Hat Yai - is
a bustling, car-filled city which one of the guide books says has all the
downsides of Bangkok without any of the attractions. Well, I agree it's
not a pretty place, but as a major transportation and shopping centre,
it's the only place south of Bangkok and north of Kuala Lumpur. It's not a
place where many westerners stay, but it's a very popular destination for
holiday-makers from Malaysia and Singapore, who come for the shopping and
the "short-time" trade. It has excellent markets and the food is
brilliant. There are also plenty of places where you can join in with
Thais getting drunk listening to live music.
How to get there - Hat
Yai international airport is easily accessible from Bangkok, Phuket, Kuala
Lumpur, Singapore and further afield. The main Bangkok-Butterworth
(Malaysia) train passes through Hat Yai, and there are lots of VIP coach
and air-con minibus routes into and out of the city.
Where to stay - There
are hundreds of hotels in the central area alone, most of which also cater
for the "short-time" trade as well as overnight visitors. If I'm
only staying for two or three nights, I usually stay at the large, clean
and relatively expensive Asian Hotel,
right in the middle of the action, and costing upto 800B a night. The
Asian has big, spotless air-conditioned rooms with colour TV's, fridges
and huge beds. There are countless cheaper options within easy walking
distance.
What to do in the day - Shopping
around the central core is good for wallets, watches, clothes, Thai music
and souvenirs. The stallholders set up at around 10am and don't clear away
until after dark, when a new gang arrives to cook and sell you deep fried
chicken (gai tort) and seafood. There are also a selection of department
stores, such as Diana, Central and the Odean, on Nipat Uthit 3, where you can pick up other
stuff at higher prices. On level 5 of the Odean, you'll find a typical food hall where
you can go for a late breakfast or a mid-day lunch. There are about a
dozen food vendors, each with their own speciality, and they operate on a
coupon system, which just means you buy food coupons at the counter, and
pay the cooks with the coupons. 60B per person will usually get you a
plate of something delicious and a fresh fruit drink as well. I can
recommend the noodle soup with crispy deep-fried pork, the chicken and
rice cooked in a clay pot, and the stewed ham over rice with green leaves,
boiled eggs, and dumplings. You get a refund for any unspent coupons
from the counter.
What to do at night - There's
a busy night market
which sets up at the Plaza on Petchkasem Road, where you can get fried
rice or noodles, or seafood, or deep fried chicken. My favourite
night-time haunts in Hat Yai include the West Side Saloon, the Corazon
Latin Pub & Restaurant and Ban Nai Hua ("The Godfather
Pub"),
The West Side Saloon
is a lively pub/restaurant a short walk east from Odean Department Store.
Their house band covers everything from Thai folk
songs and Van Morrison, to 70's disco and Deep Purple, although the recent
change of personnel was a move in the wrong direction. The old band was a
lot more fun, and some of them are now playing at the Corazon. One of my favourite
West Side memories was when the band struck the opening riff from Deep
Purple's "Smoke on the Water", and a whole table of Malaysian businessmen
in suits stood up and played along with head-thrashing and air guitars.
The menus are in Thai/English, the beer is cold, and the food is good.
Corazon Latin Pub & Restaurant
is located on Pracharom Road, a short walk east of the Lee Gardens Plaza with
the McDonalds big M on the roof. The band is excellent, and the last time
I was there they banged out a highly entertaining set with everything from
Santana, the Stones and Blue Oyster Cult (Don't Fear the Reaper) to "Mambo No5" and Robbie Williams.
What's more, the waitresses all wear little skirts and jump up to dance
with each other and any female customers whenever the mood takes
them.
Ban Nai Hua (the Godfather Pub)
is no less fun, but it's a different scene. You need to catch a tuk-tuk
for the 5 minute ride from the centre, and you'll be dropped outside an impressive timber barn with the big yellow diamond-shaped "Singha
Beer" sign. This is a place for Thais to get drunk, eat a slap-up
meal, and listen to "Songs for Life" - the Thai folk songs with
a social conscience. It's run by a friend of mine, Sang Thammada, who has
had hits in the Thai charts previously. The menus are all in Thai, so
you'll need to learn the names of some classic Thai dishes before you go
if you want to eat, but don't worry - the food's excellent and you can
just point at what other people are eating if you get really stuck. The
walls are decorated with pictures of the band, portraits of the old man of
Songs for Life, Caravan, and with the classic Che Guevara image. You'll
also see posters of the student uprisings from the mid 1970's when the
Thai military ruthlessly suppressed the students' demands for democracy,
and shot dead many students in Bangkok. This led many to take to the hills
and jungles of the north where they engaged in an armed struggle against
the army for several years. Some of the songs are inspired by this period
of recent Thai history. But it's not all doom and gloom: there's a friend
of mine called Bao who plays on percussion who can't keep a straight face
for more than 20 seconds - he's always playing to the crowd and telling
jokes. Say hello from Russ if you speak to him - he's the big guy with the
beard, and he'll gladly accept a small bottle of Singha from you. Don't
forget to wear your Lenin T-shirt.
