Experience the best of Hat Yai

Hat Yai is the largest city of southern Thailand and the main commercial centre of Songkhla Province, about sixty kilometres from the Malaysian border. It grew up as a railway junction and trading town, and its streets are full of shops, markets and food stalls. Wat Hat Yai Nai, a temple on the western side, has one of the largest reclining Buddhas in Thailand, and Hat Yai Municipal Park has a hilltop view.

The old coastal city of Songkhla, to the east, has Sino-Portuguese shophouses, Samila Beach with its mermaid statue and the broad Songkhla Lake. The Khlong Hae floating market sells snacks from boats and stalls, and waterfalls and rubber plantations fill the hills to the south and west.

Hat Yai fried chicken, crisp and served with fried shallots and sweet chilli sauce, is famous across Thailand, and southern curries, roti with tea and chicken biryani are everywhere. The weather is warm all year. The rains of the north-east monsoon fall hardest from October to January, and February to April is drier.