Hat Yai
Commercial Hub Of Southern Thailand, Popular With Malaysian And Singaporean Visitors; Travel Advisories Cover Parts Of Songkhla Province · Hat Yai, Songkhla
Hat Yai is the biggest city and the commercial heart of southern Thailand, a busy, modern trading town near the Malaysian border whose shops, markets and restaurants draw large numbers of Malaysian and Singaporean visitors, especially at weekends and on holidays. It grew up around the railway junction in the early twentieth century, and a strong Chinese community shaped its food and commerce: mornings start with dim sum and coffee, and Hat Yai fried chicken with crisp shallots is famous across the country. Kim Yong market, in the centre, is a covered warren of dried seafood, nuts, sweets, spices, fruit and cheap electronics, and night markets sell street food and clothes after dark. The Municipal Park on a hill outside the centre has large Buddhist and Guan Yin statues, and the old port town of Songkhla, with its Sino-Portuguese streets, Samila beach and lake views, is under an hour away. Several governments advise against travel to parts of Songkhla province and the deep south, and Hat Yai has seen bombings in the past; check your government's current advice and your insurance.
Kim Yong Market, Hat Yai, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: Kim Yong market opens from about 8 or 9 am to about 5 or 6 pm daily, with some stalls opening earlier; dim sum shops run from about 5 or 6 am to late morning; night markets open from about 5 or 6 pm to about 10 or 11 pm, some only on certain nights of the week; the Khlong Hae floating market runs on weekend afternoons and evenings. The Municipal Park is open daily from early morning to evening, with the cable car on shorter hours if it runs at all. The Songkhla National Museum commonly closes on Monday and Tuesday. The traps are arriving at dim sum shops after 10 am, heading to a night market on a night it does not operate, visiting Songkhla's museum on a closing day, and being caught out by flood closures in November and December. Confirm current times before relying on them.