THE LAST LUNCH OF THE SOUTHERN THAILAND ROAD TRIP

   24TH NOVEMBER 2024    ~ Before heading to the Immigration Checkpoint in Ban Prakob [Thailand's side] and Durian Burong [Malaysia's side], we had the very last gastronomic adventure in Southern Thailand.

It was another seafood fiesta at Coco One Beach Hotel & Restaurant. I will be missing all the delicious seafood meal [at reasonable prices] in Southern Thailand.

It was time to bid Thailand farewell this time after the 4D3N road trip.

However, there was still one last stop at 7-Eleven in Sakom. The convenient stores were just everywhere.

I guess that should conclude the exciting journey in Thailand. I had to once again thank three friends who had been tirelessly providing us endless information which was very helpful in many ways: Puan Suhana Abdul Jamal and Puan Sharon Taty Mokhtar [UPM TESL Class of 1993 friends] who are residing in Sungai Petani and Changlun respectively, as well as Mr. Asrul Nizam, the seasoned and experienced rider around Thailand.

Thanks also to Mr. Ridwan Wahid and Puan Suhaila Sulang who had invited me to hop into their car for the road trip.

I still have a lot of extra Baht in hand so there is always a possibility to be back again in the future.

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JOINING THE CROWD AT KIM YONG MARKET IN HATYAI

   23RD NOVEMBER 2024    ~ After the big breakfast at Bang Han Restaurant, we went to Kim Yong Market which was actually within walking distance. The 10-minute walk should in a way help the food to be digested better and faster, so we could eat some more later.

First, there were stalls outside the market building which sold all kinds of things. There were already a lot of people that Saturday morning, both locals and foreigners who were mostly Malaysians.

Second, it was the small shops inside the market building. The walking lanes were quite narrow actually so you might easily bumped into someone when you were inside, when walking or just in a stationary position.

Our main mission was to buy the variety of nuts available to take home like pistachio, cashew and walnut. One Grab driver told us that you could get cheaper prices for nuts if you bought them from this place.

I even went into the 7-Eleven store at the market which was just a small one. I did not get what I was looking for though.

We could not stay too long in the market as the next stop in our itinerary list would be Songkhla.

This was my second time at Kim Yong Market [READ HERE] and everything looked just the same.

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GETTING INTO THE SECOND 7-ELEVEN STORE IN PAKBARA

   22ND NOVEMBER 2024    ~ Before leaving Pakbara for Satun, there was this bigger 7-Eleven store than the one that was near the hotel where we were staying. We stopped for a short to see if there was anything that we could buy.

I successfully bought nothing this time - I just had the strong will of not buying anything unless it was essential.

7-Eleven hopping activity was actually one of the items in the itinerary list of the road trip in Southern Thailand. There will be more coming.

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THE FIRST 7-ELEVEN VISIT IN PAKBARA

   21ST NOVEMBER    ~ One of the activities done by Malaysians visiting Thailand was shopping at 7-Eleven convenient stores there. So we jumped onto the bandwagon and entered the first 7-Eleven Store we saw near our hotel.

One of the popular sections was the halal products section.

The reasons for such activities: there were products you could only get in Thailand, or the items were sold at cheaper prices.

I got myself two food items: the [halal] beef burger that was not available in Malaysia and Meiji Banana Milk that was cheaper.

I went back to the store at about 10:30 p.m. to buy this balm as I was experiencing blocked nose that made breathing difficult. And those were all that I bought during my stay there.

There would be other visits to other 7-Eleven stores during our 4-day stay in southern Thailand.

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THE UNPLANNED GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE IN BAYAN LEPAS

   24th NOVEMBER 2024    ~ The stay in Bayan Lepas, Penang, was unplanned. Hence, we had also an unplanned gastronomic adventure.

The chosen restaurant was Kapitan which was near the hotel where we were staying. Thank God for that as I had had enough of Thai food already, after the 4D3N stay.

At 9:00 p.m., the restaurant was still full with customers dining in. The conclusion made is this should be a popular eating place here. Everything cost us about RM90 and I think we could get more delicious food in Hatyai a few days ago with the same amount of money. No wonder Malaysians are flocking into the neighbouring country during weekends, public holidays or school holidays.

There was a 7-Eleven store nearby and I went in with Mr. Ridwan and his daughter.

From the observation, comparatively speaking, I would say 7-Eleven outlets in Thailand were more exciting and entertaining, with variety of products to choose from. No wonder Malaysians flock into these convenient stores to shop when they go visiting.

The 7-Eleven top people should do something, considering we are now receiving stream of tourists into the country. They could make the stores a part of the attractions too, like what they do in Thailand.

[MY HATYAI/SATUN TRIP MAIN PAGE]