Songkhla and Ko Yo: a cultural getaway between land and sea

Songkhla, a city in southern Thailand (population about 75), is located 000 km south of Nakhon Si Thammarat — a city I know well since it's where my wife is from (hence this article) ! — and only 80 km from the Malaysian border. Songkhla and the island of Ko Yo are only about twenty kilometers from Hat Yai, a well-known crossroads for travelers passing between southern Thailand and neighboring Malaysia. Yet, few stop there… sometimes due to lack of time, but I think often due to lack of information.

And that's a shame, because this region has quite a bit to offer. Songkhla is a major port on the east coast of the Malaysian Peninsula, with a bit of a seaside atmosphere. You'll see quite a few tourists there... Malaysians, of course. And the city also has its charm, with its Sino-Portuguese style architecture similar to what you'll find in Phuket town.

But what really attracted me here was its lake and more precisely the island of Ko Yo, a peaceful place between traditions, temples and fish farms.

Ko Yo: the fish farm island

It was by the longest concrete bridge in Thailand, the Tinsulanond Bridge, that we landed on Ko Yo, also spelled Ko Yor. This was the primary reason for my coming to this region. Ko Yo is an island on Songkhla Lake which flows into the sea (which is right next door…).

Its specificity is to have this multitude of fish farming squares distributed near houses on stilts. However, this is not the only specificity of the island, also known for its fruit production (especially a variety of jackfruit, the jampada) and for its hand-woven fabrics.

It was when I saw a rather impressive photo of a view of all these houses and bamboos forming the squares for breeding on the lake that I wanted to see Ko Yo and therefore go to this famous viewpoint... I could go around the island, but it was impossible to find a road going up to any view... except at the museum level but access (even to the car park!) is chargeable, so it put me off all the more because for the cost I had visited most of Ko Yo while looking for this famous access from above...

Restaurant on stilts in Ko Yo.

Before going round in circles we stopped to eat at a restaurant on stilts from the corner. Before setting off again and searching in vain…

Well, because it got to me at the time and since I'm writing the article more calmly, I think I found the famous road that I indicate on the map at the end of the article (in case you ever get lost in the area!), and now I'm telling myself that I should have just zoomed in a bit more on my GPS when I was there... VDM

From this tour of the island, I remember 2 temples.

Wat Phranon Laem Pho

Or how to come across a reclining buddha which shines in the sun all day long. And not a small one at that! The one at Wat Phranon Laem Pho must be over 20m long and 5m wide (impossible to find the info so it's just an estimate, found on a site where curious people ended up there like me).

Reclining Buddha at Wat Phranon Laem Pho.

I was especially surprised not by his size, but by the fact that he was pampering himself with the pill without protection, normally a Buddha worthy of the name has a roof… The crushing heat that day did not prevent us from taking a tour of the property. Time to meet a few monks, dogs and people passing by (Thais) coming to pray.

In addition to the reclining Buddha, you will find a standing Buddha and a seated one, both of much more modest size.

Wat Thai Yo

Yes, well, I know that more than one will smile when reading this name (Taïaut!) but this is where we landed after the other temple. A small temple with buildings that don't look very young. Speaking of young, we will have a chat with some local kids for whom we were (well, especially me) the attraction of the day.

After a few words, they will leave us alone and take us to see the old chedi at the top of the hill, I was hoping to have a viewpoint there, unfortunately blocked by the trees…

Still with the kids, we go to the neighboring quay to admire the view of the island and its central hill, in the area, no beaches on the horizon, but just mangrove, too bad.

Short express tour to Songhkla

For our part, we will be satisfied with the Songkhla main beach, named Samila. Disappointing because it is far from the clichés of the beautiful white sand beach abandoned by tourists. Abandoned, yes we can say that, but suddenly it is a little dirty…

If later I have the opportunity to return to the city, discovering with surprise and appreciating its Sino-Portuguese architecture as one can find in Phuket Town. However, not having a camera at that time, I promised myself to come back to it, and of course, to concoct a little article for you of course.

Samila Beach: sculptures and a mermaid

Near the beach, under the pine trees, you will see a large sculpture of a cat and a rat, a donation to the city by a local artist if I remember what the plaque explained.

But the star of the area is this golden statue of a mermaid ; which is not without recalling that of Copenhagen, also on its rock. This popularity propelled it into symbol of the city of Songkhla.

So much so that we had to wait half an hour before getting a slot to do our series of photos! In the meantime, I was photographing the surroundings and watching people lounging around.

The beach is bordered by pine trees that provide shade for the souvenir sellers and tourists/locals picnicking here, you can ride horses on the beach (well, "ride horses" is a bit of a big word), others are content to gather in groups and watch the horizon, stroll. On the other hand, there are few people in the water, well it must be said that the port is not far away, so swimming level we will avoid ...

To complete the visit

Among the other things that I would have liked to see out of curiosity if I had informed myself a little better beforehand, and we remain in the field of "sculpture, the Great Naga. It is located in the shape of a head and acts as a fountain to the north of the estuary. Its particularity is that it is actually composed of 3 parts to show its grandeur, the second is near the hill of Tang Kuan, the last and 3 km south of the head!

And speaking of hills, here's another point of interest I would have liked to take a look at, Tang Kuan Hill and its pagoda. Reachable via a funicular, fare 30 Baht, otherwise free via the 305 steps, you will then have a view of the city and Songkhla Lake.

Last point, there are the remains of a small fortress (Laem Sai) just behind the provincial police station (no relation to the base). I could mention others like the national museum or the Songkhla zoo but as these are places that in my eyes have less interest (each to their own tastes…), I'll let you find the others by yourself 😉

To help you, I took some of the information for this article on the friend wikitravel.

As mentioned earlier here is the map and because I am a nice guy I have given you all the points of interest, view/no view etc.

With all this, are you thinking about going to Songkhla? Would you like to see more articles on this part of Thailand?