DAY 1
We were off to Hat Yai to celebrate Chinese New Year as a family this year! We decided to spend quality time together overseas instead of the usual visiting.
We chose Hat Yai because:
Lunar New Year is not a major holiday in Thailand, hence the shops should be open
Hat Yai is a less popular destination in Thailand as compared to Bangkok or Phuket so hopefully there will be less crowds
Relatively affordable plane tickets & accommodation
We have never visited Hat Yai before
Everyone said that 7D6N is way too long for a trip to such a small city with few attractions but we went ahead anyway because the air tickets were cheaper this way. We paid S$277 per person (regardless of adult or child) to fly by Scoot. It was a decent price for a peak travel period.
Super excited for their first flight in 2018
See ya after #cny everyone! On our way for our big family trip to #amazingthailand � Ohh Happy Valentine's Day everyone! ❤️ #madpsychmum #madpsychmumtravels #hatyai #shoppingspree #changiairport #girleejay #boyjlee #valentinesday #valentinesday2018 #chinesenewyear2018
A post shared by Madeline Heng (@madpsychmum) on
Feb 13, 2018 at 9:22pm PST
The flight was extra bumpy, with a lot of sudden drops during take off and landing! The boy was so scared he clung to the handles of his seat for dear life! Poor boy.
The terrified boy during the turbulent take off and landing
I don't know if it's because we haven't travelled on a budget carrier for a long time and therefore forgot how bumpy they were. Our smoother than smooth flights on Emirates and Singapore Airlines must have really spoiled us! *laughs*
We arrived at Hat Yai International Airport earlier than expected, which was surprising given that we were travelling via a budget airline.
The boy was so excited to start our trip!
We took the Airport Limousine from the exit to take us to our hotel. It only cost us 500 baht for all 7 of us! We basically took up the entire minivan!
Travelling in our Airport Limousine Taxi
We arrived at Centara Hotel Hat Yai about 40 minutes later, after dropping off all the other passengers who travelled in the same minivan.
Centara Hotel Hat Yai
(Address: 3 Sanehanusorn Road, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
Checking in at the front desk
We were each given a welcome drink of chrysanthemum
After checking in, we headed to our Premium Deluxe rooms, which we booked for S$105 per room per night via Agoda. We booked a total 3 rooms: one for the hubby, boy and I, one for the girl and Mum-in-law, one for the brother- and sister-in-law.
Our Premium Deluxe room
Good size bed
Study table and TV
Clockwise from left: The usual amenities available in the wardrobe;
Central control for all the lights and air-conditioning in the room;
Bathroom located at the entrance.
Bathroom with shower but no bathtub
The usual amenities including Bath foam, Shampoo and Conditioner
The best thing about our hotel is that it is located in Hat Yai's Chinatown and surrounded by lots of shopping malls and restaurants.
The first 5 floors of the hotel itself is occupied by Central Shopping Mall, and fully assessible directly within the hotel.
Central Shopping Mall
(Address: 33 Prachathipat Rd, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
Our best purchase of the trip is this Seiko musical clock, which we got from Central Shopping Mall.
I fell in love with it the minute I saw IT! �
Located opposite of Centara Hotel is Lee Gardens Plaza, another shopping mall. It used to be more crowded but business has slowed and now only certain levels in the mall have some human traffic.
Lee Gardens Plaza
(Address: Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
We spent the most time at Level 2 of the mall
Found this shop with handmade and customised keychains and slippers
We customised a whole batch for all our colleagues!
(I even got a Mini Logo one for myself hehe)
You can also choose to engrave on their faux leather keychains as well. So pretty I got one made for myself as well!
As we were getting hungry, we tried to hunt for good food in the area. The hubby identified a famous restaurant but it was closed so we had to go with whatever restaurant happened to be nearby.
We finally decided to have dinner at Khong Kong Dude โก้งโค้งดูด because it looked decent.
โก้งโค้งดูด
(Address: Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
Tom yam and egg omelette rice. So yummy!
This restaurant is not bad, cheap and they have an English menu so it's worth checking them out.
We ended the day chilling and chatting in our room with snacks we bought from the supermarket downstairs. So relaxing!
DAY 2
We did not book the hotel's breakfast hence we went out searching for a place to have Brunch.
The first restaurant we stumbled upon that looked decent was Burapha Bird’s Nest – Shark’s Fin Restaurant (or Booraha on Google Maps).
Burapha Bird's Nest Restaurant
(Address: Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
The restaurant serves decent Chinese noodles and vegetables, which tasted good but took a long time to be served.
After brunch, we continued our usual shopping at the various shopping malls nearby.
Kids had to try the McDonald's here!
We discovered Odean Shopping Mall, another mall in the area.
Odean Shopping Mall
(Address: 79/7 Thumnoonvithi Rd Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
Matchy-matchy outfits with my kids
The mall is filled with hidden jems but the biggest had to be their food court at the top level of the mall. The Bang-Rak Stewed Pork Leg is so good!
Bang-Rak Stewed Pork Leg
Yummy!
After lunch we hung out at Centara's swimming pool and kids club. The hotel has a gym too, which I should have used if I had brought proper shoes.
Kids Club Play Room
The super duper cold pool
View of the city and the setting sun
Kids playing with their floats that we brought
After working up a good appetite, we headed to Hamid Restaurant for dinner as it came recommended by various websites.
Hamid Restaurant
(Address: Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
Group selfie at dinner
We loved the Pad Thai and fish!
Also recommend the pandan chicken, which were really good!
We've been enjoying our feasting and shopping here so far! Lovely city to visit =)
Continue to >> Hat Yai Day 3-4: Central Festival & Klong Hae Floating Market
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