Hatyai, one of the big cities in Thailand is gaining popularity from paying tourists, backpackers, foreign skilled workers, and even Thai people from the north. When I came here almost 7 years ago, there was not a single taxi. Now, I have noticed the presence of several company-owned taxis. What they had before was solely the tuk-tuk and vans. Currently, a condominium and several residential areas are being constructed and developed. There are major road widening and drainage system construction going on. These are all in response to the growing population, economic growth and flood prevention.
Here I will give you a tour on Hatyai’s well-favored family drive routes.
1. Prince of Songkla Univeristy Lake. Families come here to jog, run, walk, or simply unwind after a day’s work. It is located at the heart of the University. Everybody is welcome to come inside the campus. The University accommodates outsiders who would like to use their basketball, badminton, or tennis courts for free.
2. Hatyai Park. This one is big. It occupies an entire hill. At the foot, you will see the Ice Dome which has a temperature of -15 degrees Celsius, and the vast park with a hanging bridge, a lake, and a hall. The Lantern Festival is always held here every month of February. Thai People also celebrate Loy Krathong here. Krathong is a flower wreath, loy meaning to float. During Loy Krathong Thai people make wreaths made of flowers and have it float in the river.
3. Up on the hill are the Elephant Temple, Chinese Temple, and right on top is a statue of a standing Buddha over-looking the city. They also have a Science observatory wherein one can view the outer space for only 20 baht. At the moment, the Buddha shrine can be accessed directly without going around the hill through a cable car.
4. Songkla Historical Park. It is a 45-minute ride from Hatyai City. It houses the Songkla Museum. Beautifullandscapes, architectural sculptures, Mangrove reserves, and a lake where one can view the magnificent sunset. This is also popular to wedding photographers as the view is picture perfect.
5. Samila Beach is where the Songkla Mermaid Statue is found. It is very famous to local tourists, as it is a nice subject for family picture taking and for professional photography. Samila Beach is an ideal place for kids to swim. The water is calm. And when the stomach starts growling, there are wide variety of restaurants to choose from. In recent years Samila’s Sheep Farm has been the go to for seminars and other academic related extracurricular activities.
5. Songkla Beach. The long stretch of white sand is a favorite hang out for friends, lovers, and families alike. Aside from swimming, there are a lot of activities to engage in like figurine painting, kite surfing, jogging, and banana boating. This is also where the International Volleyball games are always held. Most locals and tourists alike come here to just chill out and enjoy the fresh sea breeze.
6. Tangkuan Hill. It is known for its monkeys. People come to feed them at the foot of the hill. On top is Tangkuan Hill Shrine, which is accessible through a cable car. It provides a scenic view of the entire Songkla district.
7. Songkla Zoo is unlike any zoo in the Philippines. This zoo occupies an entire mountain. It is impossible to roam the entire zoo the whole day by foot. They offer a tour around the zoo. They also have buggy cars for rent, 200 baht for an hour. Songkla zoo also has a wide swimming pool, they call Waterworld. It also has a camping area, for a complete outdoor experience. Visitors are allowed to bring their own food, free of charge or they can dine in in their restaurant.
8. Songkla Aquarium houses diverse kinds of fish from seahorses to sharks. The visitors can witness the fish feeding on a scheduled time at their show hall. At the end of the tunnel, there are souvenir shops. At the parking area of the aquarium, other activities are held such as car racing and motor/car exhibits. This is one of families precious weekend go to places.
If you will come and visit Hatyai Songkla, which of these places would make into your bucket list?
Feel free to leave your creative responses or comments on the comment section below. ^_^
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Hatyai..gifted city by nature. Thailand trip is much better than any other countries even with respect to budgets. My future trip definitely include this beautiful place.
Wow. So many places to see in Thailand. I’ll check them out when I go there next year.
I can help you with other places that you might want to go to aside from those listed in the post, feel free to get in touch with me.
I really admire families on the go and keeping the memories with them…that;s one way I suggest to improve and live life.
My friends and I are planning to fly back to Thailand and it’s amazing i get to read all this. Will sure to let them know of this side of Thailand.
Thailand is love!! Like their rich culture and history.. the zoo is so awesome!
I dreamed of visiting Thailand someday to see those magnificent temples and Buddhas but got to go to Singapore first which is my top priority! 🙂
you are blessed to have traveled alot with your family. This summer I plan to spend more times with them. I’m so toxic with work these days
Wow, how nice! The place looks so peaceful 🙂 The pictures are stunning.
Very nice photos! 🙂
I hope you have enlarged it a bit.
These are indeed nice places to visit! I hope in due time I can go there and tour around 🙂
One of the best ways to build relationship with you family is travel. Kudos to your family! 🙂
WOW! Hatyai is a nice place to visit. Hope I can go to this place and bring my kids and have some fun here and at the same time learn another culture and traditions.
Amazing post! eight beautiful places during your experience in Thailand..You and your family saw Nemo (fish) and Richard Dawkins (tiger) in real life (just kidding)!
Cool places :> I want to go there to with my family … So envy hehe :> Hatyai Park!!!
Have you really been to those places? Wow! for sure you did great bonding with your family. .
Yup, we’ve gone to all of these places. These are all original pictures. We are expats here.
Zoo is my family favorite but if the place is as beautiful as that, we can walk around all day.
That place is really amazing especially the Mermaid statue really exquisite.
These are stunning photos, looks like you really had fun with your driving routes.
putting this on lists next time when we go to thailand!! great place to go! specially i love thailand! xx
It should just be modernized as it can expect a boost in tourism! Nice post. 😉
Great post about potential family drive routes, I also enjoy long drives with friends, family or by myself.
This looks like a lovely city with plenty of things to do there. How far away is it from Bangkok? I’m hoping to visit Thailand again.
Wow! thailand another country that i would like to visit someday.
Love it! Hope to visit this place soon. You think this is part of any guided tours? thx
Hoping to visit Thailand with M and Y next year. 🙂
I definitely want to see the temples, museum, zoo, and the aquarium. I’m pretty sure kids will enjoy these destinations. =)
Those are nice places to visit, you’re so lucky to live in such stunning area.
Just seeing the picture tells that the place is full of life and has wonderful attractions.
Your pictures look amazing! I haven’t been to this side of Thailand