Skip to main content

A few days in the 'deep south' town of Hatyai --- 'Hard-Yai'









































When I disembarked in Singapore I had originally planned to stay a few days in the gleaming metropolis that is Singapore, see a few sites and maybe make contact with an acquaintance or two, however, change of plan. When I was booking my bus to Thailand the guy behind the counter told me that there was a bus leaving in 1/2 an hour, so I thought for 1/2 a sec, and then bought a ticket. In reality, apart from shopping — and I am not much of a shopper — Sing is not terribly exciting. As soon as the prospect of Thailand beckoned, I succumbed.

The plan was to travel from Sing directly through Malaysia to the Thai town of Hatyai. This journey consumed 14 hours, but as I did the trip overnight, the time went quickly. Also the bus was near deserted, giving me plenty of personal space, which I like

The attraction of Hatyai is that it lies half way between Sing and Pattaya, making it a convenient stopping point, also it is relatively small and quiet, but it does have a few sites worth seeing. Note: due to the variable means by which Thai names (the Thai alphabet has 44 characters) are transliterated into English the word 'Hatyai'—which means 'Big Beach' is more correctly pronounced (at least to my ear) as 'Hard Yai'. JIC you wanted to know.

Hatyai lies in the 'deep south', as Thai people say. That is to say it is at the bottom of the long, winding peninsular of southern Thailand. Much of this territory was wrested from the Malay states in the early 20th century. As such its culture is noticably different from that of northern Thailand. There is also a measure of unrest in the 'south', how much of this is due to what is debateable, however, I myself saw no signs of trouble. Dangerous? People always ask this, and the answer No! The greatest danger you will face in s.e. Asia is the traffic. No joke.

There is a surprising amount of tourism in Hatyai, largely from Malaysia and Singapore. The numbers are not huge, and at the moment, the numbers are less than a year previously, but there are always a few Malay/Sing tourists to be seen wandering the streets. The number of farang is low, westerners are something of a rarity in this city. I came across three or so 'farang' bars, that was about it. To be frank, most of these Sing/Malay tourists are sex tourists, visiting the town for only a few days.

During my time in Hatyai I stayed at the 'Regency Hotel'. This is just about the most expensive hotel in town, costing 1,300b a day (including a small breakfast). I probably should have stayed at a cheaper, but as I was only in town for three days, no biggee.

Hatyai is considered to be 'poor', but there are no obvious signs of poverty. There are no beggars in the streets and there are the usual signs of civilisation: Sizzler, McDonalds, etc. The town has a somewhat 'seedy' look, that is to say, it is worn and just a little gubby. There are also lots of drivers and other people waiting to help/exploit you. One thing to be aware of, there are many touts at the train and bus stops ready to 'help' you. By and large, ignore these people. Grab a taxi to your hotel and go.

During my stay I saw several temples. First, the Hatyai Nai temple located in the city itself. It has a large reclining Buddha (35m long), resident monks, 'funeral facilities', and a tourism trinket stand. The day I visited there were a bunch of men in the process of signing up for their three month stint as a monk. About an hours drive outside the town, on a hill top, is a Buddhist Wat, and just below it is a shrine to Quan Yin. From this spot there is an excellent view of Hatyai.

After my time in Hatyai I made ready to travel to Pattaya. In doing so I made a neophyte mistake. I got ripped off in a typical tourist move. Frak, you would think that I would not fall for these things but I did, having seen it a 1,000 times before! I walked into the bus station, and a guy said to me, come with me, I will sell u a ticket. He then took me to his family bus booking agency across the road, and sold me a pricey ticket for a VIP bus, which did not in fact exist. When I came to get onto my bus I saw it was a 'normal' bus, but he was not to be found frown. Alas -- the wickedness of the world.

Overnight to Bangkok, and from their a two hour taxi ride to Pattaya where I returned to my fav guest house.


Jog-dee-krap (good luck, in Thai)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pattani — the ‘deep’ south of Thailand

First, some advisories: A. ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. In comparison approximately 400 people die every year from traffic accidents in the same region. You have been advised. B. Getting there. There seems to be a scam carried out by the local tour operators to persuade travellers to take mini-buses on journeys between the towns in southern Thailand. These mini-buses cost several times as much as a normal bus. For example, I was quoted 1000 baht (~$35) between Trang and Pattani ~250kms, as compared to 200 baht for a VIP bus. A clear difference. Take the l...
24 comments
Read more

Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers—A Critical Critique

The late science fiction author Robert Heinlein was noted for many things, and one of these is controversy. During his life he never shied away from contentious issues, rather he seems to have actively sought them out, both on and off the page. His writing was always provocative, and the most provocative example of this was his 1959 novel "Starship Troopers". The novel was written in a few weeks, prompted by left-wing lobbying for a ban on USA nuclear weapon testing. Heinlein, a strident conservative, vehemently disagreed with this proposal. While the meaning and import of the novel has been debated (it won the 1960 Hugo and is still in print), the story conveys the author's conservative anguish on the perceived flaws of contemporary political and social life. The novel depicts and praises a future government with a sharply limited voting franchise, lauds an authoritarian military, and strongly criticises popular democracy. Essentially, the novel endorses conservative,...
1 comment
Read more

Harry Harrison—sorry to hear of your passing

Harry Harrison, an amusing name. I can remember the first time I saw the name on the shelves of my High School library, when I first came across the Deathworld series. This fascinating read began a long friendship, his books, my reading. I met Harrison when he came to Perth for a Swancon. An interesting and witty man, always ready with a story. Mr Harrison, you have left a long and lasting legacy, which will entertain many generations to come. RIP (1925-2012).
Post a Comment
Read more