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. 

Mummy: Happy I got my nails done

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:

Day 3: Bye Songkhla, Hi Hatyai

Well, today is just the 2 of us. So we took a walk to the other porridge place which daddy had found. This time, it's a decent shop with many locals eating here. It's more expensive than yesterday's breakfast and in fact, I think the porridge from yesterday was tastier. 

Porride and pau

Outside of the shop Adisorn Congee

As we walked back, we spotted a cafe and ordered our coffee to go. 

Went back to the hotel to pack up, shower and wait for our ride. We had engaged the driver who picked us for Charmed on Thursday to bring us to Hatyai. But before that, lunch. Yu, we headed back to Joe Delicious again. 

And yes, you played with the cats again:

The shop was much more crowded than the first day. It's a good thing I had booked a table before arriving there. 

Then we hopped back into the car and headed to Hatyai. Look at the sleepy head!

Day 2: Exploring Songkhla Part 2

We rested in the room for a while and then daddy said that we should go try the Thai coconut ice-cream. So asked everyone and everyone were game for the ice-cream. We needed to head back to the old town area and since the oldies are not able to walk (and it was very hot too!), we called the Grab and headed to the first shop. Unfortunately, they had none for the day. Duh!

So we checked Google maps and found one nearby. It was a very old, run down looking shop. Nice to have ice-cream on this hot day!

After that, Ko-ko went back to the hotel with Ah Ma and Ah Kong. The 3 of us continued to wander along Nang Ngam Road. 

You had spotted a few places where you could stamp in your book. This time we passed the tourist information counter and found that they had postcards where you could place your stamps on. So we picked one and went in search of new places which you did not get this morning and to fill up the postcard. 

Took this shortcut to the next road.

More murals:

After all were done, we were near the Red Rice Mill  where the last stamp was. Unfortunately, there was a booth but no stamp. So we called for our Grab from here. 

Ancient wall

Roof of the mill

Headed back for a quick rest before going out again. Wah.. we've been on the Grab non stop. In fact we had the same driver over the days quite a few times.

This time we headed to Samila Beach. Time to say "hi" to the mermaid. 

Mei-mei played in the sea of the Gulf of Thailand. 

Had to buy a bottle of water for her to wash her hands and feet.

Then we headed back to the drop off point to call for a Grab. Ko-ko's asked his friend for dinner place recommendation.

Went back to the Old Town for Chinese food. It was nice. Portions were small so we had many different dishes. Then we called for a Grab to send Ah Ma and Ah Kong back to the hotel. It was the one who brought the 3 of us back from Red Rice Mill. He sure is a blur driver. Luckily he brought them home safely 😅

Then the 4 of us headed to the night market. Walking along the Old Town is very peaceful. It's a pity that there's no night life here. Too quiet. 

Then we spotted another hotel which we had considered. It looks to geli so daddy and I decided not to pick this hotel

Finally bought your elephant pants, wandered around a little more and then headed home to shower and rest. 

We finally found the tuk-tuk. Took a ride back to the hotel. First time for the both of you on a tuk-tuk.

Daddy paying the driver

Day 2: Exploring Songkhla Part 1

This morning we woke up and the 4 of us (sans kids) walked out to have porridge for breakfast. Daddy had round one on Google Maps. We walked and we walked and then.. the shop was closed! In the end, we doubled back to one roadside stall I had noticed on our way down. We ordered the porridge and had coffee with it, sitting at the tiny table right next to the lane. 

Headed back to find that you both were already up and eating breakfast at the hotel as planned. And (not surprisingly) Ah Kong said that he'll be having breakfast there tomorrow! Haha.. he was terrified of the walk along the main road to the porridge place. 

Headed back to the room to shower and get ready for the day. Called 2 Grabs to bring us to the first place in the Old Town, Hub Ho Hin aka Red Rice Mill. Wandered around the mill. There were signs telling us about the history about the mill and Songkhla and the settlement. Unfortunately, the English translation was very limited. 

Then we walked along the road and stopped next door at a boutique (PROP Old Town). They had very nice quality clothing and accessories at reasonable prices. And a good escape from the heat!

Then we continued with a slow walk along the road. This road is not as tight and difficult to walk along as the one we were one yesterday (1 parallel road).

Ah Ma stopped at a shop to buy hats, so the men headed next door for a cold drink.

We also went in to rest our feet and to have a cold drink.

Walked further down the road, enjoying the view along the way and then had our lunch. We picked Cafe Der See which had a reasonable menu. We were not very hungry, so we ordered to share.

Beautiful view of the lake. We can see Koh Yo

Nice, cold beer hit the spot!

Thai fried rice

Pad Thai

After lunch, we walked across the street to Nakhon Nai Museum. It's a little odd museum where entrance was free. It sure was a hot day.

And we're done exploring Nakhonnai Street. Called our Grab (took a long time to arrive as we kept getting cancellations). Headed to the next stop Tang Kuan Hill. Bought our tickets and hopped into the cable car which would bring us to the top of the little hill. 

It's quite a steep climb up:

It was H.O.T. up there! But we had clear blue skies and a spectacular view:

As we waited for the cable car to bring us down, we were debating on whether to go to Samila Beach since it's nearby. But in the end, the heat won and we headed back to the hotel.