hello all, I haven't been to songhkla in 15/20 years , I remember the dark side with a few bars & freelancers abound, good restaurants in next street, I was thinking of a few days holiday enjoy the fresh seafood & beaches & nitelife . is it still the same ? or should I stay in chaing mai  ?

thank you for replies.bungalowbill.

It's changed a lot since the offshore oil & gas industry has decreased in scale, and many operations moved north to NST. So those few bars & freelancers you remember have largely disappeared. Songkhla still has good seafood restaurants and bars, they've done a lot to smarten up the old town and the lake frontage, there are some nice restaurants there. I'm sure it would make a pleasant change from Chiang Mai, Songkhla is a relaxing place to go, but it's not really throbbing with nightlife action (not that I've found).

 

I live in Hat Yai, we only visit Songkhla for the very occasional weekend, and I've not visited since October last year. Maybe a Songkhla resident can give you more up to date information.

I lived in Songkhla for 14 years back in the boom time when the oil & gas personnel were thick on the ground, we had a ball and it was one of the best times of my life. But sadly it's all over now. Since then I've dropped by a couple of times to take a look around, last time was September last year. As Stocky said they have done a few things to the old town, and there's still excellent seafood restaurants, I saw some bars, but all the great old ones - Skillet, Lipstick, Smile, Corner, Parlang - are all gone. So it's kinda quiet again, however, you could still have a good holiday there, maybe split your time equally between Songkhla and HatYai. I didn't go into HatYai last trip but I'm sure you could find some action there.

thanks for the update. I can remember the cosmos bar , offshore bar, met some choice ladies in my day , hence the good memories, yes as you say good alternative when smokey season in cnx, I still might do a reconasense trip , cheers guys.

songhklasid.