Showing posts with label [Thailand] Hat Yai Wet Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label [Thailand] Hat Yai Wet Market. Show all posts
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Starting a conversation with Thais is really difficult. I can only speak English, Malay and Cantonese. Most of the time, I speak in English. When I asked for directions, 90% of Thais were scratching their heads. Instead of giving me an answer, they will be talking back in Thai language. It was really difficult. Some of them don't even understand what a toilet is. But then again, I am happy to say Thais will go extra mile to help you. On so many occasions, general public or even total strangers help me to flag down a tuk-tuk and asked the drivers to send me to the proper destination. They'll speak in Thai to enable the driver understand my next destination. Fortunately, I have name of places that I want to see in two languages - English and Thai.
Coming Soon Part 4 & 5 of my Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ trip. After that, I'll be publishing posts about my visit to Bangkok. I'm waiting eagerly for these Bangkok posts because the BEST PICTURES will be included in these future posts. Bangkok is really HOT. But, the sunny sky was great - I snapped loads of NICE pictures over there :)

Title: Debone Dried & Salted Fish
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:26am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
These salted fish look fresh and delicious. Fried salted fish is normally eaten with plain white rice.

Title: Chillies & Onions
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 1 September 2009, 10:11am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 180
A close-up shot. Looking at this picture reminds me of Thai curry! YUMMY!

Title: The Bitter/Stink Beans (Petai)
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:16am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
Many thanks to fellow blogger and traveler fufu for identifying the name of this veggie. According to Wikipedia, 'they are best when combined with other strong flavoured foods such as garlic, chile peppers, and dried shrimp, as in "sambal petai" or added to a Thai curry such as Thai Green Curry of Duck.' Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkia_speciosa

Title: A Unique Seller
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:41am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
A lady pedalling ceramic coin boxes - CUTE and brightly coloured! Some of the coin boxes were shaped into little piggies :)
Title: The Man
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:28am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/6.3, ISO Equiv.: 100
I actually asked him to pose for me and hold pieces of salted fish. I captured this moment when the traders were laughing at him.

Title: Tasty Salted Fish
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:27am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 100
Salted fish dried to perfection!

Title: Afterlife Luxury
Location: Somewhere, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 1 September 2009, 10:18am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
Chanced upon a traditional Thai Chinese shop selling incense papers. The picture above shows an interesting geometric flower shaped paper. Incense paper used for ancestor worship comes in several forms; each represents a present for the ancestor's spirit. Paper coloured yellow with a gold foil printed on it represents a gold tael.

Title: Can You Guess What This Is?
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:52am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 180
These are twisted organs in pigs known as intestine! A chunky addition to Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶. According to Wikipedia, the Bak Kut Teh name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours. Additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs.

Title: Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:02am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
I didn't expect to see a street vendor selling grilled sweet potatoes. First time seeing a movable stall selling this wonderful food. There were loads of Thais lining up to buy from her. I should've try it.

Title: Green Veggies & Thai Spices
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 1 September 2009, 10:01am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
I can see bamboo shoots, ginger, red tomatoes, abalone mushroom, onions and 'kunyit'/turmeric.

Title: The Street Vendors
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:20am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
This lady was selling bottles and packets of lime juice. Plates of groceries were place on top of the plastic baskets.

Title: Busy & Jam-Packed With People
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 1 September 2009, 9:54am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 110
The road is wide. But, the morning traffic was insane. The road was jam-packed with crowds going to work or buying groceries.
Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ - Getting There To/From Malaysia:
Train:
Hat Yai is on the southern line connecting Bangkok to Butterworth and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
To/from Malaysia: The State Railways of Thailand's International Express leaves Hat Yai for Butterworth near Penang daily at 05:50, going via Padang Besar. In the other direction, trains leave Butterworth at 13:15 and arrive in Hat Yai at 17:30. The train then continues to Bangkok. Refer to official website for latest fares and timetable:
http://www.railway.co.th/english/index.asp
The Senandung Langkawi operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malaysian Railways) departs Hat Yai for Kuala Lumpur daily at 14:50, arriving at KL Sentral at 07:36 the next day. Trains from Kuala Lumpur depart at 20:45 and arrive in Hat Yai at 10:20 the next day. The Senandung Langkawi goes via Butterworth and Padang Besar. Please note that Malaysian time is one hour ahead of Thai time. If it is noon in Thailand, it is 13:00 in Malaysia. Refer to official website for latest fares and timetable:
http://www.ktmb.com.my/
Bus:
KL to Hat Yai:
a) Konsortium Bas Express Semenanjung http://www.kbes.com.my/
b) Sri Maju Group http://www.srimaju.com/
It's a 9 hours journey including border checking and visa processing.
Read more about bus trip from Puduraya KL to Hat Yai, Thailand:
http://tinyurl.com/q37fhj
Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ - Recommended Accommodation:
Louise Guesthouse (near Robinson Shopping Plaza & Facing Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ Rail Station)
21-23 Thamnoon Vithi Rd., Hatyai Songkhla 90110 Tel. 074-220966
Read travelers' reviews from travelfish.org - http://tinyurl.com/nv2r4g
Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ - Read More:
a) http://wikitravel.org/en/Hat_Yai
b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat_Yai
c) http://www.hatyaicity.go.th/
Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ Wet Markets - Google Maps:
Note: The two largest wet markets are located in Montri 1 & 2. Click 'zoom here' for a close-up view.
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I have so many photos to process! By far, I only managed to deal with 10% of the photos. Mostly, pictures from Hat Yai market at Saeng Arthit Road, Suphasanrangsan Road and Montri 1 & 2 Road.
Looking back, I really miss the wet markets in Hat Yai หาดใหญ่. It is HUGE and simply AMAZING - it encompass several blocks and way bigger than any single market in Malaysia. You can find anything and everything in these markets. From exotic meat to strange looking veggies. By the way, there are so many pork sellers in Hat Yai. The Thai and Muslim traders are able to blend harmoniously. I was truly amazed to see Thai Buddhist and Thai Muslim working side by side selling their products...irrespective halal or non-halal. Back here in Malaysia, I hope similar scenarios are visible in near future.
Beside checking out the wet markets, I also explored Wat Hat Yai Nai วัดหาดใหญ่ใน to see the world's third largest reclining Buddha. After that, I walked uphill in Hat Yai Municipal Park สวนสาธารณะเทศบาลเมืองหาดใหญ่ for nearly 2km to explore the Brahman Shrine and see the gigantic statues of King Rama V, Guan Yin and laughing Buddha. This Hat Yai Municipal Park is a hidden gem in Hat Yai. The place is very similar to Kek Lok Si in Penang.
More about Wat Hat Yai Nai and Hat Yai Municipal Park in my future post. I'll be updating at least two more posts about Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ Wet Market.

Title: A Little Bit of Everything
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:25am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 200
A happy trader selling her products next to a building. She was arranging some tamarinds making it more presentable to customers.

Title: Hot and Spicy 'Sup Tulang' (Bone Soup)
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:01am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/6.3, ISO Equiv.: 100
You can buy fresh hot packets of 'sup tulang' from this lady. Each packet contains generous portion of spicy soup and some meaty tulang.
Title: This Is How I Do It
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:01am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/6.3, ISO Equiv.: 100
She was tying packets of 'sup tulang' (bone soup). Look closely, you'll see loads of meaty bones in the packets.

Title: Thailand: Land of Smiles
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 10:03am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/6.3, ISO Equiv.: 100
I asked her permission to take photos of the rambutans She obliged immediately. Surprisingly, she posed candidly for me. NICE! By the way, it was funny....the traders in Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ thought I was a Korean or Japanese :)

Title: Catfish Aunty :)
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:48am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 200
Thai people love to eat catfish. I've explored nearly 90% of the three markets. I saw at least 20 stalls selling catfish. This auntie was slaughtering some catfishes. She has medium to large-sized catfishes. After snapping three pictures in a row, a customer (an old lady) tap on my shoulder and asked to see the pictures through the LCD panel. She gives me thumbs up!! HOORAY!

Title: Fish Balls, Meat Balls & White Taufus
Location: Sheltered Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 1 September 2009, 9:45am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.3, ISO Equiv.: 1000
She was an elderly Thai Buddhist. Look like any typical Malaysian Chinese. I had high respects for her. She is still working to earn a decent income.

Title: Homemade Thai Curry
Location: Sheltered Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:46am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/4.0, ISO Equiv.: 200
13 bowls of homemade Thai curry. Normally, Thais buy small packets of these curry paste as instant ingredients for curry dishes. Thai curry servings are simply delicious. I've tasted Thai pork and beef curry - HOT, TASTY AND AWESOME!

Title: Assorted Veggies
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:36am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 180
I can see salted veggies, pineapples, fungus ears, pumpkins and long beans. You can buy virtually any type of veggies over here.

Title: Piggy Legs Anyone??
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:53am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 180
There were loads of pork seller in Hat Yai หาดใหญ่ wet market. More than 50 stalls!! Pigs here, there and everywhere. The sellers display the pigs openly. In Malaysia, pig sellers normally cover their stall with pieces of newspapers and clothes...silly.

Title: Cockles ALIVE!!!
Location: Wet Market, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 9:45am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.3, ISO Equiv.: 200
These cockles are still alive. The tongue-like red membrane was moving in and out. A tasty ingredients in 炒粿條 - Char Kuey Teow.

Title: My Room
Location: Louise Guest House, Hat Yai หาดใหญ่, Southern Thailand
Date: 2 September 2009, 11:54am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
A view from the window of my room. I'm not sure whether this signboard is related to Louise guest house. The room is clean, simple and comfy.