> Continued from previous page..
HAT YAI BOUND: Waiting to board a stage train to Hat Yai from Patthalung
All good things must come to an end..
So, there we were.
In a town called Patthalung, some 96km North of Hat Yai.
I woke up at 06:00am and packed up all my stuff in my trusty Ortlieb Frontroller pannier.
Basically, this was my third bicycle trip in Thailand.
We've clocked-in more than 200km on the trip from Hat Yai to Patthalung.
Its time to part and head to where we started..
Yeah, that's it!
The first thing that came in mind, was to find a good place for breakfast.We walked around town and found a market. There, we saw some stall selling packed food. But it wasn't enticing
enough until we discovered a Dim Sum shop on the street leading Thai Hotel.
This was the place which was recommended by Mr SK Yeong, a fellow cyclist back in KL.
We gave it a try and it was pretty decent.
We checked out of the hotel and rode to the train station.
I knew for a fact that bikes can be carried onboard.
Seeing as it is, we don't want to be late as there a train ride from Patthalung to Hat Yai at 10:40am.
This was the debate I had with Roger who was unsure about bringing bikes onto the Thai train.
I told him that sourcing information from the internet is just 60% accurate. The rest is getting ground intel and I knew for a fact that many travelers have taken bikes onto the train - especially in Thailand.
That said, I was willing to risk it with a back-up plan in the offing.
So, we went to the ticketing counter and purchased four tickets for the class 3 seats at 72 baht.
Cheap ass ride and unbeatable value!
I couldn't believe what I saw.
A computer printed sheet of tickets valued at 72 baht (roughly about RM7.30).
I told the guys that the hourly train from Chumpon has wooden seats and a lot of cargo room. This is yet to be confirmed as we waited patiently for the coach to arrive.
Our train arrived a little later than scheduled and the helpful station staff pointed out the last coach.
We loaded the bikes and were shocked to see a brand new motorcycle strapped to the sidewalls.
There were plenty of space to park our bikes. So that said, my suspicion was confirmed.
We placed the bikes next to some cargo materials bound for Hat Yai.
The train ride was roughly about one and a-half hours.
We arrived in Hat Yai around noon and Roger had suggested lunch at a place he was familiar with.
He said there is a noodle stall that serves Koay Teow Lueah (boat koay teow).
I bought the idea lock, stock and barrel and at 30 baht a bowl, one cannot ask for more.
The noodles were really tasty and later, I had a chance to talk to the owner who told me that he used the Isan style
to prepare his noodles.
It was much later that found out from my Thai friend Santi Senarat that blood is mixed into the soup which gave it a
dark appearance.
The Heartbreak Hotel..
Over the past four days, we've had some good luck with our choice of accommodation under RM50 or 500 baht.
In the case of the Emperor Hotel in Hat Yai, it was very clear that one cannot trust the internet entirely.
I found this place through Agoda.com and it turned out that the hotel was a real run down place offering just the
bare minimal.
It looked like a haunted hotel just like a scene out of some Thai horror movie.
The place looked very depressing.
So, I took this with a pinch of salt because it cost only 470 baht including all that fees and stuff charged by
Agoda.com
This was the lowest point in the trip. But we kept our chin up. Our plan was to survive the night, get a couple of
hours of sleep and get the hell out.
Spending the remainder of our time...