I know it’s already Wednesday in Singapore and I missed yesterday’s {Traveling Tuesdays} posting but somewhere in the world out there, it’s still Tuesday. So in the spirit of ‘better late than never,’ I’m still going ahead to publish this post.
Normally when we think of taking a short trip to Thailand, Bangkok is the first place that comes to mind. While I’m a big fan of Bangkok, it was with great pleasure and surprised that I discovered Hat Yai recently.
Only a short direct flight via Tiger Air (which operates daily), I soon found myself in this Southern Thailand city near the Malaysian border. It was going be a great adventure starting from Hai Yai then taking a road trip across the Thai – Malaysian border into Malaysia and ending up in Penang.
The first tourist attraction we were supposed to visit was the Hat Yai Ice Dome that showcases a seasonal display of ice sculptures created by sculptors from Harbin, China. Unfortunately, it is a seasonal attraction and we just missed the opening dates. This year is their fifth year and would only open on 15 December 2014 till 30th September 2015. If you happen to be in Hat Yai anytime during this period, you can check out the ice sculptures of the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, Mount Fuji, Colosseum, Sphinx. Admission is 300 baht for adults and 200 baht for children.
Since the Hat Yai Ice Dome was a no-go, we headed for the very newly opened Hat Yai Magic Eye 3D Museum instead. Located at 1408 Kanjavanich Road, it is within walking distance from Central Festival Mall. The whole place is fully air-conditioned and makes a great place to come to hide away from the heat or the rain.
The first thing to note is that shoes are not allowed in the building and a free pair of Magic Eye socks is given with each entry ticket.
I’ve had my share of Korean inspired 3D Trick Eye museums experience in both Korea and Singapore so the concept wasn’t entirely new to me. However, this is the only one that had a magic show with assistants and clowns in costumes as well. The short magic shows starts out with a number of easy illusionary tricks but gets more complicated at the end. It’s all in good fun and the children loved it.
The 2nd part of the museum trip is great for budding photographers and those who like to be photographed. With 2 levels of amazing 3D drawings to trick your eyes and your camera lenses, you’ll enjoy interacting with the paintings together with your family and friends.
There are sample photos to teach you how to pose and little arrows on the ground to tell you where would be the best spot for the photographer to be standing at. If all else fails, there are many staffs there who are more than willing to guide you through the process and even help you to take your photos.
In the photo above, I look like I was in an endless hallway but the effect was actually achieved through a clever use of a mirror! I shan’t expose all of their tricks so that you can have fun exploring while you are there. Instead, I will share with you a couple of photos I took there.
Don’t forget to keep your ticket stubs as it can also be used for discounts at their Magic Eye cafe.
Magic Eye 3d Museum
1408 Kanjavanich Road, Hatyai
Songhkla THAILAND 90110
Email: sales@magiceyemuseum.com
Website: www.magiceyemuseum.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/magiceyemuseum
LINE ID: 3dmagiceye
Phone: 074-559-111
I’ll be sharing more about Hat Yai and my road trip down to Kedah and Penang in time to come. Thanks for reading!
PS – This trip was part of a FAM trip organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand and Tourism Malaysia but all opinions are my own. Photos with my watermark belongs to me and any photos without watermarks are courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Singapore Office (Photographer: T. Kavi).
More posts on Hat Yai can be found at:
– Bang Bang in Hat Yai
– Seafood in Hat Yai