Day 5: Time to say goodbye to Hatyai

This morning, all of us headed out to have breakfast at the bitter gourd noodle place. Everyone except for Ko-ko enjoyed the breakfast. He thought that the bitter gourd taste was too strong. Mei-mei enjoyed the kuey tiau which is with a chewy texture.

We then headed back to the hotel to shower and then headed out to Big C for our last hurrah. Bought lots of groceries, including coffee, instant noodles, rice, and snacks. 

Went back to the hotel with our tuk-tuk driver (same guy for the past few days), and then packed up.

Playing with the cat

As it was still early, we checked out and crossed the road to a cafe on the opposite side of our hotel. It's called Pewter Tag Pattiserie. The decorations inside is very pretty. 

We went upstairs to have a look. It's very pretty... but very hot!

We had coffee and some cakes to share. 

Of course, Mei-mei had ice-cream!

As Ko-ko did not really eat breakfast, he needed something to tide him over until we reached Penang. So he and daddy headed to the nearby kopi tiam which served Penang food.. and ate lunch there.
Mei-mei and I on the other hand headed back to Jaelek and ordered her last Thai Milk Tea for takeaway. 

Our van driver arrived at 1pm sharp. We loaded our stuff into the van and started our journey back. The driver stopped by a rice shop and we initially didn't want to buy more, but ended up buying some glutinous rice too. 

On our return trip, we used the newly opened Sadao border crossing. Wah.. when we arrived, the queue was so long. And there were only very few counters open. But shortly after that, they quickly opened a few more counters and we cleared immigration on the Thai border within 30 minutes.

We also had to get off the van again this time with all our luggages to clear the Malaysian immigration. This was also done very quickly.

Hopped back into our van and off we go back to Penang. 

Arrived home before 6pm. We're lucky that traffic was good all the way, even crossing the bridge. 

Day 4: Exploring Hatyai and Shopping

This morning daddy and I headed out to his favourite porridge shop. We walked and we walked and we walked.. and then, the shop is no longer there. Sigh.. we can see that many shops were impacted by the floods. 

So we walked back. One of the shops was selling what looked like wan tan mee and the smells were wonderful.. or maybe it's coz my tummy was so hungry. Anyhow, they were not ready to open yet. 

So we gave up and headed back towards the hotel where we had seen (from our research) a shop selling bitter gourd noodles. Wow! It's so yummy. 

Ah Kong and Ah Ma had breakfast at the cafe downstairs from the hotel. This hotel did not have their own restaurant. Then we hopped into the tuk-tuk which brought us to Kim Yong market. We wanted to buy some cashews and snacks from this regular shop which daddy's friend usually frequents. Took us a while to find it. The sellers in the market were kind to point us towards the correct direction. 

Then we hopped into this really tiny and antique tuk-tuk who even had to ask someone on the road for directions to our hotel *sweat*

By the time we got back, you kids were finally up and almost ready to go out. Got this nice driver outside our hotel. We wanted to go to Central Hatyai. But before that we needed lunch. Ko-ko's friend gave another recommendation for boat noodle Chern Lhong Noodles. Ok, sounds good. 

Quite big portions, and not the cheapest. But hey, we're on holiday and it tastes good!

When we were done eating. Daddy texted our driver and he was soon here. Then we arrived in Central Hatyai. 

And they were having a pets fair. Guess who was the most excited:

Then we all went our separate ways to shop. 

We met up at the designated place and time and daddy called the driver again who came to pick us up.

We went home and then the 3 of us headed to Olivers for a massage while Mei-mei and Ah Ma had drinks and cakes. The same driver brought us there and back too. He's daddy's new best friend!

Dinner was at a restaurant just down the road, Jaelek. We asked the front desk to help us book a table. She said we could just walk in, but I explained that we had old folks with us and did not want to have to look for another place in case we could not get a table.

Miang kham

Tomyam soup

Cham Orm Omelette

Green curry

Fish cakes

Kangkung

Tanghoon prawns

Pandan chicken

Dessert

We headed towards the hotel and left Ah Kong and Ah Ma to go up while we headed back to the night market as Mei-mei said that she did not get to drink her frozen coke. The one she got at the night market in Songkhla was not frozen. Ok lo.. so we walked back there again.

After that, Ah Ma called to say that Ah Kong had wanted to go with us to the night market. Ko-ko and daddy decided to walk back and bring him over, and we both walked into this shop selling clickers. This time it's not full at all (it is a Sunday and most people have gone back to Malaysia).

Picking the keys

Worker sticking on the keys

Ended up Ah Kong threw a fit about not wanting to go, so the boys saw us and waited for us to go back together. 

Night walk and drinks

As it was still early, we decided to walk to the Hatyai night market. Ah Ma came with us. It sure was packed as it's the weekend and many Malaysians come in for a weekend getaway.

Managed to buy our mango sticky rice. Then went back to the hotel to keep our stuff. Mei-mei was so happy to discover that the hotel has as "resident cat".

Daddy and I on the other hand went dating. We went to a bar just one road away called Ma Ha Chon Craftbar. They had beers on tap. It's also a backpackers hostel. We spoke to the lady proprietor and her husband also joined us later to have a chat. They told us about how the flood impacted them and what happened when the floods hit. 

They even recommended local gin. Those brewed by small breweries. We bought 3 from them.

Even got to meet their resident cat "Stout":

Day 3: Busy day in Hatyai

Well, we were lucky that our rooms were available when we arrived. So we went straight to our room after enjoying some complimentary tea:

After that, while Ah Kong and Ah Ma relaxed in the room, we all went about with our own plans. 

Ko-ko - headed to the climbing gym which you had discovered had just opened

Daddy - headed to his favourite massage parlor Oliver for his massage

Mei-mei and mummy - walked down the street to a nail parlor to have our nails done

What happened:

Ko-ko: So smart to call for Grab Bike. Got the fright of his life. Claimed to have seen his life flash pass him. Came back via Grab CAR. Ahahaa

Daddy: Ah.. reminded of Grab Bike after Ko-ko mentioned riding a bike. So hopped on one too. Was giddily happy zooming around on the bike. Nearly forgot that his glasses was on top of his head. Would have flown off had he not recalled on time

Mei-mei: First experience with gel nails. But came prepared. Showed the nail technician the desired design

Mummy: Happy I got my nails done

We walked to a nearby shop selling clickers. But it was so full of children (and adults) picking the ornaments. So we gave up. I told you we had other days to try since we're not leaving so soon. Either to come early in the morning on Monday or maybe even try Sunday. So we headed back to the hotel.

We could not decide where to go for dinner. But since everyone was probably tired of Thai food, we decided to try steaks. Found this place "Meats and Beans" which had good rating on Google. Sent them a WhatsApp text but did not receive an answer. Ended up asking the front desk to help us call them and make a reservation. Then they said they were full and then I received a text that we had a table. A bit of confusion, but in the end we managed to get a reservation. 

We got into a tuk-tuk which was parked right outside our hotel. Ah Ma said that she was able to climb on. Everyone helped her up and off we went.

Tuk-tuk ride for the Bans

To our surprise we were given a "private room". Unfortunately, it seems like it was used as a storage room for a long time so there were lots mosquitoes. But the waiter was very good about it and came with a plug in mosquito repellant. 

We placed orders for our food and soon we were served the delicious food. We brought with us the wines we had bought at the border intended for the dinner at Charmed. 

Family photo

We enjoyed the food:

Smoked BBQ Corn Ribs

Steak Tartare

Bone marrow and garlic bread

Extra bread

Sausages

They had a big selection of steaks. We opted for these three:

Evelyn and the cheese balls

After paying for the bill, daddy called the tuk-tuk driver who sent us here. 

Upsy-daisy for Ah Ma into the tuk-tuk: