Page Contents

• Hat Yai Activity Listings Page 3
  • Spa Treatments [more]
  • Suntisuk Market [more]
  • Tennis [more]
  • Ten Pin Bowling [more]
  • Thai Boxing - Muay Thai [more]
  • The Boxing Training [more]
  • Thai Cookery Classes [more]
  • Thai Massage for Pleasure [more]
  • Thai Massage for Therapy [more]
  • Thale Noi [more]
  • Tinsulanonda Park [more]
  • Tone Nga Chang Waterfall [more]
  • Vegetarian Festival [more]
  • Wat Thaawon [more]

Things To Do - Page 3

Hat Yai is full of cheap massage shops but, as is always the way in life, "You pays your money and you takes your choice." The service at some of the cheaper places is awful.

Considering that a two hour massage only costs Bt200 at some of these places, what can you expect? However, if you want a really memorable experience it is necessary to pay some more money and go to a proper spa. By Thai standards the prices for these places are high but they are cheap by international standards.

You will enter a peaceful realm where it is possible to completely relax in comfortable surroundings while a properly trained therapist works on your body. However, don't entertain any thoughts of massaging the massage girl while she massages you at these places. If you want that kind of a tactile experience, stick to the cheap hotels and massage shops.

There are a number of places around. The most centrally located (and probably the most expensive) is the spa located inside the Novotel hotel but some of the others may require a tuk-tuk ride if you don't feel up to walking.

Here's a word of warning though. Anyone who takes a customer to one of these spas gets a commission. Thais always seem to be very helpful when it comes to helping visitors get what they want but it isn't necessarily out of the goodness of their hearts. The going rate is about 20%.

Therefore, if you pay Bt1,000 for a treatment, the person who took you there (a tuk-tuk driver or your hotel bellboy) will get Bt200. If you make your own way, the spa doesn't have to pay any commission. Because of this - and provided your haggling skills are sufficient - you may be able to negotiate a discount.

• Preuksa Spa: 210/7 Niphatuthit 2 Road near the old Lee Gardens hotel (not Lee Gardens Plaza). Telephone + 66 (0)81 189 0443; + 66 (0)83 192 9493; (Map 3) For more information and photos see Preuksa Spa
• Garabuning Spa: 50/6 Sripoowanat Road near Diana department store. Telephone + 66 (0)74 354140 (Map 4)
• Sittara Spa: 78 Rajyindee Road Soi 7 near the Acoustic Pub. Telephone + 66 (0)74 238594 (Map 2)
• Som Spa: 163 Niphat Uthit 3 Road near the Hat Yai Central hotel. Telephone + 66 (0)74 238261; Mobile +66 (0)81 959 2795 (Map 3)
• Tita Beauty and Spa: 99 Klongrien Road near the Bangkok Hat Yai hospital. Telephone + 66 (0)74 464188; Mobile +66 (0)86 692 4994 or +66 (0)81 459 4856 (Map 2)

If you were looking for C-Spa, it closed some time during 2007. It was a big place but expensive and not very well located. As such, it became one of the first victims when the economy turned sour in 2007.

It's cheap and I was convinced that a lot of the goods on sale were counterfeit but the compact flash card I bought for my camera seems to be genuine and it works fine. The locals tell me that prices are cheap because goods sold at Suntisuk are not subject to tax. When I asked why they said it's because Suntisuk is near to the border but that also applies to every other shop in Hat Yai, which add tax, so it's hardly a satisfactory explanation.

There are lots of food products on sale including chocolate, packets of biscuits, coffee, nuts, etc., etc. The locals shop here too so it isn't just a place to rip off tourists. Although I am reliably informed that a lot of stuff on sale is legitimate, some of it definitely isn't.

This is the place to buy your pirated movies, music and software in Hat Yai. I have bought a couple of CDs and they have been OK but I don't know about DVDs or how the pirates get around activation codes with computer software.

There is also a lot of porn on sale. Nong Nat, Thailand's most famous porno star, is well represented and the different types of porn are categorised into sections with all tastes catered for. It's one of those things that intrigues and disgusts me at the same time. I'm all for looking at beautiful female bodies but would rather not see young girls performing with animals.

A frightening array of weaponry is sold at Suntisuk (and elsewhere in Hat Yai). Take your choice of knuckle-dusters, fighting sticks and huge, deadly knives. No civilised country should be selling weapons like these. At least they will never get out of the country as no airline would allow them on board but that doesn't solve the problem in Thailand.

Comments: There are nine tennis courts at the Jiranakorn Stadium. I don't know how much hire of a court costs but this is Thailand so it won't be expensive. Not surprisingly, the courts are deserted during the daytime.

Energetic outdoors activities in hot and humid southern Thailand are really only feasible in the morning or evening. There is floodlighting so it is possible to play after dark.

Comments: Not something I would normally recommend to do in Thailand as there is nothing 'Thai' about it, but if you've been in the country for a while it might appeal. It's as good a facility I've seen and - compared to the UK - a lot cheaper.

Comments: There is a medium sized boxing stadium in Hat Yai. It's not Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen but it's bigger and more authentic than the venues constructed in tourist areas just for the benefit of tourists.

The location is a Soi off Niphat Songkhrao 1 Road on the same side of the road as Jiranakorn sports stadium. Going away from central Hat Yai, it's past the sports stadium but before Big C.

Bouts are held every Friday night starting at 8pm. The initial bouts are normally youngsters and it's fairly gentle. However, as the evening goes on and the heavier weight boxers enter the arena it gets a lot more frantic and aggressive. If you've never been before, the whole thing is very ceremonial. The boxers stage a carefully choreographed dance before the fight which varies in accordance to which school they train with. Every school has a different dance. The boxers wear ceremonial headdresses when they enter the ring which are removed before the fight.

Throughout the contest Thai musicians play the weird music that accompanies all Thai boxing matches. Gambling is a major theme of the evening even though it is illegal in Thailand. The Thai spectators work themselves up into a frenzy while waving their betting slips in the air. I had not seen passion like this at a sports venue since my days watching football at Upton Park.

It's a good night out and a unique Thai experience that every visitor to Thailand should see. The only bad thing is the old Thai habit of dual pricing. When I arrived the price was clearly advertised - Bt180. I asked (in Thai) for a Bt180 ticket but she just kept telling me "haa roy Baht" - Bt500. At first I thought she hadn't understood me but I was wrong.

The price is Bt180 for Thai men, Bt50 for Thai women and Bt500 for foreigners. The raised seating, where most people were, looked fine but I was shepherded into the ringside enclosure. This was supposedly the privilege I was entitled to for paying a lot more than everyone else but I didn't think the view was as good.

I was the only person in the ringside enclosure apart from the musicians. I was also the only person in the whole place who had been given the honour of paying Bt500 to spectate. I wasn't happy and it showed on my face. One of the girls working there detected my feelings and brought me over a beer which she insisted was free. I think this gesture was out of guilt. It was a small token but made me feel a bit better.

It's easy to make your own way to the stadium but there are many travel agents in central Hat Yai who will arrange it for you.

Comments: Thai boxing training - along with courses in Thai massage and Thai cooking - is something that seems to be popular with visiting farangs.

This place is a combined music and martial arts school. For Bt900 per month you can learn to play the piano or guitar, or for Bt2,500 you can get 10 hours of tuition in Thai boxing. Other martial arts taught here include Taekwondo, Judo and Kung-Fu.

It's located near the Racha Hotel (which isn't shown on the map), but if you manage to find the hotel the school isn't far away. It's not too far from the VL Hotel, which is shown on the map. From the outside it's not obvious that there is a martial arts gym inside so look out for musical instruments instead.

The school is open from Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 until 19:00. From what I can make out, the Thai boxing training begins some time between 3pm and 4pm.

Comments: Lessons for foreigners on how to cook Thai food are popular in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and probably Phuket but I wasn't aware of anywhere in Hat Yai until the owner of one of my local restaurants mentioned it.

Her husband is a very good cook and it turns out that he has been providing a lot of free lessons so they have decided to try to turn his skills into a business. In one day he will teach you how to prepare five Thai dishes of your choice. The cost is Bt2,000 and everything is included. At the end of the day the students and teacher will eat together and you can take home the dishes you prepared earlier.

Call Nam or Chok at Long Oie restaurant on one of the following numbers: 09 197 2414; 04 853 9665; 074 350500. They can both speak a little English.

The more upmarket spa type places have relatively well trained therapists, pleasant surroundings, and no hanky panky. The cheap places can be a gamble.

Some cheap places are very pleasantly furnished and the girls are very good masseuses. However, other places are pretty awful and the girls don't have a clue what they're doing, especially if they are new to the job.

When they start they only get a very basic course and some don't even get that. Thay just watch another girl to see what she does. A lot of the girls do the work because they are desperate for money and can't do anything else that would pay a similar amount of money.

Some Hat Yai massage shops (for example, Kings and Aladdin) have a lot of Burmese girls, some of whom can speak Thai but some of whom can't. 'Additional services' should not be assumed but certain establishments have a reputation for offering them. All Hat Yai taxi drivers will know where these places are.

Most of the masseuses in these places haven't had much training and even though it can be a pleasurable experience it may not be what some people want. There are loads of foot massage shops in Hat Yai with fancy reflex charts on the walls but you will struggle to find a masseuse who can identify reflex points and tell you which organs of the body they correspond to.

There aren't actually that many authentic massage shops in town. My friend, Aachom, who teaches Thai massage and has his own massage business used to have a small shop in central Hat Yai but moved out to the Big C area and his new shop is quite difficult to find now.

There's a place opposite the police station - just on the other side of the railway tracks to central Hat Yai. Looking from the police station there is a Soi opposite, slightly to the right. If you walk along the Soi there is a temple on the left and the shop is on the right opposite the temple.

It is very different to the massage shops in town which are just for Chinese weekend tourists. The masseuses are quite fearsome and not the pretty young things you see elsewhere. However, they do know their stuff.

There are no VIP rooms - just two communal treatments rooms with mattresses on the floor. I don't find authentic Thai massage to be a particularly pleasurable experience because it is painful but I am told it needs to be that way to be effective.

Massage costs Bt150 per hour.

If you like natural places and find yourself stuck in Hat Yai you may wish to check out my Nature page for ideas of places to go in order to escape the noise and general craziness of southern Thailand's busiest city.

The two long bridges that connect Yo island to the mainland in Songkhla province are named after him, as is the General Prem Tinsulanonda Historical Park. I'm not exactly sure what's historical about it.

The park is located just before the first bridge if you are travelling from Songkhla to Yo island. Entrance is free and it's open every day.

The English transliteration of Prem's surname is a perfect example of why I hate Thai to English transliteration. The last syllable is non. After this is a Thai 'T' consonant but above it is the consonant killer symbol, indicating that it isn't pronounced.

The pronunciation is tin-soo-la-non. I don't have a clue where the extra -da comes from because it follows no logic at all.

If you add -da you will sound just like a freshly-arrived tourist ordering a sing beer with an extra -ha.

For more details about the park, see my Nature page.

The fare is just Bt20 but that is the cheap part. The waterfall is in an area which has been designated as a national park and that means there is an entrance fee. For Thais it is Bt20 but for foreigners it is ever so slightly higher. The fee for foreigners is just 10 times more than the fee for Thais at Bt200. Thank you Thailand.

It's a national disgrace but this practice is widespread throughout Thailand. It happens everywhere. The Thais themselves are ashamed of what goes on, so to hide the bad news from foreigners they write the Thai pricing details in Thai and often use Thai numerals (Learn to read Thai - Tutorial 26).

The vast majority of foreigners in Thailand can't read Thai and so they are oblivious to how they constantly get ripped off by the smiling locals.

If you live in Thailand, speak/read some Thai, and have some form of Thai ID (driving licence, work permit, etc.) you can sometimes get the Thai price - but not always. I can't be bothered arguing any more and I refuse to be ripped off like this. If I can't get the normal price, I leave.

To avoid arguments and bad feeling, I normally stay in the car out of sight while my Thai wife pays the entrance fee.

The waterfall consists of seven tiers, all individually named (Tone Ba, Tone Plew, Tone Nga Chang, Tone Dum, Tone Nam Proy, Tone Rue Sri Koy Bo, Tone Met Choon). The area has also been designated as a wildlife sanctuary.

It is a pleasant excursion from Hat Yai and even though it is relatively close the experience is completely and utterly different to being in the city area. There are swimming opportunities so take your swimming costume.

The development of the waterfall has been carried out very well. There is just enough to make it easy for visitors to access what was once an inaccessible area, but not too much as to spoil a very beautiful natural attraction.

As far as safety is concerned, some of the trails are a bit tricky and the rocks around the water are slippery. Don't go too far off the trail, as one foreigner once did a few years ago. It required search parties to find him and he was in a bad way when he was eventually found.

It's quite isolated and popular with gangs of young Thai males who go there to mess around and drink beer. Be alert to potential problems and stay where there are other people around. This applies especially to girls visiting the waterfall alone.

From the waterfall area, going further into Rattaphum and towards Satun and Malaysia it is quite jungly. I understand that if you go far enough there are still wild tigers and elephants living in the jungle. However, you are unlikely to see much wildlife as wild animals make a point of avoiding humans.

There are plenty of hungry fish in the swimming areas, some attractive butterflies flying around, some huge ants, and in certain areas the sound of insects in the trees is very loud.

Cooked food is available in the park near the waterfall and it is pretty good. There are a lot of Thai Muslims in this area and this is reflected in the food. In Hat Yai city, which is Chinese dominated, there is lots of pork and not much beef. In Muslim areas there is beef on the menu and no pork.

There is also accommodation inside the park. Rooms with one bed cost Bt500, and with two beds the cost is Bt1,000. Call Khun Bprawit on +66 (0)81 276 8746 for more information and bookings but don't expect much English to be spoken.

Along Supasarnrangsan Road a lot of street stalls selling veggie food are set up. This is great if you like vegetarian food but not so great if you don't as many local restaurant owners take the opportunity to have a holiday and close their restaurants during the period of the festival.

The big day is the middle Saturday of the festival where there is a lot of activity around the junction of Supasarnrangsan and Saeng Sri roads (Map 2).

On this day free food is given out. 109 large woks of noodles and rice are lined up along the street and you can eat as much as you like for nothing. Farangs enjoying the free food are much sought after. I was constantly photographed while stuffing my face and noticed a lot of TV cameras pointing at me. All of the Thai TV channels seem to cover this event.

In the late afternoon a Chinese religious leader pushes pointed metal rods through the cheeks of religious devotees. As I observed this I noticed that most of them already had scars on their cheeks so they probably do it every year.

If you have ever witnessed the Hindu Thaipusam festival it is quite similar but without the metal cages that the Hindus carry on their shoulders. The devotees at the vegetarian festival put objects such as bicycles and garden strimmers through their cheeks before joining a large procession to central Hat Yai.

Getting caught up in the middle of the ceremony, as I did trying to take photos, gets a bit frenetic. Everyone with a camera pushes to get a good view while stewards try to hold the crowd back and constantly blow whistles. On top of all the noise, authentic firecrackers (a Chinese favourite and very, very loud) are let off.

Comments: Wat Thaawon, in my opinion, is the most photogenic Wat in Hat Yai. There has been a lot of work done on it in the past few years and the results are beginning to show. It's a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist temple and therefore the Buddha images and other imagery are different from Thai Theravada Buddhist temples.

The most recent addition is a Chinese style pagoda that I am told cost Bt100 million to build. It is possible to walk to the top where you can ring the huge bell and get great views of Hat Yai. Sunset is a good time to go but tell someone you are going up so they don't lock the door when you are inside.

There is no lift and the walk up several flights of steep stairs in not very suitable for the aged or infirm.

Quite a few of the monks living there speak good English and enjoy talking to visitors. In fact, there is a Buddhist university at the temple and many of the students are from other Buddhist countries.

The temple is located next to the Tesco Lotus shopping centre in the vicinity of the Mor Or (Prince of Songkla) university and hospital.

It is easy to locate because the huge gold coloured Buddha image (shown in the photos) and the pagoda can be seen for quite some distance.

For more information about this temple, which is now known as Mahapanya Vidayalai, and other temples in the Hat Yai area, see:

Places of Worship: Temples