Songkhla

Reg, El and Paul - Songkhla

In of February, 2017 Kate and I visited for a few days with my brother Paul and his wife El in Songkhla Thailand where they run "The Blue Smile Cafe" in the old part of town - a funky little restaurant with great sunset views of Lake Songkhla from the rooftop bar.

We have a photo album of our visit you may want to visit.

Unfortunately El's dad had only recently passed away in Bangkok and she was rightly still very much in mourning. So the restaurant was closed to customers for a few weeks. But we had some sunsets to enjoy from the roof top bar together when she returned during our visit. The restaurant reopened just after we left and seems to be doing very well.

We stayed at the Baan Nai Nakhon, Boutique Hotel, in Old Town Songkhla which was just a short block or so walk away from Paul and El's place. Like the Blue Smile Cafe this was also a funky little place and only recently opened. We had a very nice room -- air conditioned! Breakfast was included and there was a courtyard oasis in which you could enjoy it but usually we'd be up very early and have something with Paul and El instead. One day they insisted we have something and sent a Curry and Roti breakfast with us that we shared with Paul and El. Often times we'd have fresh fruit from the market for breakfast. The Jack Fruit was particularly interesting -- we'd never seen them before. It's an large odd looking lumpy fruit with a stringy yellow inside that you sort of peel apart.

We explored "Old Town Songkhla" where the restaurant is located, the mermaid on the sea shore at Samila beach, several street markets as well as the nearby city market, a hill top view of the city complete with some clever monkeys that mooch peanuts, several Buddhist temples and retreats, a sea side dinner, a drive around the lake and back by ferry boat, and of course enjoyed the sunsets and the company of Paul and El.

But gosh was it hot! The trick we learned was to get up early before it gets too hot, take an afternoon nap and enjoy the cooler evenings. Paul tells us that you need to change your clothes several times a day and take a shower to cool down and wash away the sweat. Especially during the rainy season when it's particularly hot and muggy with rain every day -- I can't imagine what that must be like.

Paul did give me a nice traditional Thai cotton shirt that was much cooler to wear than a T-shirt. They're effective but deem to have fallen out of fashion -- locals wear T-shirts with English/American brands and slogans. We brought them some souvenirs from Canada -- more funky art for the walls of the cafe.

At the Samila Beach seashore we tested the waters the first day with Paul and marvelled that no one was swimming. The water was warm and seemed to be very clean -- fishermen were casting nets right there by the shore. Paul tells us that it's just not the culture of Thai people to swim in the ocean. We weren't aware of any risks (sharks? jelly fish? pollution? strong currents?) that would prevent one from swimming and decided to try it another day. They day we came back to the water with our bathing suits the wind was up and the waves were very rough so we didn't get in at all. I guess that's the one that got away ... Paul tells me he's never been in the ocean in all the time he's been there. And he's a good strong swimmer!

One day we asked Paul and El to take us to a super market (a north american style market rather than a street market) and we visited a Tesco at a local mall. We were after packaged foodie things to take home as souvenirs. We had an interesting lunch at a restaurant in the mall where we cooked our own "Pho". The table has a hot plate with a vegetable broth bubbling away and you order plates of vegetables, noodles, etc. to add to the broth. You cook the vegetables just a bit in the broth. It worked very well and was some fun. Throughout our trip to South East Asia, that style of food made a big impression on us. When we got home we discovered that our local super market carries a "Pho" soup broth and we've been making that a lot with udon noodles, baby bok choy, mushrooms, shrimp and/or tofu, and whatever else is at hand. It's also good practice at using chop sticks and pretty healthy too.

It was good to see my little brother who turned 59 in May and his wife El who keeps him on the right path. Every good Buddhist needs a partner to remind him that "In Peace and Love We Trust" is more than just a slogan.