Report written by Kataman in ISG forum on Jun 2006

This is just to get you prepared for what you will see and experience here in Hat Yai. I have lived here 3 years now and these are my observations.

HY is a very new city with the bulk of it's growth coming in the last 20 years. It is a crossroads and transportation hub and also a border crossing with Malaysia.

There are many large business's and lots and lots of agricultural projects as well as the largest fishing fleet in the Kingdom, based in Pattani. Most of the business is geared around fish canning, rubber, prawn farms, palm oil, rice production, etc. Actually besides those kinds of business the only other real serious industry is the sex business here.

HY is not like other Thai cities. There are no beer bars. There are only a few soapie's. 90% of all the sex industry works out of karaokes. None are sing a song type places just names and you go only to book a lady or ladies.

There are literally 100's of these around town and they vary from really cheap to very, very high end.

There are very few farang tourists and ex-pats here. Most all tourists are Asian and the bulk of those are Malaysians and Singaporeans. Most of the working girls will never have been with a farang before. Consequently not too many speak much English although from my observations the most beautiful all speak English to some degree. You will have better luck with Hokkein, Mandarin, Malay and Singlish.

HY is really cheap compared to places like Phuket, CM and BKK. You can get a nice hotel room for 400 baht and the best place in town is around 1,400 a night and that is for a suite. Same for the ladies, there are lots of low end brothel type places and SW who charge 300-500 baht S/T and most karaokes are in the 1,200-1,500 L/T range with the fresh ones going for 2,000 L/T.

Booking is generally done early say from 10-11 AM thru about 3 PM. The ladies will be with you until the next morning. The Basic SOP is she comes with you to the hotel for a quick pop and then she either stays there and you go out with your friends or she goes back to the "office" and waits for you to call her to come back for the night and morning pops. Up to you.

There are also plenty of places to pick up ladies at night. There are pubs, discos and nightclubs and most of the karaoke girls not chosen hit these places as freelancers around 10 PM. Then it is 1,000 baht all night for those freelancers, they will ask 2,000 but will take 1,000 and that is the real price.

There are tons of great places to eat and all at very cheap prices. You can get a great meal for 40-80 baht.

The town is flat with high hills outside of town. It is easy to walk around in but most of year it is hot all the time even at night. Motorcycle taxis (20 baht) and tuk tuks (10-20 baht) are everywhere.

The bulk of the population is Thai and Thai/Chinese. Most of the working girls come from the Northwest, either CM or CR regions with a few from Isaan and also there is a good portion from Myanmar and these are mostly in the Channivet area. Since the majority of the customers are Asian they want white skinned ladies and that is where they come from. The Isaan (Northeast) ladies who have darker skin and are favored by farang and so go to Phuket and Samui and Pattaya. There are also quite a few PRC ladies working in various places.

Because it is mostly an Asian customer base that means the service has to be a higher quality here and I generally find that to be the case. One thing I have found here generally speaking is that the younger and more beautiful the girl the worse her service is. They think just because they are young and beautiful they do not have to do anything but lay there. So I have had some with very poor service but 22-28 year olds seem to be awesome almost every single time.

There is very little sight seeing but there are some cool places to go to and have fun. You may have heard that there has been violence in the areas but that is all about 200 KM away much further south from here. There are many Muslims in the area but they are all Thai-Muslims and so much more docile and there has not been any violence of any kind remotely close to here. So if your friends and family are worried then just let them know you are far away from anything bad happening.

HY is 35 KM from the Malaysian border, 25 KM to the Gulf of Thailand and 60 KM to the Indian Ocean. Dinuk and Sadao are close by and directly on the border and another great place for ladies is Betong and that is 200 KM further south. directly on the Malaysian border and about a 3 hour van ride from HY.

There are many areas for karaokes with the top two areas known as SKY (See Kim Yoong) and Channivet. These two areas are relatively close to each other. You can tell the tuk tuk or taxi driver to drop you at either the Daichi Hotel or the Hat Yai Garden Home Hotel and this will put you in the middle of SKY. For Channivet just ask to be dropped at the SK Hotel and you will have many choices and options in this area.

The high end places are SC Heritage Hotel, go at 3 PM, walk in the lobby and go to the 5th floor to room 511, this is the mamasan's room. She is not open for business until 3 PM but try to get there around that time. She has 12-20 ladies and she will call for a "cat walk" and all the available ladies will appear for you to choose. Very, very few of these ladies will go with a farang in fact most times when I take my clients there only 1 or 2 will even consider it. Price is 5,000 baht. This is an acquired taste and not for everyone.

The other high end place I like is Kiss Lounge on the second floor of the Hat Yai Garden Home Hotel. They open at 7 PM and have on most nights about 30-40 ladies. There is a band and singing and also private rooms here. Prices vary and there are usually 3-4 mamasans who will help you decide. Drinks are expensive here so be warned. The lady prices are 2,500 S/T and 3,500 L/T.

There are also many pubs in town with the best being Kiss Channel. Best band and packed with people every night. KC is a bit away from downtown but everyone knows it. There is also the Water Bar out in the same general area but I am not fond of this place. Then there is Pub Row, directly downtown you will find The Pub, then Odean Pub downstairs, then Post Laser Pub, then West Side Pub with another new place just opening across the street from West Side. All these places are within one block of each other downtown. The pubs in town are cheap for food and drinks and no cover charge. There are lots of other places but the ones listed above are the most popular and easiest to get to.

There are a few soapies and brothel type places. Pink Hotel (this is downtown) has a nice soapie on the second floor. Chaophaya 4 out by the Water Bar is the one high end soapie in town. There is also a soapie in SKY called Paradise and is on the second floor. Prices in these places are 1,200-1,300-1,500-1,800 and Chaophaya 4 has some high end ladies for 2,500. All are 90 minutes and the rooms are decent to great (Chaophaya).

The brothel area is almost exactly half way between SKY and Channivet. Atami and Chintana are the two biggest ones and Chintana has the most ladies. Prices are 500-600 S/T in all these places. Rooms are not to nice but service is good.

The most famous disco is Paragon but this is another place I stay from. Band is pretty good and there are tons of freelancers there every night. If you go just be careful. There are a few other discos in town but really Paragon is by far the most famous. Be prepared though as it is quite a ways from downtown, about a 10 minute tuk tuk from downtown. In fact this a whole entertainment complex with a karaoke, restaurant, etc.

There are plenty of SW in fact there is a whole contingent from the Beijing/Dalian area of China who are in town to prey on the elderly Chinese guys who come with their families. These ladies are 500 baht S/T and generally work in pairs and if you bargain you can get them to lower prices to 600-800 total for both ladies. They speak no English at all and a little Thai they really speak only Mandarin. There are also low, low end Thai ladies and the price is 500 baht S/T although during the day most will take 300. There is also a place just beside the Sakol Hotel, a little fruit stand that has ladies, generally 3-5 at any one time. Price is 600 baht S/T and 1,200 baht L/T.

There is also a hotel, Mae Nam Hotel, they have a bar/restaurant that has all PRC ladies and generally have 10-20 on a given night and the price is 3,000 and only one I have ever been with spoke any English at all.

Essentials:

When you get to town go to Lovely Tours for a hotel voucher and any taxi service you might want. 074-232-738, all the tuk tuks know the place and it is right downtown.

There are many good hotels in town. For decent and cheap I like River Inn Hotel, Royal Crown Hotel and Hat Yai Garden Home. For mid-priced I like Sakol Hotel and Sakura Grand View Hotel. My two favorite higher end places are New Season Hotel and Neo Boutique Hotel and if you stay at these two places ask for a suite they are worth it.

Restaurants I like are Hia Kui, 074-351-353 and The Fishing Pond,074-234-872 and then there are tons of sidewalk places that are cheap and good. Also, a place open late, Blue Kiss, 074-357-594, they stay open until 3-4 AM.

The two brothels I like the best are Chintana - 70 Tanratanakorn Road, 074-244-745 and Atami - 69-71 Tanratanakorn Road, 074-243-344 and these are right across the street from each other. Again prices are 500-600 baht.

Mae Nam Hotel, 43/42 Tanratanakorn Road, 074-245-974 is the place with the lovely PRC ladies and the price is 3,000 L/T. Mamasan speaks passable English and as far as I know I am the only farang customer they have ever had.

Channivet karaokes I like are in no particular order, Nok, Red Lady, Nong, Snow White, Pizza, Blue Star, Pizza 2. There is also a big place Sayuri but I have an ongoing problem with the papasan there and so I stay away from there.

SKY is my favorite area and there are many nice ladies here and I do not have a particular favorite place.

Another place I use to really like is OK/Wonderful, 74-357-575, they went way down hill over the past year but have just returned in the last 3 months and are regaining a presence in town again.

Chaophya 4 is the high end soapie, 520Thamanoonvithi Road, 074-262-520. Great rooms and away from downtown, across the street from Water Bar.

Lastly, if you want to get tested for anything the best lab in town is fast and cheap, Hat Yai Labs, 074-354-355. HIV test is 200 baht and takes 2 minutes or less and they do all other tests as well.

Kiss Channel - 074-365-606, 2 Soi 6 Rajindee Road

Kiss Lounge - 74-357-751, in the Hat Yai Garden Home Hotel (second floor), 51/2 Hoimook Road.