit Kayu Hitam ICQS complex. (Tips: There are van drivers at The ZON will offer to drive in Hat Yai for 500 baht so please do the maths before you take the offer). Upon exiting the immigration, there is a van service in front of the 7-11 which costed 57 baht/person (Tips: Do not eat inside the van). You can choose either Hat Yai bus station or Lee Gardens Plaza as your drop off point.

Accommodation

There are a lot of hotels, guest houses and backpacker inns around Hat Yai. Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com or hostelworld are open for searching. We booked Laem Thong Hotel from Agoda for RM285.80 for 2 nights stay with 3 double beds which located 5 minutes walk from Lee Gardens Plaza.

Transportation/ Getting around

You can easily get around in the centre of the city but some places are quite far to be accessed solely on foot so getting on tuk tuk is recommended. Bargain skill is required as some of the drivers tend to increase the market price so do your studies on the distances to avoid being overcharge. (Tips: Use Google maps/ Waze/ Apple maps to estimate the distances)

Day 1 - Tuk Tuk Day Tour

Credit photo taken from friend's blog.

AMA Dimsum is a self-service dim sum restaurant which provides internal and external dining space. The concept is easy: Get in > Find a seat > Get table number > Select dim sum > Bring the dim sum to steam area and mention your table number > Steamed dim sum will be served on your table. Location: 30/3 Klongrien 1 Rd. Opening hours: 0600-1300 and 1700-2100

Hatyai Municipal Park is located 6km from center of city. There are a large ponds, food stalls and a bunch of pavilions at the foot of the park. Four Face Buddha, Cable Car, Golden Buddha Temple and Guan Yin Temple are located up the hill which can be accessed on foot, bike or tuk tuk. (Tips: Tuk Tuk is recommended as walking up the hill requires physical strength and strong foot muscle). Do not forget to spot Hat Yai aerial city view when you drop by Golden Buddha Temple Location: Kanchanawanchi Rd. Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 Admission: Free

Phranon Laem Pho Temple is located in Koyo where the back image of the Golden Reclining Buddha can be seen upon passing Tinsulanonda bridge. Apart from the reclining Buddha, there are temple and prayer halls as well as the lake with bridge view.

Samila Beach located east of Songkhla and considered one of the favorite spot for tourists. One is said never visit Songkhla without dropping by to take a picture with the Songkhla inconic symbol- Mermaid Statue. The statue has become a shrine which the locals believe it brings good luck to them. Cat and rat island can be seen across the Samila beach. According to the legend, a dog, a cat and a mouse traveled on a Chinese sampan whereby they stole the merchant's magic crystal and tried to swim ashore. However, it was unsuccessful and drowed. The mouse and cat became the islands in the Songkhla Lake while the dog died on the shore and became the hill. A sculpture of the mouse and cat can be found at Samila Beach.

Klonghae Floating Market is located about 15-20 minutes of tuk tuk ride from Hat Yai town. It is a modernized floating market concept where the boat vendors selling foods in sampans that are moored to wooden walkway. Other than that, there is a large roofed section on land which consists of stalls selling clothes, souvenirs and food with seating areas in front for crowds to enjoy the foods. Opening hours: Fri-Sun 1500-2100 Admission: Free

Rim Rua Kratha Ron Restaurant is a seafood lover's heaven where it offers eat-all-you-can seafood buffet. (Tips: Beware of Tuk Tuk driver that offer 300 baht for round trip from Lee Gardens Plaza. It only cost 20 baht/ person per trip.) It was crazily packed with humans so have fun in searching a sitting spot. It offers a typical BBQ with charcoal and a steamboat (normal soup base or tomyum) which cost 289 baht/ person. There are some other side dishes offered such as papaya salad, pad thai, fried foods and desserts. Opening hours: 1600-0000

Day 2 - Eat, Shop and Massage

Breakfast with a combination of braised pork trotter, chicken rice, seafood wantan mee and mixed fishball kueh tiaw t'ng.

Kim Yong Market is a local market located at the center city of Hat Yai which offers a wide range of clothes, fresh and dried fruits, snacks (eg. cashew nuts, pistachio, almonds), fresh flowers, electrical appliances, shoes and etc. Getting there by foot is recommended. Opening hours: Daily 0600-1800

Lee Gardens Plaza is a well known landmark in Hat Yai where it could be the most strategic place for meet up. It is a building that consists of hotel, restaurants, shopping malls and McDonalds. Do try out their signature pork burger.

Asean Night Bazaar consists of 2 sections. 1st section on the lower ground selling clothes, phone covers, bags and accessories whereas 2nd section on the 2nd floor selling foods. (Tips: Get there by tuk tuk cost about 20-30 baht/ person per trip from Lee Gardens Plaza)

Massage in Thai is considered affordable as an hour of whole body massage with price range 200-250 baht is considered a great deal. Free wifi available in all the massage shop.

Day 3 

Sky Buffet on the 33rd floor of Lee Gardens Plaza offers a great city aerial view while enjoying the lunch buffet. Personally, I think the food choices are limited but with 169 baht/ person deal is something that caught people attention to try it out. Opening hours: Daily 1100-1400

Vietnam Itinerary Day 3 [Mui Ne-Da Lat]

Mui Ne: a town that located east of Ho Chi Minh; a fishing village which currently becomes tourists attraction with a lovely stretch of beaches.

Exploration started as early as 0500 whereby our driver already standby before the promised meet up hour. We were traveling for about 30 minutes in dark from our hotel to catch a glimpse of sunrise at the well known white sand dunes. It was pretty dark where we could only rely on the light from the jeeps, cars and vans. Jeep ride is required to located yourself to the highest peak ("best spot") which costed around VND600,000 (to and fro service). Bike or self on foot are up for options.

We were given about 30 minutes to chill at the first spot. The first spot mainly mesmerizing the sunrise view which particularly looks like Sahara (solely surrounded by sand).

Jeep ride towards the second spot was damn trilling as it involved speed battle where getting stuck in the sand seems a norm for jeep driver. We got to see a lovely huge lake at the second spot. Another 20 minutes spent here just to enjoy the lovely view and whatnot a group photo yet again.

The fishing village. It's kind of typical morning market by the beach that selling wide range fresh seafood. The selling prices for fresh clams, scallops, prawns and LOBSTERS is considered affordable and cheap. You gonna fall in love seeing hundreds of colorful fishing boats mooring on the water while enjoying the sea breeze. Thousands of empty shells are scattered on the beach-side so be careful if you are wearing slippers during your visit.

After our breakfast, Mr. Tom fetched us to the red sand dunes. The sand looks like more orange-brown compared to the claimed 'red'. If you want to experience the fun of sand sliding, there are a lot of children and ladies that are trying their best to convince you to rent the ride-on plastic sledge. Personally, I feel that the sand here is finer than the one in white sand dunes as walking up the slope is harder.

Fairy Stream (Suoi Tien): so called a mini version of Grand Canyon. Walking on barefoot is recommended as you can enjoy the 1-2km warm water spa flowing along the mixing of white and white hill at the side. Entrance fee is VND5,000.

Pho Shanu Cham Towers which located at the top of a small hill that is close to Phan Thiet are said to be collections of the ruins of Cham Kingdom. The ruins consist of 2 tall towers and a slightly smaller tower behind which are said built to worship Hindu God Shiva. Another thing that caught our attention on top of the hill was the aerial view of the city.

After lunch, we headed to Da Lat which took around 3 hours from Mui Ne. Checked in @ Best Western Dalat Plaza Hotel. It was absolutely the BEST accommodation among 3 we had during our trip. 2 people sharing a superior family room with free buffet breakfast was definitely the best deal that we ever had.

Da Lat Night Market is located about 5 minutes walk from our hotel. We tried beef and pork noodle that we spotted from the road side. Soy milk are said to be Da Lat specialty so we tried it to warm up as the weather in Da Lat is pretty chilling.

Da Lat night market is surrounded by hotels, shops and restaurants which packed with stalls in the middle. There are a wide range of local goods that are up for bargain including souvenirs, cloths, foods (eg dried fruits, tea leaves) and not forgetting the food stalls. We spotted a stairs alley which offers a lot of awesome local foods. Beware of the crowd as it was pretty to find a seat. We had a seafood dinner which costed us VND300,000.

Spotted a secret pathway which led to a cafe after strolling around the night market. We got to enjoy the aerial view of the night market on top of the cafe.

** Assuming RM1 = VND5,000.
Watch our trip video HERE!!! Thanks for your support.

Vietnam Itinerary Day 2 [Ho Chi Minh-Mui Ne]

It was our self-exploration day in Ho Chi Minh until 1700 (local time).

Had our breakfast at 0800 right in front of the reception counter (hotel's lobby). There are limited breakfast choices from the hotel breakfast menu. The receptionist is well talented as he is the one who in charged to take order, prepare and serve our breakfast. 

Began our free time with buying a conventional MAP and look for the places that we planned to go. As usual, the navigators will start doing their job and hunting for the famous Bahn Mi. We ordered roasted pork banh mi (VND17,000) and chicken & sauce bahn mi (VND15,000).

Visited Starbucks in Ho Chi Minh. There are a lot of passerby cobblers. (Tips: Ignore those passerby cobblers or else you will be ripped. They tend to persuade you and insist to repair your shoe by stopping you).

We passed by the reunification palace and decided to take a group photo. We didn't enter the palace as it is included in our tour package on Day 6. Found a beautiful garden near the Notre Dame Cathedral and we took another group photo again.

The Notre Dame Cathedral was constructed in between 1863 and 1880 by the French colonists (following their conquest of the city). The building reaches a height up to 60m. Initially the church was named Saigon Church but soon change to Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1959 (by Bishop Pham Van Thien) after the ceremony to install the statue of peaceful Notre Dame (made with granite from Rome).  

Right across the Notre Dame Cathedral is the General Post Office. It is a French post office built in between 1886 and 1891. There are 2 painted maps inside the post office. The first located on the left side of the building is a map of Southern Vietnam and Cambodia whereas a mosaic of Ho Chi Minh can be seen at the end of the hall. Remember to spot the magnificient tiled floor of the interior. There are shops available inside the post office where you can grab a few souvenirs for your friends or perhaps sending a letter/ postcards to them. Postcard costed around VND5,000 per piece (depends on design) with stamp costed VND10,500 if you wish to send to Malaysia/ Singapore/ Australia.

After sending postcards to my friends (where the other 6 were waiting for me), we walked passed the book gallery alley near the Notre Dame Cathedral. At the end of the alley, we spotted a small stall that was pretty crowded and decided to take our lunch there. We ordered 3 different kinds of noodle soup, rice with deep fried 3 layer meat and rice with braised fish which costed us VND160,000. The rice came with soup and as usual the tea was complimentary. We gulped few jugs as it was HOT in HCM.

Went to Hard Rock Cafe and looking for directions in the air-cond building. A kind man helped us by giving direction with their limited English vocab. The guys were so eager to visit the river but somehow I forgot the name and we walked so far under the hot sun. Thank goodness I brought a cap for the trip.

Visited a market and spotted a lady selling Banh Xeo (pancake). We takeaway the Banh Xeo (VND30,000) and enjoyed it in our hotel. Decided to use taxi on our way back hotel which costed us VND62,000 per trip. (Tips: Remember to use "Vinasun Taxi" OR "Mai Linh Taxi" ONLY while traveling in HCM. Taking taxi in Vietnam is recommended if you are travelling in a group as it is CHEAP)

We decided to chill in a cafe before leaving HCM at 1700. We found a cafe named Chong Coffee Cafe that is located at the same street as our hotel (about 2 minutes on foot).

The driver picked us at 1700 and headed to Mui Ne. We ate the takeaway meat spring roll with rice noodle (VND28,000) in the van and it tasted so damn good with the sweet and sour sauce. It took about 5 hours from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne where we stopped at the Dai Phu Rest Stop for dinner. We ordered all kinds of Pho which costed VND50,000 per bowl.

Reached hotel about 2230, we checked in, took bath and had an early rest as the driver will pick us up at 0500 for the sunrise. We stayed in Ocean Valley Hotel in Mui Ne. As usual, toiletries and towels were provided. (Tips: There is NO lift in this hotel)

** Assuming RM1 = VND5,000.

Watch out our trip video HERE!!!! Thanks for your support.