A short stay in Had Yai

[buksida]

We decided to break the return journey from Langkawi with a night in Had Yai. Once through immigration and customs at Satun we were approached by a driver offering to take us there. Usually I ignore these bandits and head straight out of the terminal, this time though I stopped in my tracks when he offered a price of 700 baht for all four of us. I knew it was a two hour drive so shook his hand and jumped in, apparently he'd just dropped customers off so was going back anyway.

We booked the BP Grand Tower on Agoda and the price at under a grand was great for the newly furbished room.

Had Yai is a shoppers town, populated primarily by Malay and Chinese tourists. While cheaper than Malaysia it couldn't come near Langkawi for prices so we ignored the shops and sought out some local attractions.

Tripadvisor told us about an Ice Dome which was only a couple of kilometers north of town, I'd had enough of the frosty stuff in my lifetime but saw that it would be great for the kids so we rucked up with double layers and tried to find a tuktuk.

This is where the problems began as the taxi bandits in Had Yai made those in Penang look like Saints. The bastards were quoting 700 baht for a ten minute ride, even to a Thai when I insisted Mrs Buksi did the talking before I throttled one of the thieving gits. After about half an hour and several blocks later we finally found one that would take us to the dome and then onto a floating market for 400 baht.

As expected this place was dual priced but I didn't mind the 100 baht extra for the farang since mum and the kids were no longer being charged as foreigners now that we were out of Malaysia. Inside they weren't kidding it was frosty ...

You could only really spend about 45 in there unless you had balls of ice or were a Viking. Lenses started to frost so these shots came out surprisingly well. The kids loved it and I was reminded of why I left my homeland in the first place.

To follow: Had Yai floating market

[PeteC]

That memory and experience will stay with those boys for life. My daughter had her first time in the snow in Japan this year and she's still fixated upon snow and the country.

The only thing missing in your photos is an ice bar serving shots of vodka in glasses made of ice. Believe it or not I think they have a place like that in Pattaya. Pete

[hhfarang]

You could only really spend about 45 in there unless you had balls of ice

I'm going to go live there if they will let me!

[heartofmidlothian]

Air con bills will be quite high! Amazing that you carried hooded jackets while visiting Southern Thailand and Malaysia.

[Dannie Boy]

Air con bills will be quite high! Amazing that you carried hooded jackets while visiting Southern Thailand and Malaysia.

I would imagine that they have the jackets and warm clothing to hire at the place

[Frank La Rue]

You could only really spend about 45 in there unless you had balls of ice

I'm going to go live there if they will let me!

What about getting a job there as an attendant , vodka bartender , tickt sales - whilst you have a house in the vincinity - air conned. It seems from the posts I have read it would aleviate a substancal part of your agony

[buksida]

The coats were provided at the venue.

Here are some shots of the touristy night market we went to after ...

[Big Boy]

That's an interesting market. I've never seen one like that before. Was it only food?

[buksida]

Pretty much, there were usual stalls and trinkets up on the bridge.