Hat Yai

Nipat Uthit dim sum, Kim Yong Market, then Songkhla and Samila Beach

Two days covers Hat Yai well. Spend day one on the Nipat Uthit dim sum streets, Kim Yong Market and the municipal park on Kanchanawanit Road, then give day two to Songkhla, a van ride away, for its Sino-Portuguese shophouses on Nakhon Nai Road and sunset on Samila Beach.

Morning one belongs to the old grid. Be at a shophouse cafe on Nipat Uthit 2 or 3 by about 7:30, when the dim sum trays are fullest and the coffee comes thick and sweet. Walk it off along the three parallel roads to Kim Yong Market, where stalls sell dried squid, cashews and dried fruit by weight, and stop for noodles nearby at lunch.

In the afternoon, take a metered taxi 6 km out along Kanchanawanit Road to the municipal park. Start at the standing Buddha, Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj, ride the cable car up to the Brahma shrine, then head down to the jade Guanyin at the southern foot of the hill. The park tram covers the gaps until 17:00. Back in town after dark, eat fried chicken with sticky rice and wander one of the night markets.

Day two is for Songkhla. Catch a van in the morning and walk the Sino-Portuguese shophouses on Nakhon Nai Road while the street is still shaded. Eat seafood for lunch, then spend the late afternoon on Samila Beach beside the mermaid statue. If you are back in Hat Yai before dark, Wat Hat Yai Nai and its huge reclining Buddha are a short ride west of the centre.

Hat Yai fried chicken, khao mok gai and Kim Yong snacks

Hat Yai is best known for its own fried chicken, buried in crisp fried shallots and eaten with sticky rice. The city cooks in three styles: Chinese dim sum and coffee at breakfast, Muslim dishes such as khao mok gai and roti, and Thai street food, with Kim Yong Market selling edible souvenirs.

Food is the reason many Malaysians drive up for the weekend, and the city cooks with three accents. Chinese families run the breakfast trade: steamed dim sum, buns and strong coffee in open-fronted shophouses along the Nipat Uthit roads, mostly cleared away by mid-morning. Muslim kitchens turn out the south's Malay-influenced dishes, including roti with curry and khao mok gai, chicken cooked into spiced yellow rice. Thai street cooks fill every gap in between.

The city's own contribution is Hat Yai fried chicken: marinated, fried hard and buried under crisp fried shallots, then eaten with sticky rice. Look for a stall with a heap of shallots on the counter. At morning markets, try khao yam, the southern rice salad of herbs, toasted coconut and a fermented fish dressing.

Kim Yong Market is the place for edible souvenirs: dried squid, cashews and dried fruit. In the malls, chains like MK cook Thai-style sukiyaki at the table, a good retreat on a wet monsoon evening. After dark, the night markets around town set up grills, noodle carts and seafood stalls, and the best plan is to arrive hungry and graze.

Year-round heat and the October to December monsoon floods

Highs stay between 30°C and 35°C all year, and the north-east monsoon makes October to December the wettest stretch, with November averaging about 324 mm and serious floods in heavy years.

Hat Yai never really cools down. Daytime highs run from about 30°C in December to 35°C in April, and nights hold at 22°C to 24°C all year. What changes is the rain. Totals climb through the middle of the year, then the north-east monsoon reaches this side of the peninsula: October averages about 224 mm, November about 324 mm and December about 275 mm. Low-lying streets flood badly in heavy years: on 21 November 2025 about 335 mm fell in a single day, the worst flood in the city's records, so watch the water-level updates if you travel late in the year.

The calendar follows Chinese and Malaysian visitors as much as Thai ones. Chinese New Year, in January or February, brings red lanterns to the shophouse streets and fills the hotels. Songkran in mid-April turns the roads into a water fight. Malaysian school holidays and long weekends push up room rates from Friday to Sunday all year round.

For the easiest trip, come between late January and early April, ideally midweek, on one of the flights from Bangkok to Hat Yai International. In the wet months, base yourself near the malls and keep Songkhla's beach for a dry morning.

Khlong Hae floating market and the Chinese side of Hat Yai

Khlong Hae Floating Market is the easiest extra half-day from Hat Yai. It trades from about 2 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays along a canal in Khlong Hae municipality on the edge of the city, with cooks selling from boats and stalls lining roughly 200 metres of bank.

Locals bill it as the first cultural floating market in the south, and food is the reason to go. Vendors hand bowls and skewers up from their boats to buyers sitting on the steps, while the land stalls fill the gaps with desserts and cold drinks. Arrive late in the afternoon, once the heat eases, and use a metered taxi or Grab both ways. Hours shift on public holidays, so ask at your hotel before setting out.

Back in the centre, Wat Thaworn Wararam shows the city's Chinese roots. It began as a monastery in 1954, follows the Mahayana school and runs its own Chinese language school. For late shopping, the Clock Tower Market (Fresh Market Plaza) on Ratthakarn Road trades 24 hours a day and is known for cheap bags, belts and clothes. Kim Yong Market keeps dry goods on its ground floor and imports from Malaysia and Indonesia upstairs, and prices on both floors are open to bargaining.