Siblings' visit Part 7: Hatyai Food Trip

Food tripping and getting cheap massages were the primary reasons of our Hatyai trip.  Both did not disappoint!  Here's some of the yummy street food we tasted and some we just looked at.

Night market of street food just a stone's throw from the hotel.

Crepe filled with fresh coconut shavings

Pork sausages

Coloful candies

Sticky rice delicacies, similar to Malaysian kuih and Filipino kakanin

Little girl purchase - macarons!

The kids couldn't resist these cute macarons

Giant prawns!

Light and crispy, this local crepe is  made with coconut milk. 

Dried squid with sesame seeds

Crispy taco shells with cream and cheese

Sophia wanted some takoyaki

Fresh coconut that's sweet like the Philippine coconuts.

Another crepe version with fresh coconut shavings, cooked in traditional coal burners 

A banana variety that's simple grilled.

Grilled sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves.

Beef and fish balls noodle bowl

Sticky rice and mangoes with coconut milk and toasted rice krispies

Siblings' visit Part 6: Hatyai Cable Car and Temples

Hatyai view from the Phra Buddha Mongkol Mahara

Next stop was at the hilly Hatyai Municipal Park.  There were several attractions within the park but with the hot sun bearing down that day, we failed to visit the Guan Yin temple, King Rama statue, the Happy Buddha and the Ice Dome.

The 19.9m Phra Buddha Mongkol Mahara, the tallest standing buddha statue in Southern Thailand, was under renovation during our visit.   Its imposing height looks over the Hatyai city, see first photo above.

Under renovation : Phra Buddha Mongkol Mahara

Flower garlands and joss sticks

Bells surround the standing buddha statue

Monk statues inside the standing buddha temple

We went on a short cable car ride to get to the Bhraman Shrine across another hill.  There we saw the three-faced elephant locals called Erawan and the Four Faced Bhraman Shrine.

Child monks on the way out

A sweet smile from a Thai temple dancer 

My brother Rafael, my niece Sophia and Sarah showing their respect at the Four-Faced Bhraman Shrine.

Elephant statues guard the cable car building

Miniature elephant statues around the shrine grounds

Sarah by the Three-Faced Elephant

Checking out the flower garlands

Siblings' visit Part 5: Chang Puak Elephant Camp

The next day, we made arrangements with our tuk tuk driver (the same one the previous night) to take us to several tourist attractions.  First stop was at Chang Puak Elephant Camp.

We did the elephant ride, a 20 minute trek along a nature trail with a small pond to pass through. Guests sit on a chair placed on top the gentle animals' back.  There were lots of thick blankets and padding between the chair and the elephant's skin for protection.

While waiting for our turn, my brother Rap, Sarah and Sofi fed the elephants with a bucket of bananas which costs THB100 (RM11.40 or $2.80).  Elephants who just completed the trail are guided into a feeding area.  They seemed happy to get snack treats.

Jing and Sofi rode together while Sarah and I were on another elephant.  Mitch stayed with Rap, who was too scared to ride. It was nice of them to refund the two tickets when we explained that my special brother, who was initially excited, became frightened to ride when he got near the elephants.

I like how they run the place, with the animals' well being kept in mind.  The elephants get enough rest in between treks.  Once an elephant drops off guests, they do not use the same animal for the next ride. We had to wait quite a bit for our elephants.  And like what I mentioned above, the elephants who just completed a trek are led to the feeding station for guests to feed them, like a reward system :)

Chang Puak Camp
Opens daily from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Moo, ThoongYai, Songkhla, Thailand
Contact number: 074-446-446

Choose your activities.

Grounds are clean and well maintained

Information and payment counter

First glimpse of the elephants!  These animals just came from a trek.

Sarah and Sofi fed bananas to a gentle elephant.

My brother Rap bravely fed the elephant too!   But he was scared to ride one though.

Waiting for our turn at the elephant station

The trail was dry and brown.  Effects of El Nino :(

There was a small pond which the elephants dipped into.  It was pretty exciting!

Jing and Sofi on their elephant.  Love how Sofi placed her legs on the chair, like a royal princess =)

Sarah and I with our elephant guide.

Siblings' visit Part 4: Hatyai Floating Market

It was our first time at Hatyai,  Thailand's south city very near the Malaysian border.  My siblings, the kids and I took a van from the Sungai Nibong bus terminal on a Friday morning and reached the bustling city after lunch.

We checked in the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel, chosen for its very central location.  The spacious twin rooms were pretty basic but have very clean beddings which were most important to us.   A quick rest and off we explored the surrounding area for our late lunch.  Late afternoon was spent experiencing our first authentic Thai body massage while Sarah and Sofi were treated by the staff to a free hair wash and braid while waiting. Everybody was happy with the deal.

Jing and I occupied one room with the girls while Mitch and Rap stayed in the room right across the hall.  Rooms were spacious and very clean, thumbs up!

The kids enjoyed their free hair wash :)

Khlong Hae Floating Market was our first adventure.  The parked tuk tuks in front of the hotel were overcharging us, no surprise there, so we walked a block away.   We flagged down an empty tuk tuk and negotiated a roundtrip transport service. Our tuk tuk driver is a senior guy, like most of the drivers we've seen around the city.   We only saw a handful of younger men driving a tuk tuk.

The Khlong Hae floating market opens only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm to 9pm.  Local food and snacks are sold by lovely Thai ladies on traditional boats in a canal.   There's also souvenirs, shirts, crafts and other knick knacks offered in other stalls.  We stayed there for an hour and half before it was time for our tuk tuk ride.  Our driver was about 20 minutes late but we didn't mind.  But he informed us despite the language barrier that our 7:30pm pick up time was Malaysia time, 1 hour ahead of Thai time.  He was actually early!  We were pretty sure this happens quite frequently that's why he came 40 minutes before our appointment.  We made sure to sync our watches to the local time after that haha

Excited at our first look at the floating market!

Native delicacies and drinks

Sofi and Mitch

These drinks can be served with the bamboo container, a Hello Kitty/Pokemon claypot mugs or in a normal paper cup.  The fancy containers serves as souvenirs too.

Busy ladies prepping their offered food

Jing by the claypot mugs

Colorful sweets and fried spiral potatoes

The lady uses that long stick with a basket at the end to receive money and return any change.

Group shot at the signage.  Side story: We were patiently waiting for our turn but the group in the picture us took forever for their own shots.  It was too much I just asked my siblings to pose even when they're still there.  

Various country flags on display at the bridge to the floating market. 

Mr. Egg

We're complete!  Group shots with no cranky kids (or adult!) were very few =)

A last look.