Thailand Songkhla and Ko Yo: culture and traditions on the lake shore Southern Provinces, Songkhla, Travel to Thailand 4.8 (6)Songkhla is a city in southern Thailand (75 inhabitants), located 000km south of Nakhon Si Thammarat (a city I know well since that's where my wife is from!) and only 80 km from the border with Malaysia. Songkhla and Ko Yo are only a 25 km from Hat Yai, a place of passage for many tourists going to Malaysia after having visited the south of Thailand (or vice versa), and yet, few stop there, for lack of knowledge.Now that the "introductions" are done, So what is there to see in Songkhla? The city itself is a major port on the east coast of the Malaysian Peninsula and a popular seaside resort for Malaysian families who come here on holiday, but its main attraction for me is its lake and in particular the island of Ko Yo. Summary hide Ko Yo: the fish farm island Wat Phranon Laem Pho Wat Thai Yo Songkhla City Samila Beach: sculptures and a mermaid To complete the visit Ko Yo: the fish farm islandIt 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... VDMFrom this tour of the island, I remember 2 temples.Wat Phranon Laem PhoOr 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 YoYes, 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.Songkhla CityFor 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 mermaidNear 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 visitAmong 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.How to get to Songkhla?From Bangkok: The distance is about 984 km and normally takes 12,5 hours. You can take a 24-seater VIP bus (cost 1 Baht), generally recommended given the distance to be covered. Departure from Bangkok at 125:18. On the way back, departure is at 00:16. Otherwise there are more "local" buses with 45 seats (cost 47 Baht). Departure from Bangkok at 563:08, 00:14 and 30:19. From Songkhla to Bangkok, departure at 00:07, 30:11 and 30:14.From Chumphon: There are buses leaving regularly, cost 290 Baht.From Surat Thani: From where most of you would be travelling there are buses leaving every day at regular intervals, costing 125?.From Nakhon Si Thammarat: same as Surat Thani, regular departure and 125 Bahts each way.From Hat Yai: As it is nearby there is plenty of choice, bus, mini van, tuk tuk or songtaew, average cost of the trip 20 BahtsOnce there or even from Hat Yai, it is easier (and even more economical) to rent a car to get around and visit the surroundings of Songkhla.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? Did you like the article? Vote on the article Note globale 4.8 / 5. Number of votes: 6 No votes yet. Be the first to rate this article! 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