Haadyai (Night 1)

When we at the downtown, it's almost 3 - 4 pm. So, just wandering around and look for things to shop. My mum shopped her clothes, her favourite Zebra pots and pans (which are quite popular and durable utensils) and cute little stuffs like key chains and handphone ornaments. Me and my father rather look on authentic foods and delicacies around because most of them are not available back in Malaysia.

Let me tell you. The bottled mineral water here are damn good. They use glass instead of cheap, soft plastic like in Malaysia. Plus, their caps are sealed as if they are soft drinks.
Some of them, I prefer not to consume them because they look like...
Deionized water (for accumulators) for the batteries of your cars. No jokes because they are actually bottled mineral water.

Get into their 7 Eleven and get some slurpee. The cup is hardened plastic, not like our Malaysia version cheap cheap plastic. Their shops suprised me. They have tonnes of food and drinks that can be served hot piping. For example, I saw a few Thai kids were buying hot dogs and some adults were eating instant noodle mee in the shop.
See that? You can get cheaper burgers than buying them at McDonalds and KFCs...

I was like "wow man"! They can stay at 7 Eleven for their dinner and go back home without cooking it. Plus, if the cashiers (mainly are beautiful Thai girls) are not busy, you can chit chat with them too...

Cool man! ^o^ So when you come to Thailand, you must drop by to their 7 Eleven and see it for yourself. Another must-see destination? :P

Besides that, you must try the food and drinks along the streets. I had these...

Thai version Ice Kacang...

Tau foo fah (beancurd in syrup). See those yellow thing? It's so crunchy and it's my first time to see such things are added into it! Another must-try stuffs!

So, I continued slacking around the Haadyai city...

The upper roof part attracted me... Maybe some sort of bank or office...

Try to guess what is this...
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I was laughing non-stop when I see this small hut. The police station is getting mini!!! The roof is just like their hats!
Lolz~

When you arrived to Haadyai, you will see lots of these at every traffic corners. So, behave yourself if you are driving or else they will chase you down with their motorbikes. No kidding! I saw a few of them chasing other people. Cool man having a policeman in every corner.
Mind telling you that they are so dedicated until they work till midnight just only to take care of the roads and traffic. The traffic thingy is quite similar with Malaysia so for those (Malaysians) who want to take an experience to drive around Haadyai, put your worries aside. Just an advice that you need to get a GPS to guide you because they have lots of roads and shortcuts, street names which you won't understand and the correct direction of your path.

Motoycycle show rooms are even bigger than car show rooms. For example, like the above Honda.

As usual, when the night strikes, most of the streets are filled with hawkers. Lots of cheap stuffs and goodies to buy and of course, nice and aromatic foods...

Even Islamic Thais...

To buy good and cheap stuffs, you must bargain until you are satisfied with your price. Most of them can speak Mandarin very well so no problem to do it. If you don't, you might miss it because most of the stuffs sold are relatively same price on other sellers. So, get it fast while it last because the thing you want might be a hot cake.

I saw one cute goodies but I miss it when I came back to buy it. Sigh. So, when you see, you buy it! Some of the Haadyai hawkers might force you to buy something, even things you don't want. So, it's your right not to buy them. Just say "No" or "Mai Na Kap (Krup for ladies) to refuse. If they persist, walk away or you just say, "I've bought it already." This method can be used to other occasions too to avoid money wastage.

Since they are a lot of bird nest and shark fin store which sells those expensive dried foods, my mum decided to try them.

First, not to miss is bird nest...

Cost us 500 baht (RM 50)!

Tempting? :)

I'm not sure that it's real or fake because the bird nest seems to me like jelly or raw seaweed (one of the ingredient to make agar). I assume it's fake but part of them are real bird nest. Get cheated!!! ><>

...which was quite bitter. I ordered another cup of ice tea instead of drinking this!

Shark fin stew with onion leaves, bean sprouts and corianders.

Closer shoot of the stew...

This one is real thingy. Can't cheat me because real shark fins are sticked together and rather than seperate in yellow colour. So, for those who attends Chinese wedding party during night time, you guys are having fake shark fin soup because they are not real (mostly).

This dish cost us 500 baht (RM 50) as well... :(

Since that night we haven't ate any rice, we decided to order a side dish (this one is cheaper... :D) and called it as dinner...

Haadyai have lots of these shops and frankly telling you that, those tempting sugar bird nest are mainly fake ones. You can find such thing to eat at small hawker stalls which cost less. Even you eat the same fake thing, it's better than you spend more, right?

Here's another list of tips during the holiday in Thailand:-

1. When you want to change your local money into Baht, check the rates via internet and bank first. Try to find a legal currency changer such as bank and authorized money changer. If you can't, you can pay directly to them (in MYR currency only) because some of them accept it. Certain shops provide money changer but some of them will cheat by charging you a few bucks or giving less money by saying the rate is increased. To avoid this, ask around and get the cheapest one.
2. You might need to bring along things that can cool you down. The usual temperature of Thailand is much higher than Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. So, a bottle of water is essential or you can purchase them in 7 Eleven or restaurants. At the same time, it can cool you down when you eat spicy foods around stalls.
3. In order to know the city more, explore. Don't be too scared and timid. If you get lost, get a map and refer it. Most of the roads have road signs and their names which are stated in Thai and alphabet. If you want to get back to your hotel without travel by your feet, just get into a Tuk tuk and ask them to bring you back!
4. For me, I prefer to travel with my own plans rather than following tour trips which is quite boring and waste money. You can hire a taxi driver as your driver to bring you around the city without hassle including to rural areas but they will charge a fee... If you can walk, it is the best option to save money!

I will continue my stories about my Day 2 on next post!

A bientot!