Day 14, Monday 25 February
Issues…….. With a persistent internet connection problem together with other issues, we determine not to stay a 2nd night at KhiangLe Resort which is essentially just another adult only accommodation. It’s time to head back into the city.
Songkhla Aquarium……..source. Finding ourselves back at the municipal park area, we locate the Songkhla Aquarium. Well, we’re hardly amid a rush for tickets as the place is deserted. That notwithstanding, we proceed to the ticket office where I’m in shock to find the entry fee for foreigners, a whopping 300 baht. Why? The most I’ve paid is 180 at Phuket Aquarium recently. It’s a nono but Katoon makes enquiries and gets me a ticket for 150 baht leaving me to believe that finance directors in Thailand are qualified dreamers. Well, even at 150 baht it needs to be quite good but it takes just 30 minutes to appreciate what they have on display here. It’s good but not special. One of the likely reasons for the price reduction is the ‘swimming with sharks’ session not running at the present time. Perhaps we are just too early.
Songkhla Aquarium was established on September 27, 2008 to be a learning center of aquatic animal biological behavior for youth and the general public, to conserve natural marine and environmental resources, as well as a place of recreation. The aquarium displays various aquatic animals and various exhibitions including fish tunnels; ecosystems exhibits: mountain ranges, freshwater streams, mangroves, beaches, and marine animals; Thai coast; and Marine resources usage. There is a fish feeding show by divers feeding zebra shark, a gigantic, over 3-meter wide marbled stingray, and a giant grouper weighing over 200 kilograms. The aquarium is divided into 4 zones. Zone A consists of freshwater creatures and upstream fish. Zone B consists of brackish water creatures and commercial fish. Zone C consists of saltwater creatures, pet fish, and corals. Lastly is Zone D or Big Tank zone, displaying saltwater creatures such as shark and stingray. There is also a seminar room, a restaurant, and a souvenir shop.
Songkhla Museum……..source. Aware that Monday closures are common for Museums in Thailand I’m hoping the museum will be open today (Tuesday) but no! The museum is closed on the very two days we are in Songkhla and I just don’t plan my trips around museum openings. It’s a pity but we just have to be content with views from the outside of the building. All I can do is to post a link as I cannot review it here.
Old City Wall…….. About the only advantage of making it to the museum is its location near the old city wall. Songkhla City Wall was constructed in the reign of King Rama III. According to the King’s order to establish Songkhla town in a new location, Phaya Wichien Khiri (Tien Seng), the governor of Songkhla, decided to move the town out from Ban Laem Son in Singhanakhon district to Tambon Bo Yang in 1836 causing the construction of the city wall. It took 6 years to build but was repaired and reconstructed a number of times. During the reign of Rama V, parts of the wall were demolished to make way for town expansion, much of the material being used to build local roads. Nowadays, only part of the northern wall remains. The Fine Arts Department registered the Old City Wall as a historic national monument in 1934.
Wat Krang……..source. Our next location is in the old town where we park up. Near the centre of the old town is the temple of Wat Matchimawat, also commonly called Wat Krang. It's one of the oldest and largest temples in the city, thought to be founded 400 years ago, although the large and imposing ubosot was built in the late nineteenth century.
Next to the ubosot to the south is a wiharn used as a dining hall that elegantly combines European and Chinese styles. North of the ubosot is a wiharn now housing a branch of the National Museum. The exhibits include a late sixth century statue of Ganesh, the elephant headed Hindu god, and ceramics from China and Europe, showing the importance of Songkhla as a trading center. The museum is open from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day except on Mondays and Tuesdays as we noted.
The temple's main buildings are in a line on the eastern half of the temple compound. The western half is mostly open grass and gardens. A small brick arcade is labeled as a 'hermitage' off to one corner. Opposite this, set in a small group of buildings, is a tiny ho trai, a sort of library building for the storage of Buddhist texts, which are usually inscribed on palm leaves.
Songkhla Town Walk…….. For the rest of our coverage of the old city, we simply have to walk, reminding us of the old town of Phuket. There are simply too many historic buildings and other attractions in a few blocks. It doesn’t take long to appreciate the history and industry of the old town based on trade. A short lunch break interrupts our walk.
It doesn’t take long to discover street art almost at every corner then there are the heritage buildings which contribute to the history of the town. At the Baan Nakornnai Museum are contemporary photo, paintings and memorabilia relating to royalty and governance of the town: Well worth a look and free. However, the most iconic building in the old town is Hub Ho Hin (Red Rice Mill) a short walk away. This used to be the rice mill and collection of rice by boat from all over the Songkhla Lake. Today this red painted building is more Nang Ngam ‘walking street’ where we see so many heritage buildings from the Sino-Colonial Era. Most of these buildings were occupied by Chinese merchants and understandably this is the centre of their religion with a number of shrines in the area including the City Pillar Shrine itself.
It’s taken an hour and a half to walk around the old town and it certainly could have been longer but recording everything here seems more of a labour of obsession rather that a brief description. We must make some progress and declare out visit to Songkhla, over.
More History…….. As it moves into late afternoon we hit the road, returning over the Tinnasulanonda bridges but immediately we discover more history as there were a series of forts built here at a time when the ancient port city of Satingpra was one of the most important trading centres of the Tambralinga Kingdom. Ruins in the old port area still exist but it’s now too late for us to investigate. We simply stop to take a photo of the ruin of one of the forts.
We now proceed north along highway 408 with about two hours of daylight left. Within that window, there are not too many options to find accommodation in this sparsely populated region. We have to be careful and manage the time.
Maharat Beach…….. Mararat Beach is one option but there is nothing reviewed on Google Map in this area. Arriving at this beach causes even less optimism. Having sampled this type of beach further north, I can declare it to be one of the worst beaches you could imagine. The long sand bar that separates the ocean from the lake has produced a featureless narrow beach that with few resources to tackle the issue is strewn with debris of all kinds. I would prefer not to stay here and head back to the main road to make further progress north. It’s at this point Katoon intervenes.
Khu Khut Waterfowl Park…….. The Khu Khut Waterfowl Park is on the opposite side of the sandbar at least 3 km wide. Katoon just has to investigate while I know that this will likely compromise our accommodation hunting later. At the lake shore there is a parking lot and a number of restaurants designed to wet your appetite with glorious views over the lake but it’s not dinner that attracts Katoon but then the penny drops. At around 5pm are we about to take a boat trip?
I’ve mentioned so many times that opportunity knock for those who look for it. Of course I’ve already sampled wetlands in Phatthalung. Here on the Songkhla side of the lake are there to be more wonderful surprises? Having negotiated a fee of 300 baht, we wait for the long tailed boat for the trip of about 1 hour. It will be almost dark when we return but with a bonus of witnessing a glorious sunset over the mountains to the west.
As we head off onto the lake, it already feels special. This is not the seashore devoid of vegetation. Here it is lush, the water shallow, a natural habitat for salt resisting tree species, grasses, lotus beds and other areas attractive to wetland birds. The boatman is skilled with his navigation often through masses of floating grass and weed but even he manages to get tangled up in one of the many fishing nets deployed in the shallow water. Of course we’ve arrived here to see the wetland species of bird and the abundance and variety does not disappoint. There are so many types of waders, divers, skimmers and more. As the light starts to fade, I expect a return to the shore at every turn but the boatman is more interested in allowing more time to for us to enjoy the experience seemingly eking out the time till sunset. This may prove to be the real climax to this tour. Right after sunset we arrive back at the landing pier totally aware that this was not in the script, in fact not on anyone’s script. How can an attraction like this fall under the radar?
Sathing Phra district is home to the Khu Khut Waterfowl Park. There more than 200 different species of bird, the wildlife refuge sits along the Tha-le Sap Songkhla Lake, Thailand’s largest lake. Covering more than 90,000 acres of beautiful hilly, lakeside and coastal land the park is one of the best places for bird watchers to visit in the country.
Rimhaad Resort…….. It was just bound to happen after the Lord Mayor’s show. Although there is accommodation nearby, it is back to the adult only, short stay types with limited facilities that we have passed over many times. For the next hour, we are passed from pillar to post around narrow streets in the dark only to find ourselves back at Maharat Beach. The only suitable option is Rimhaad Resort. They do a room at 500 baht with limited facilities and I decide to pay for a higher spec with really not much better success. You are clearly paying for the location here. Has anyone told them that the location here is not worth payment in buttons for reasons I’ve already mentioned. Well, the wonderful opportunity we’ve just had has now meant that there will still need to be one more stopover before we reach Bangkok; we still haven’t left Songkhla province yet. Finally we do manage to head back into the town for something to eat but back at the room there’s no internet connection. There will be plenty to keep me occupied when I get back to Bangkok.
Next Page.
Issues…….. With a persistent internet connection problem together with other issues, we determine not to stay a 2nd night at KhiangLe Resort which is essentially just another adult only accommodation. It’s time to head back into the city.
Songkhla Aquarium……..source. Finding ourselves back at the municipal park area, we locate the Songkhla Aquarium. Well, we’re hardly amid a rush for tickets as the place is deserted. That notwithstanding, we proceed to the ticket office where I’m in shock to find the entry fee for foreigners, a whopping 300 baht. Why? The most I’ve paid is 180 at Phuket Aquarium recently. It’s a nono but Katoon makes enquiries and gets me a ticket for 150 baht leaving me to believe that finance directors in Thailand are qualified dreamers. Well, even at 150 baht it needs to be quite good but it takes just 30 minutes to appreciate what they have on display here. It’s good but not special. One of the likely reasons for the price reduction is the ‘swimming with sharks’ session not running at the present time. Perhaps we are just too early.
Songkhla Aquarium was established on September 27, 2008 to be a learning center of aquatic animal biological behavior for youth and the general public, to conserve natural marine and environmental resources, as well as a place of recreation. The aquarium displays various aquatic animals and various exhibitions including fish tunnels; ecosystems exhibits: mountain ranges, freshwater streams, mangroves, beaches, and marine animals; Thai coast; and Marine resources usage. There is a fish feeding show by divers feeding zebra shark, a gigantic, over 3-meter wide marbled stingray, and a giant grouper weighing over 200 kilograms. The aquarium is divided into 4 zones. Zone A consists of freshwater creatures and upstream fish. Zone B consists of brackish water creatures and commercial fish. Zone C consists of saltwater creatures, pet fish, and corals. Lastly is Zone D or Big Tank zone, displaying saltwater creatures such as shark and stingray. There is also a seminar room, a restaurant, and a souvenir shop.
Songkhla Museum……..source. Aware that Monday closures are common for Museums in Thailand I’m hoping the museum will be open today (Tuesday) but no! The museum is closed on the very two days we are in Songkhla and I just don’t plan my trips around museum openings. It’s a pity but we just have to be content with views from the outside of the building. All I can do is to post a link as I cannot review it here.
Old City Wall…….. About the only advantage of making it to the museum is its location near the old city wall. Songkhla City Wall was constructed in the reign of King Rama III. According to the King’s order to establish Songkhla town in a new location, Phaya Wichien Khiri (Tien Seng), the governor of Songkhla, decided to move the town out from Ban Laem Son in Singhanakhon district to Tambon Bo Yang in 1836 causing the construction of the city wall. It took 6 years to build but was repaired and reconstructed a number of times. During the reign of Rama V, parts of the wall were demolished to make way for town expansion, much of the material being used to build local roads. Nowadays, only part of the northern wall remains. The Fine Arts Department registered the Old City Wall as a historic national monument in 1934.
Wat Krang……..source. Our next location is in the old town where we park up. Near the centre of the old town is the temple of Wat Matchimawat, also commonly called Wat Krang. It's one of the oldest and largest temples in the city, thought to be founded 400 years ago, although the large and imposing ubosot was built in the late nineteenth century.
Next to the ubosot to the south is a wiharn used as a dining hall that elegantly combines European and Chinese styles. North of the ubosot is a wiharn now housing a branch of the National Museum. The exhibits include a late sixth century statue of Ganesh, the elephant headed Hindu god, and ceramics from China and Europe, showing the importance of Songkhla as a trading center. The museum is open from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day except on Mondays and Tuesdays as we noted.
The temple's main buildings are in a line on the eastern half of the temple compound. The western half is mostly open grass and gardens. A small brick arcade is labeled as a 'hermitage' off to one corner. Opposite this, set in a small group of buildings, is a tiny ho trai, a sort of library building for the storage of Buddhist texts, which are usually inscribed on palm leaves.
Songkhla Town Walk…….. For the rest of our coverage of the old city, we simply have to walk, reminding us of the old town of Phuket. There are simply too many historic buildings and other attractions in a few blocks. It doesn’t take long to appreciate the history and industry of the old town based on trade. A short lunch break interrupts our walk.
It doesn’t take long to discover street art almost at every corner then there are the heritage buildings which contribute to the history of the town. At the Baan Nakornnai Museum are contemporary photo, paintings and memorabilia relating to royalty and governance of the town: Well worth a look and free. However, the most iconic building in the old town is Hub Ho Hin (Red Rice Mill) a short walk away. This used to be the rice mill and collection of rice by boat from all over the Songkhla Lake. Today this red painted building is more Nang Ngam ‘walking street’ where we see so many heritage buildings from the Sino-Colonial Era. Most of these buildings were occupied by Chinese merchants and understandably this is the centre of their religion with a number of shrines in the area including the City Pillar Shrine itself.
It’s taken an hour and a half to walk around the old town and it certainly could have been longer but recording everything here seems more of a labour of obsession rather that a brief description. We must make some progress and declare out visit to Songkhla, over.
More History…….. As it moves into late afternoon we hit the road, returning over the Tinnasulanonda bridges but immediately we discover more history as there were a series of forts built here at a time when the ancient port city of Satingpra was one of the most important trading centres of the Tambralinga Kingdom. Ruins in the old port area still exist but it’s now too late for us to investigate. We simply stop to take a photo of the ruin of one of the forts.
We now proceed north along highway 408 with about two hours of daylight left. Within that window, there are not too many options to find accommodation in this sparsely populated region. We have to be careful and manage the time.
Maharat Beach…….. Mararat Beach is one option but there is nothing reviewed on Google Map in this area. Arriving at this beach causes even less optimism. Having sampled this type of beach further north, I can declare it to be one of the worst beaches you could imagine. The long sand bar that separates the ocean from the lake has produced a featureless narrow beach that with few resources to tackle the issue is strewn with debris of all kinds. I would prefer not to stay here and head back to the main road to make further progress north. It’s at this point Katoon intervenes.
Khu Khut Waterfowl Park…….. The Khu Khut Waterfowl Park is on the opposite side of the sandbar at least 3 km wide. Katoon just has to investigate while I know that this will likely compromise our accommodation hunting later. At the lake shore there is a parking lot and a number of restaurants designed to wet your appetite with glorious views over the lake but it’s not dinner that attracts Katoon but then the penny drops. At around 5pm are we about to take a boat trip?
I’ve mentioned so many times that opportunity knock for those who look for it. Of course I’ve already sampled wetlands in Phatthalung. Here on the Songkhla side of the lake are there to be more wonderful surprises? Having negotiated a fee of 300 baht, we wait for the long tailed boat for the trip of about 1 hour. It will be almost dark when we return but with a bonus of witnessing a glorious sunset over the mountains to the west.
As we head off onto the lake, it already feels special. This is not the seashore devoid of vegetation. Here it is lush, the water shallow, a natural habitat for salt resisting tree species, grasses, lotus beds and other areas attractive to wetland birds. The boatman is skilled with his navigation often through masses of floating grass and weed but even he manages to get tangled up in one of the many fishing nets deployed in the shallow water. Of course we’ve arrived here to see the wetland species of bird and the abundance and variety does not disappoint. There are so many types of waders, divers, skimmers and more. As the light starts to fade, I expect a return to the shore at every turn but the boatman is more interested in allowing more time to for us to enjoy the experience seemingly eking out the time till sunset. This may prove to be the real climax to this tour. Right after sunset we arrive back at the landing pier totally aware that this was not in the script, in fact not on anyone’s script. How can an attraction like this fall under the radar?
Sathing Phra district is home to the Khu Khut Waterfowl Park. There more than 200 different species of bird, the wildlife refuge sits along the Tha-le Sap Songkhla Lake, Thailand’s largest lake. Covering more than 90,000 acres of beautiful hilly, lakeside and coastal land the park is one of the best places for bird watchers to visit in the country.
Rimhaad Resort…….. It was just bound to happen after the Lord Mayor’s show. Although there is accommodation nearby, it is back to the adult only, short stay types with limited facilities that we have passed over many times. For the next hour, we are passed from pillar to post around narrow streets in the dark only to find ourselves back at Maharat Beach. The only suitable option is Rimhaad Resort. They do a room at 500 baht with limited facilities and I decide to pay for a higher spec with really not much better success. You are clearly paying for the location here. Has anyone told them that the location here is not worth payment in buttons for reasons I’ve already mentioned. Well, the wonderful opportunity we’ve just had has now meant that there will still need to be one more stopover before we reach Bangkok; we still haven’t left Songkhla province yet. Finally we do manage to head back into the town for something to eat but back at the room there’s no internet connection. There will be plenty to keep me occupied when I get back to Bangkok.
Next Page.
(branch of Songkhla National Museum)
