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By Mihar Dias November 2025
While Kelantan and Kedah residents spend the weekend wading through murky floodwaters, 1,599 evacuees have found refuge in relief centres. The Vibes
But somewhere across the border, in the neon-lit, tomyum-scented city of Hatyai, another group of Malaysians find themselves in trouble of a very different kind: 4,000 holidaymakers stuck in hotels, staring not at rising water levels… but at their phones, wondering how to explain to their spouses why they’re still in southern Thailand during monsoon season.The Vibes
Because let’s be honest — nobody travels to Hatyai in late November for cultural enlightenment. The 4,000 stranded souls weren’t there studying Thai architecture or researching Buddhist theology. They were there for the more established Malaysian traditions: makan, urut, shopping, and "personal wellness treatments" offered by friendly professionals with flexible schedules.
Now, thanks to floods, many are crafting emergency scripts for their wives back home:
“Sayang, I swear this was a gastric massage.”
“No, dear, my phone wasn’t off… er… it ran out of battery. For three hours.”
“Abang came to Hatyai with the boys only. The photos? No, no, that must be Photoshop.”
“Of course I was going to bring you! Next trip, ya?”
Meanwhile, their wives in Alor Setar and Kota Bharu are scrolling TikTok and seeing videos of flooded Hatyai hotels, silently whispering: Padan muka.
But perhaps the biggest crisis isn’t the floodwater — it’s the ancient proverb echoing through the corridors of these hotels:
“What happens in Hatyai stays in Hatyai.”
Except this time it can’t. Not when you’re stranded, hungry, and sharing a room with your panicked friends who are each rehearsing their own versions of the same excuse.
Back home, real evacuees in Tumpat and Bachok are dealing with power cuts, soaked furniture, and the heartbreaking loss of belongings. In Hatyai, the Malaysian evacuees’ main tragedy is the lack of hot pad thai and unstable hotel WiFi — which is a crisis only because it disrupts their ability to update their alibis.
Let’s give credit where it’s due: the Foreign Ministry has mobilised its consular team heroically — probably the first time in history they’ve had to assist so many Malaysians who technically weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. The Consul-General even reminded travellers to postpone “non-essential” trips.https://newswav.com/A2511_s9phJd?s=A_QULGCNI&language=en
But to Malaysians, Hatyai is never “non-essential.” It is a pilgrimage site for the faithful — the faithful in cheap seafood, the faithful in discounted massages, and the faithful in keeping secrets across international borders.
So as the floodwaters recede and the weekend warriors prepare to return home, let us spare a thought for them. Not for their physical hardship — that was minor.
No, let us pray for their marriages.
Because the real storm begins once they reach the Malaysian border.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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