|
Songkhla
|
| Q |
The Lonely
Planet guidebook says......? |
| A |
The name
Songkhla is derived from Yawi. It's bloody old, 8th century. Lots of
history about muslim traders. The population is a combintion of Thais
Chinese and Malay.
Seafood's nice, but the beaches (Samila and Chalatas) are crap for swimming,
and the lake's polluted.
Slightly westernised from a big influx of multinational oil companies. Then
it gives some five year old outdated information on hotels and bars, in my 2
year old edition anyway. |
| Q |
In general, what are the
pickings like for an EFL teacher? |
| A |
Be around
either May or October time and the pickings are pretty good. Most jobs are
snapped up in this town so be precise in your timing if coming here for
work. Songkhla is considered the education capital of the South, and it
certainly has a large amount of schools, universities, and colleges very
keen to employ foreign teachers. A good EFL teachers salary doesn't really
top more than 30k and averages out to 25k per month on a full-time salary.
Otherwise the hourly rate is between 250-300 baht per hour for part-time
work. |
| Q |
How far from Bangkok or
civilization? |
| A |
It's
950km from Bangkok. About 15 hours journey by bus.
It's 45 minutes from Hatyai
It's 3 hours to the relative civilization of Penang.
It's about 7 hours from KL.
It's 4 hours from Krabi.
It's 5 hours from Koh Samui. |
| Q |
Is there any
entertainment or do you invite friends round for Scrabble? |
| A |
It gets a
bit predictable but there is a good bit of nightlife. The infamous Dark
Side, a string of bars on Sadao Road is the single gentleman's playground.
Some are more full on than others and there are genuine girlfriend and
wife-friendly places such as The Office or The Lodge.
Other good hang outs are The Buzz Stop, Songkhla's only Irish bar. It is
owned by a very entertaining Irishman and it possibly does the best cooked
breakfast in Thailand. Bargirl-free.
Otherwise make your own entertainment by doing a BBQ on the beach with a
bottle of wine etc. |
| Q |
How much to rent a house
or basic apartment? |
| A |
Ranges
from 2,500 baht for a single room plus bathroom with fan to 5,000 baht for a
room with a stunning view and aircon. Houses are unfurnished but a two bed
townhouse I live in costs 5,500 baht. |
| Q |
Shopping malls,
department stores? |
| A |
Nope, but
you only have to travel 45 minutes if you need one. |
| Q |
Internet cafes?
(snail-speed Hotmail default page or fatties playing Ragnarok?) |
| A |
There are
a few big ones that kids use a lot and are noisy as hell, (why can't they
use headphones??), but many bars have a computer which is available for
internet access. Most schools appear to have some form of internet
access.Usually between 20-40 baht per hour.
WARNING avoid big hotels like BP Samila and Pavillion who charge
ridiculously high rates. |
| Q |
Will you be stared at?
and what's the likelihood of a good beating? |
| A |
(i)
You'll be stared at and talked about like a monkey in a cage, though you
won't be THAT unusual as theres quite a few fallangs about.
(ii)Theres very little Thai/Fallang crime in Songkhla though of course petty
crime is not unheard of. It is said that Son Om beach is unsafe to walk
along at night following a high profile murder a few years back. Otherwise
it's a very safe place to live, if you ignore the horrific motorcycle
accident statistics. |
| Q |
Taxis, buses....or horse
and cart? |
| A |
Buses and
minibuses to Hatyai, Pattani and Yala. Taxis are beaten up, gigantic
station wagons and are pricey unless shared, generally used to get to
another town only. Local travel is generally in the form of 4-wheeled
Tuktuks (8-10 baht anywhere in Songkhla) or motorcycle taxis (20 baht, but
have been known to rip newbies off). |
| Q |
Main advantages of living
there? |
| A |
It's a
laidback, pretty seaside town, with lots of work for teachers, and not yet
over-run with backpackers. Excellent seafood and cooked breakfasts. Three
beaches are never more that 10 minutes walk away. Very handy for border
runs with the Sadao Crossing only 1 hour 30 minutes away. |
| Q |
And what are the
downsides? |
| A |
Limited
and predictable nightlife, relatively high rents, and you're not going to
make your fortune here. Also the beaches ain't exactly Koh Phi Phi. |
| Q |
Any local attractions? |
| A |
Samila
Beach is towards the tip of the Peninsula and has the mermaid statue on the
rocks which symbolises Songkhla. There is also the Cat and Rat staue which
fronts Songkhla's two islands Koh Noo and Koh Maew.
The BP Samila Hotel has a nice swimming pool and fitness centre overlooking
the beach which can be used for 80 baht a session or longer term membership
is available.
Just inland from Samila beach is the giant Kao Tang Kuwan hill, known by the
local Farangs as Monkey Mountain. Every evening towards sunset a tribe of
wild monkeys come down and are fed by locals. The hill can be walked up for
free (takes about 10 mins at a good pace), or you can have the privilage of
paying 30 baht for a rather uninspiring elevator ride up. (can take upto 20
minutes after queueing).
The top of the hill has an old Chedi (Pagoda-style structure) and gives an
unparalled panorama view of Songkhla. A restaurant and visitors centre is
still under contruction at the top and should be open within a few months.
Koh Yo is an island sandwiching two giant bridges which cross the inland sea
Thale Sap. Theres the Institute for Southern Thai Studies, a hill-topped
museum, with nice views but the museum is not exactly awe inspiring, and
there are some excellent seafood restaurants on it's east side.
There's a lovely isolated beach resort called Had Kaew just 30
minutes away on the otherside of the lake, decent aircon bungalows are
around 400baht a night. |
