Day 2: “I’m a Traveller, Not a Tourist.”
It was a wet second day.
Our original plan was to head to Hatyai Municipal Park in the morning, but the local tuk-tuk driver advised us not to go there.
There was a chicken-and-duck-talking situation, but he somehow managed to get the message across.
My husband then started Googling what to do, where to go and even how to get to all the places he was Googling.
To which I said:
“You really didn’t plan anything, did you?”
He said:
“I’m a traveller, not a tourist.”
I served him a BIG eye roll.
I sat to the side, people-watching while he did whatever he was doing.
And this is an example of letting go and letting your husband figure things out.
It wasn’t easy, being so used to making decisions on my own. But I’m learning to let go.
I didn’t overthink things. Didn’t try to solve anything. I just breathed.
And for once, I allowed things to be.
So we changed plans.
I bought us raincoats and we went walking.
The rain wasn’t as heavy as it usually is in Malaysia, so it was still doable. So we head to Kim Yong Market.
Kim Yong Market
Kim Yong Market was bustling with people despite the rain.
We saw a very long queue for a halal nasi ayam stall.
The rice must be really good for people to wait in line even in the rain.
Interestingly, the chicken rice here is served with either biryani rice or sticky rice. We are not fans of long queues, especially during rainy weather, so we skipped the stall and continued walking. There were many stalls selling dried squid, assorted nuts, freshly picked flowers, sun-ripened fruits, crisp garden vegetables, and ocean-fresh seafood. and other local sweets.
It was still raining. So I came back on the 4th day to get clearer pictures.
Kim Yong Market seems like your regular everyday farmers’ market, except for the dried food sellers who mainly target tourists. Oh, and don’t forget to haggle! 😉
I’m honestly not a big fan of haggling because… it’s tiring. 😂 pI’ll just walk away if the price is outside my budget.
But here, you’re kind of expected to do at least a little bit of it.
The prices are usually inflated, with the expectation that you’ll negotiate. So don’t be afraid to ask for a better price. Even if you’re not a pro at haggling like me, just give it a try. 😂
You never know—you might actually get a pretty good deal!
Temple Photoshoot
I started getting irritated having to wear a raincoat, and my makeup was starting to smear around my chin thanks to the raincoat.
So instead of walking around the market, I got us a tuk-tuk because there were no cabs around and haggled over the price.
When I say tuk-tuks are expensive, they are really expensive.
150 baht for a one-way ride from the market to Fonrum Shop.
The driver told us there would be no transportation to get back to the hotel, so we needed to hire him for a round trip for 300 baht.
I told him the wait would be long.
He said he was okay with waiting.
We didn’t have any other choice because we didn’t know about Grab yet.
So I agreed.
And off we went to the costume shop.
Risky because of the rain, I know.
But I figured if it continued raining, we would just do an indoor shoot.
Because by God, I was not in the mood for any shopping when I was hot and irritated.
Then we arrived at Fonrum Shop (Address: 141 Roum-Pattana Rd, Kho Hong, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand)
And it really made me happy.
The kaleidoscope of colours from all the costumes.
The air-conditioning.
I felt much better.
I have SO many pictures and videos on my brand-new Hello Kitty Insta360. 🥲
But I made a rookie mistake. I was so tired that, after we came back to the hotel on Day 2, I didn’t transfer the photos and videos to my phone. Then, on Day 3, I accidentally reset the memory card. 😭
I’m still mourning the loss of all those pictures and videos.
No, I didn’t continue using the camera after that. I turned it off immediately and now I’m just waiting until I have some free time to head to the Digital Mall, hoping that the photos and videos can still be salvaged. And yes, I’ve bought a new memory card to use
Luckily, I had hired a professional photographer, and I also have some footage from my phone. So, at least I have some memories from the trip. 🥹
Still… please let there be hope for my Insta360 footage. 🙏😭
Let’s continue…
I’m not picky. I know I look good in warm tones, so I let my husband choose the colour.
Then I let the assistant work her magic and choose my outfit.
I just sat on the sofa like the princess that I am while the assistant brought out the skirts, matching wrap and top.
Meanwhile, the boys tried on jackets and played mix-and-match themselves.
They took longer to get ready than I did.
Once everything was chosen, I just waited for the assistant to assemble the whole outfit on me in a separate room.
Halfway through, two other girls came in to get ready too.
I looked at them.
Gave them a twice-over.
And said to myself:
They look friendly.
So I learnt from them that we could use our Grab app to book rides. But we needed to pay using QR codes or cash — not through in-app payment with GrabPay.
And the rates were much, much cheaper.
So I went to our tuk-tuk driver and asked if he could send us to the temple.
He asked for another 400 baht.
That would make the total 700 baht if I agreed.
After discussing it with my husband and the girls, I told the tuk-tuk driver to go.
He asked for 200 baht because he had already waited for us.
I just paid him.
Husband didn’t agree.
But I told him:
“It’s okay. I’m too happy to fight the tuk-tuk driver. I don’t want to spoil my moment. Let’s just take this as an experience. We’ve had worse.”
So we took a Grab to the temple for only 80 baht one way.
Yeayyyyy!
Way cheaper.
And with air-conditioning too.
Hatyai is hot and humid.
We Aseans prefer air-conditioning.
Yes, thank you.
The girls took a separate Grab because each car only allows up to four passengers.
And we even got to split the photographer’s fee.
Told you.
The girls were friendly and helpful.
For an extra 800 baht, we got 100 photos.
More than enough for the five of us because every photo was intentional.
Not just random snapping away with the camera.
And of course, we also brought our phones and cameras in case that wasn’t enough.
And then…
The rain stopped too!
We were so lucky.
But the cameraman was so kind.
We ended up with 132 photos and a few videos at no extra charge.
And the photographer was such a mood too.
We smiled and laughed throughout the whole session.
And please be prepared to wait patiently for your turn, as Wat Khok Saman Khun is quite a popular photography spot.
As for me, it’s always fun having other girls to take photos with.
The only sad part was finding out that I’m the same age as their mothers.
OMG.
My husband said, “It’s like we’re taking two daughters and a son.”
RUDE. 😂
By the way, here are the awesome photos
And our photographer even made the second part of this video for us!
Just a little tidbit of info: Fonrumshop is Muslim-owned, so they also have inner blouses available for rent at 50 baht. This way, you can match the colour and material of your blouse to your traditional outfit.
Alternatively, you can also buy your own blouse similar to the ones available at the rental shop here. 👇
I would suggest getting them in neutral colours, so they’re easier to match with different outfits.
Click here to get yours.
I definitely recommend getting your own photoshoot done in a traditional local costume. It adds such a sweet memory to your trip, especially when you’re travelling with friends or family. ❤️
Lunch in Costume? Why Not?
Photoshoot done.
And we were famished.
And if tourists stopped us for photos, we could just act like we were the Hatyai ambassadors.
But just as we were leaving the temple, it started raining again.
The girls booked the tuk-tuk using Grab so all of us could ride together. Getting tuk-tuk on Grab is much more reasonable.
And no, this is not a paid advertisement for Grab.
We went for lunch at a Nasi Daging Restaurant on Muslim Street Food at Hatyai Nai ( Address: 1101 หาดใหญ่ Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand) about 6 minutes away from the temple before heading back to the rental shop.
Everything was yummy here (we took lots of videos and photos here, unfortunately they became part of my camera reset incidental 😭)
Their main dishes are duck, chicken and beef.
I had noodles.
The rest of them had rice.
And let me tell you…
The caramel milk here is HEAVENLY.
Muslim Street Food definitely deserves to be explored if we ever come back to Hatyai again.
When we went, it was around lunchtime, and on top of that, it was raining. I’ve seen reviews saying that the street really comes alive in the late afternoon, with more food stalls opening up.
Definitely a place to check out if you want to discover more local halal food and flavours in Hatyai.
Another funny moment happened when we booked our ride back to Fonrum.
The same tuk-tuk driver had accepted our Grab ride.
LOL.
And the same tuk-tuk driver even waited for us at Fonrum.
But poor guy didn’t get us as repeat customers because the girls and we had to part ways at Fonrum.
They wanted to go to Kaysorn, while we wanted to go to the Municipal Park since it was near Fonrum.
And another thing we realised:
The Grab cars here are actually pretty new.
And some of them are cars that would be considered quite expensive back home.
Do rich people here get bored and become Grab drivers for fun?
Or are these cars genuinely cheaper here?
I need answers.
We drove around the Municipal Park, found it a little eerie and quiet, and changed our minds.
It’s okay.
There will be other cable cars for us to try.
So our Grab driver sent us to Hatyai Village nearby.
Hatyai Village has an Adidas outlet, Preem, Uniqlo, Banana IT and a lot of restaurants.
So, of course, we did our ritual of touring the local grocery stores. Look at what we found, Magnum Icecream Cones and they are halal too!
And apparently Netflix has it’s own brand of popcorn.
And then we went into Adidas.
But they didn’t have anything we liked.
Besides, I could get newer launches and cheaper prices on the Adidas app back home.
But Preem was a new experience.
It’s an outlet for recon shoes.
Not just preloved shoes.
And if you follow any of their social media accounts, you’ll get an extra 10% off.
Our son walked out happy with a new pair of Fila shoes.
And Mommy walked out with a lower bank balance.
Everything in one place
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Kaysorn.
If you’ve been to Bali, Kaysorn is basically like Krisna in Bali.
Touristy items at tourist prices.
IYKYK.
But if you prefer the convenience of having everything in one place and don’t mind paying a little extra, why not?
While me, I prefer buying them at the night market for a better price.
We walked back to Lee Garden from Kaysorn because I needed to get my steps in.
The view reminded me of Jonker Walk in Melaka for some reason.
And then…
We stumbled upon the girls again.
Hatyai Street Food
Each of us ordered something different and sampled each other’s food.
That way, we could still try everything without overeating.
And again…
Back to 7-Eleven at Aloha Hotel.
Because apparently, that is our Hatyai headquarters.
We took a breather.
Then we went our separate ways again.
Our hotel was just nearby, while theirs was quite far away.
And that was Day 2.
A day that started with rain, changed plans, involved an overpriced tuk-tuk, a very helpful group of strangers, a surprise photoshoot, 132 photos, several Grab rides, recon shoes, way too many trips to 7-Eleven…
And somehow, absolutely no planning from my husband.
Maybe he really is a traveller, not a tourist.
Maybe.
Still rolling my eyes.
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