Yesterday: Hat Yai

Not enough money and time to quench our shopping thirst =X Went on a shopping trip with mother and sis at Hat Yai, a city in Thailand.

Initially, I was quite apprehensive on going to Hat Yai for a trip cause I thought it will be quite boring but it was otherwise. But the trip wasn't that smooth sailing at the start cause there isn't enough time to plan a proper itinerary so we mostly just travel the few recommended shopping places by my aunt. Besides that, to make matter worse, I cancelled our lodging the night before flying off *brilliant of me*. Luckily, it was a off perk season so we managed to get another hotel =X

From this trip, I would say that Hat Yai is a cross between Vietnam and Malaysia *the only 2 other countries I have been to,thus the only ones I have for benchmark*. Maybe is the ambience and the culture that lead to this conclusion, with the laid-back lifestyle and definitely a slower and relaxed pace of life. Most of the shops start at 10 am and closed about 8pm, leaving only the night market which isn't packed at all. The locals are super nice and friendly but communication is still quite a barrier for us cause most of them don't speak english and only a handful can speak Hokkien, Canto and Mandarin. Travelling around the city is definitely convenient with the numerous tuk-tuk around. The highlight of the trip is the shopping aspect! It is like a haven for all shopaholics ! We went to 3 markets(1 market on the first day and 2 on the 2nd) in total ! These markets aside from having a wet market, they also have SUPER ALOT of small stalls that sell shoes, bags and clothes and most of which are distributors so the prices are super cheap! These stalls can easily make of X10 of Bugis! Walked around like siao like that with muscles aching =X But we had a room service Thai massage! *though the person who massage me is a newbie =(*

Looking forward to going to Hat Yai again for more shopping and this time round, a longer trip suffice for going to the beach, temples and maybe even Phuket! haha. Ok picture time!