HatYai

CK menulis


Kata orang there's always a first time for everything. My trip to Hatyai was the first time I went for a trip alone, the first time I went to Thailand (tolak tepi la masuk belah sana ikut Padang Besar dulu2 tu kan) and the first time I've flown Firefly.  They were all good memories.

The trip was just a short one. 3 hari je. My brother sent me to Subang airport pagi2 buta, tumpang sibuk dengan orang nak pegi kerja sebab flight dalam pukul 10.30. Subang airport kecik je, so it was easy even for a first timer like me.  Masalahnya cuma counter yang bukak cuma satu, maka panjang la nak kena beratur.  It was nearly Chinese New Year, so ada la pulak tarian singa kat situ... dapat la oren sebijik.  The process was pretty simple at a small airport, cuma seats sangat sikit.  Since nak duduk pun takde tempat maka I pun pegi la breakfast dulu sebelum masuk dalam.

The journey was fine, cuaca pun bagus.  There were only less than 20 of us in the flight.  Firefly serves a very nice pineapple tart.  If you have to choose... pilih la tart nenas dia! Ohh... by the way, Firefly dah takde route from KL to Hatyai. Agaknya memang tak ramai orang nak pegi kot. The journey was about 1 hour.  Sampai airport sana I terus keluar cari cab.  It's easy to get cab to the town, or you can also ride a Tuk Tuk.

About half an hour later I reached the hotel.  I stayed at Tune Hotel.  To those yang berminat nak pergi HatYai, I don't quite recommend you to stay at Tune.  Not because of the hotel condition, but more of the location. It's quite far from the centre of night activities.  Tak la jauh sampai kena naik bas ke teksi; you can just walk tapi you'll feel a little left out dari benda2 happening kat town tu. Hotel ni mungkin agak baru, semua nampak cantik lagi pada masa tu.  The room was also spacious. Compared to the one I stayed at Tune Kuta, bilik yang ni lebih besar, toilet pun besar & the lift was also good, I have no complaints.  Of course if you stay at Tune, everything is charged based on usage.  Toiletries kit, television, internet - decide what you need. Kalau bawak baby, be prepared because there's no kettle for you to get hot water.

I put everything down and head on to find a place to eat.  Stepping out from the hotel to the right is the way to the town.  Just a few meters away you'll find a muslim restaurant.  It was just an ordinary eating place, I ordered rice with something, rupa biasa je but the taste giler sedap!

Itu la dia... tak tau nama apa tapi best giler tu...

I headed my way to the town with a map in hand. All you have to do is just count how many blocks you've passed and how many traffic lights. I passed through a row of fruit stalls and some gadget shops before reaching the town centre.  Lepas pusing2 kejap I pun balik hotel balik.  The reason why I rushed back is because I wanted to go to the floating market.  Please note that floating market ni tak bukak hari2 ye. Cuma Jumaat - Ahad from 4pm - 9pm kalau x silap.  So, kalau nak pergi - rugi kalau tak pergi sebenarnya, maka plan your trip.

Fancy hat she has..

I took a TukTuk to the floating market. Depan hotel, tepi2 jalan tu biasanya ada je TukTuk berderet2.  I saw a lady sitting at the back of a TukTuk with a tray of eggs in her hands.  I ingatkan makcik ni mesti baru balik pasar & tengah tunggu TukTuk tu jalan.  Rupa2nya husband dia tuan punya TukTuk tu.  Beria2 dia nak temankan I duduk kat belakang TukTuk tu.  At first I thought dia ni mesti nak tumpang sekerat jalan nak balik rumah... rupa2nya memang dia nak teman sampai ke pasar terapung tu.  Bagus jugak ada orang nak teman bercakap, dia jugak tolong bawakkan barang bila I sibuk nak pegang camera ambik gambar.  It was a pleasant 30 minutes ride.  A nice way to blend in with the city without tiring your feet but not get trapped in a car.

On the right is some random shot of the city.  On the left is the TukTuk fare.  Please discuss each other... no fighting fighting!

At the floating market area.  Nak try makan ulat goreng?

Ni masa petang, pasar baru bukak. Malam mungkin lebih ramai

Choose your drink.  It'll be served in the bamboo or terracotta container - your choice.

Macam-macam makanan ada.  The sellers are muslim.

Yang ni bukan dalam sampan. Kat sebelah atas daripada the sampan area.

I can't remember the TukTuk fare to this market.  The deal is usually for both ways.  Kalau tak I don't know if you can find available TukTuk to take you back to the town.  They'll let you spend an hour at the market before heading back to your hotel.  Cukup la sejam tu... bukan shopping complex nak lepak lama2 pun..  Malam tu I walked to the town centre again.  Kata orang ada macam pasar malam yang meriah.  I went to the wrong place... jumpa pasar yang jual ayam & sayur.

Two days before Chinese New Year, lanterns and flowers were everywhere

 I spent the next morning walking around the town again. Had lunch at a nice muslim restaurant.  Masuk keluar shopping complexes and went back to the hotel.  Malam tu baru I jumpa tempat happening yang diorang dok cakap tu.  Sort of a big pasar malam.  Macam2 ada jual kat situ, tapi yang paling best I jumpa pulut ayam goreng.  Lama betul tak makan... rasa macam nak bungkus 5 bawak balik KL je..

Kiri tu la pulut yang makan dengan ayam goreng tu

Malam tu I sesat masa nak balik hotel.  Konon2 nak ikut short cut, ntah macamana I lalu ikut lorong2 belakang bangunan.  It was dark and quiet.  Cuak le jugak.  Nasib baik selamat sampai hotel. My advice is, cari le hotel yang dekat dengan pasar malam tu... senang nak turun balik kot2 makanan yang dibeli tak cukup...haha.  My flight was the next morning.  Sebelum tu sempat ronda2 town lagi sekali before heading to the airport.  I dah deal dengan that TukTuk lady suruh husband dia datang ambik.  Saje nak naik TukTuk lagi sekali.  Tambang naik teksi dengan TukTuk sama je... cuma naik teksi ada aircond.

TukTuk yang kanan tu

Random shots at the airport

That's the end of the short trip.  Sapa2 nak pergi, jangan lupa try pulut ayam tu :)