Floating Market in Hat Yai Thailand

Hat Yai Floating Market

There is a unique floating market in Hat Yai, Thailand, frequented by many people. Lesser known to international tourists, this exciting place is called the Khong Hae Floating Market or Klonghae Floating Market.

Most Malaysians heading to Hat Yai will likely visit this unique floating food market for an incredible food experience.

You can find many kinds of local Thai food, snacks and drinks sold by local Thai hawkers on little boats that dock by the river here.

Floating Market in Hat Yai Thailand

Visitors buy a bamboo drink from a vendor.

The beauty of the Hat Yai floating market is that the hawkers line up side by side and number about 100 boats at any one time. Each of them sells their own local unique food dish or drinks.

It is recommended that you visit this place at about 6.00 pm, and you can witness these boats that paddle in to set up their floating shop. Once they finish selling their items, they row away with the day's takings.

Food Market in Hatyai
Mobile Karaoke at the Floating Market in Hatyai.

On arrival at the Floating Market here in Hat Yai, the first thing that greeted me was a mobile karaoke station where anyone could sing here for a price of 10 Baht. This was a hit with the locals here, as the music continued throughout my visit.

Klong Hae Floating Market

The Klonghae Floating Market is situated by a river and divided into three sections. A general area where stalls are stationed on land with seating areas and the main boat hawkers are stationed by the river and across the bridge on the ground.

While the tourists will flock to the riverside for the fantastic experience of buying food from the floating food boats, the locals mostly hang out at the main bazaar area. There are places to sit and eat here.

Most visitors will easily spend 30 to 45 minutes by the riverside, walking from boat to boat. This is a must-do as so many different types of food are being sold here.

After buying your food and drinks, you can either stand and eat or move to the seated area in the food bazaar area.

Hat Yai Floating Market
Customers dealing with boat traders

At the floating market of Hat Yai, almost everything sold here is priced from 20 to 30 Thai Baht per dish. Drinks, desserts, snacks and food are all local Thai delicacies, and they are Halal (Pork Free). So Muslims can eat here as well. Most of the vendors are Thai Muslims too.

On my visit here, I noticed how the boat hawkers went about trading where the sellers would be sitting in their boats; you simply tell them what and how many you want, and they will serve it with a long bamboo stick stretched out to you. Money is then placed at the end of the stick, and a sale is made. 

As this was my first actual floating market visit, I have to admit it was such a great experience, especially trying out the various Southern Thailand food here. Funny enough, 95% of the traders were women here.

There must have been about 80-100 boats selling all sorts of foods while a couple of them sold souvenirs, and it was relatively cheap in terms of tourism standards.

Floating Food Market Hatyai
Freshly grilled prawns on a stick.

Floating Klong Hae Market
Thai noodles with chilli and pickles.

One unique feature was that some boat hawkers sell drinks in custom-made bamboo cups or porcelain containers. I could not help but order one from one of the beautiful ladies.

A long bamboo about 12 inches long was cleaned and had a rope secured at the top for you to hold. The choice of orange or lemon was served inside, and you could carry it around the floating market.

Floating Market in Hat Yai Photos

Hat Yai Klong Hae
Thai-style dim sum.

Floating Food Market in Thailand
Prawn cakes cut into calamari style.

Thai Noodles Hat Yai
Various Thai noodles are found here.

Klonghae Floating Market Photos
Chicken Briyani Thai style was very different and exciting.

Food at Klong Hae Floating Market
Selection of Thai snacks and food bought there.

Food in Hat Yai
Thai spicy seafood soup noodles in coconut.

Klong Hae Market
Boat hawkers with signs.

Fish Cakes Klong Hae Floating Market
Thai fish cakes are my personal favourite here.

Klong Hae Floating Market Hat Yai
The main food market at Klonghae Floating Market.

On the main side of the floating market here, various stalls are permanent fixtures selling all sorts of items, from food, drinks, souvenirs and clothes. There are about 100 stalls here, so you can take your time and browse these stalls.

Some of the items sold here are not found in the floating section of the market, while prices here vary according to what you buy. Interesting souvenirs are mostly found in this market area, which could be great gifts.

If you venture across the bridge to the other side of the Floating Market, cultural shows and other stalls sell various items. It is also a great place to take photos of the Hat Yai floating market, like in the image below. 

Klong Hae Floating Market
Floating Market in Hat Yai Thailand

Again, this was a totally unexpected surprise for me as I assumed it was a simple floating market, but I was very impressed with the overall layout and selections here. This is totally different if you have been to other floating markets in Bangkok.

This place is also unspoiled by modernization, where you see how the locals trade here. I have my thanks going out to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for this trip, and I look forward to visiting this fantastic place in future.

For those heading up to Hat Yai from the Malaysia Border, make sure you have time to visit this place. Most tour packages to Hat Yai would also have this package included in the itinerary. 

How to go to the Floating Market in Hat Yai?

To get to the Khong Hae Floating Market or Klonghae Floating Market, you can ask for tour companies or taxis in town. You can even try using Grab or Uber.

This market is located about 4 kilometres from the town of Hat Yai (หาดใหญ่) in the Tambon Klonghae district and is only open from Friday to Sunday - 3.00 pm to 9.00 pm.

Remember the timings as I have heard many cases of tourists visiting the Floating Market on weekdays only to be turned away.

Conclusion

You can follow Malaysia Asia on Facebook as I have many pictures, links and information on travel around Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Asia.

For those visiting this southern region, usually, you will spend at least three days and two nights here. I also wrote a list of where to go in Hat Yai for those who need more information.

There is also no doubt that the most popular thing to do is to visit the Floating Market in Hat Yai, Thailand.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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