Hatyai Excursion April 2016: Part I

It's been more than 20 years since I last made this trip. The only thing I remembered from that last trip was something about 'Tiger Shows' which I wasn't allowed to watch for some strange reason. So when my family planned this road trip, I felt I had to hop on for the ride.

We chartered an entire bus with luxurious seats and ample space. Of course I slept throughout, what with my migraines and motion sickness. When we arrived late on Friday, 22nd April 2016, I quickly set out to find art in this old town.

I started with the road in front of my modest hotel, immediately taking note of the numerous tuk-tuks. For those unfamiliar, a tuk-tuk is a strange mini-pick up truck that taxis passengers at the back. It gets its name from the rattling of the small capacity engine that runs it. You can see it below, in red.

I wandered around looking for pictures, and I took notice of the narrow roads in Central Hatyai, where our hotel was located.

As night quickly covered the town, we walked towards the central tourist area. Much of the decoration and business in the area caters for tourists, of which a large portion consists of Malaysians. In fact, almost every Thai national here speaks Madarin, Hokkien and/or some other Chinese dialect. My lovely model here stands in the middle of one such roads adorned with cheap goods for sale.

One of the Main Roads in the center of all this madness, is heavily decorated with lights and the streets are filled with tourists and locals alike, enjoying the festive atmosphere.

I've always enjoyed the 7-11 outlets anywhere in Thailand and here is no different. Walking into 7-11 was like a boy walking into a candy store.

One of the many Mango Sticky Rice stalls peppered around the area. I bought the first salvo from here! With ripe and super sweet mangos and amazing sticky rice, or 'pulut', this was my regular meal for the duration of my stay there.

Fresh food from hawker stalls in the area that open until late. Who needs mamak restaurants when you can have piping hot tom yum soup in the middle of the night?

 As we walked back to the hotel, we decided to take the scenic route. Darker and definitely less traveled than the main road, but we always felt safe and not threatened. Naturally I wouldn't recommend that anyone put themselves in harms way, but you're all adults, right?

In older dilapidated towns like this, I have a strong fascination with the phone and/or power lines that map out the space above your head. I've seen more interesting complex cables elsewhere, but that's a different story.

More street shots. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I do enjoy 'lonely' night street shots. It gives me a sense of isolation which is strangely comforting.

The next day we got up bright and early, to head down to the nearby street market for food and whatnot. I was taking in a smorgasbord of sights, sounds and smells (not all pleasant), all the while baking under a hot bright early morning sun. The stall below selling flowers, usually for prayer purposes, we noted that it appears to open 24-7. Never closed, lights always on. I never got an explanation for that.

One of my personal favorite shots. I like how the sun's flare hits the shot just right, as I snapped a picture of a slice in the life of the locals. It may not be everyone's cup of tea though, so do let me know what you think of it!!

We stopped in one of the old huts to eat and I saw an old calendar/poster with a picture of the Thai royal family. The Thais revere their King and their pictures are pasted everywhere. I thought the shot of a black & white old fashion picture, with a wooden-board wall with peeling paint made for a quaint shot. Also the date in the small calendar to the left proves I was there!

Customary food shot? I personally don't like to shoot these anymore, but I thought it would make a nice picture. I kinda think I was right. What do you think? By the way, the noodles were lovely!

I'm not sure why I shot this, but after editing I liked how the color and clarity of the poultry jumped from the picture. I can still smell the meat when I look at this shot.

This is an interesting shot. I noticed that one of the low-rise apartments at the end of the market road looked rather fancy in comparison to most of the other buildings. When I say 'fancy' what I meant was that I looked at it and I imagined it being seen in the 60's and I felt others might have thought it the bees knees at the time. I love it when pictures make me think and imagine.

Just a random shot of a Christian church from across the road. Walked past it the next day but didn't have the chance to look inside.

Pop culture is prevalent in all societies and this piss-poor rip off of some well-known masked and caped crusaders is testament to that. I almost bought the masks for shits and giggles. Notice that Elsa is cut-off on the right of the picture. That would have been a crazy party.

The center of the market road next to Kim Yong market. Hustle and bustle.

See more pictures, particularly of this quaint sea-side restaurant in Songkhla, just outside of town, in Part II of this series! Or if you're lazy, you can click HERE FOR PART II!


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