The Bars of Songkhla - Drinking in the Old Town
It's a terrible thing to admit, but one of the things we were very much looking forward to when crossing the Malaysian border into Thailand, was the bars! Georgetown had been fun, with Love Lane (more to come on this in another article later) being great, but we were looking forward to a bottle of Chang in a chilled out Thai bar. Luckily for us, Songkhla would provide the perfect re-introduction to the Thai bar scene.
We’d missed this!
Songkhla is not a major place on the Western tourist trail but is a popular destination on the Thai travel scene. With its street art, historic significance and old shop houses drawing in domestic tourists from all over the country. To cater to the tourists as well as the local crowd, a crop of quirky little bars have sprung up serving craft beers, liquor and food. Here are some of our favourite bars we visited during our brief stay in Songkhla.
Cafe Der See Nakornnok - Location
This cafe/restaurant serves Western and Thai plates with a beautiful veranda stretching out onto Songkhla lake.
We ducked in here for some iced coffees soon after we arrived in Songkhla, but were very tempted by their ice cold beer selection! This would make a great place to watch a sunset, however we saw the sun go down from…
Jellie beer price index: 1 x bottle of small Chang beer cost 75 Baht (£1.76 or $2.16).
Songkhla Lagoon Bar - Location
This small neon laced shop front doubles as an activity centre for canoeing and boat trips on the lake.
We however, were not here for a kayak, but instead for sunset beers. They have a large selection of craft beers as well as the standard Chang/Singha/Leo Thailand favourites. We enjoyed our first Chang of Thailand, lounging on their comfy bean bags watching the sun set behind fishing boats across Songkhla lagoon.
For those interested in a sunset boat trip around the lake, the bar was offering trips for 650 baht. We planned to do a boat trip the next evening, but the weather had other ideas. We’d definitely recommend looking at a sunset cruise as the sun goes down directly over the lagoon.
Jellie beer price index: 1x small bottle of Chang beer cost 60 Baht (£1.41 or $1.73). Not the cheapest, but thoroughly reasonable given the view.
Word of caution, if you are planning on sunset beers apply lots of insect repellent as you’re sitting directly on the lagoon itself and there were quite a few mosquitoes!
Grandpa Never Drunk Alone - Location
Top prize for the name! Grandpa Never Drunk Alone would fit right in amongst the trendiest of bars in London or New York. A tiny one room bar with all of its liquors spread out on the bar top, Grandpa Never Drunk Alone (now GNDA as its name is too long for us to keep typing) served cocktails, craft beer and an impressive gin selection. There is pretty much no room to stand, with all the seats wrapping around the central bottle strewn bar, whilst a projector silently plays old cartoons onto the wall. Neon lights, arty posters and an eclectic mix of decor had us feeling as though we had stepped into an Izakaya in Tokyo.
Jellie beer price index: 1 x bottle of the Muay Thai Chok Dee Pilsner cost 180 Baht (£4.21 or $5.19) per bottle.
This was an expensive bar for craft beer, but if we had been smart it was basically the same price for a handmade cocktail as it was for a bottle of craft beer. We can recommend the Muay Thai Chok Dee Pilsner as it was delicious!
Cafe’ De Roo - Location
Hidden down a low alleyway and never looking (at least from one side) open, we missed out on this hidden gem until our last day.
Depending on which side you enter, you’ll either duck through a low alleyway, or pick your way past a nondescript hotel entrance until you come to a courtyard garden that is half junkyard, half art installation. Seats made out of anything and everything dot around the garden and old Thai signs, disused televisions and painted murals decorate the courtyard walls. The cafe sign itself is mounted on a large disused radar dish in the centre of the garden. The cafe/bar sits on a metal mezzanine level overlooking the garden and its ponds. The cafe serves hot and cold drinks as well as the standard Thai beer selection. They also serve food, but we did not have any so can’t comment on that.
Jellie beer price index: 1 x small bottle of Chang beer cost 60 Baht (£1.41 or $1.73 USD).
Again seems to be standard Songkhla price. Definitely worth it for the ambience plus we got some free snacks to eat alongside our beer!
Harbour at Hub Hoe Hin - Location
Sometimes (okay not very often) it pays to be lured down a dark alleyway.
Following a green and white exit neon sign saying ‘Harbour - Food, Drink & Friends’ we made our way down a narrow, gutter lined alleyway which quickly opened out to what would become our favourite bar in Songkhla. Set in an old, corrugated metal harbour warehouse, on the side of the historic Songkhla Hub Hoe Hin Red Rice Mill, the bar backs directly onto the waters edge. When we visited there was live music every night and even in the rain, this water front bar was a warm and welcoming hub full of friendly people, cheap Chang and delicious food.
Decorated in an eclectic mix of old fishing trinkets, fairy lights and modern art, the Harbour bar was super friendly, relaxed and a great place to spend the evening.
We visited every night we were in Songkhla and had a great time every time. The owners were extremely welcoming, if a little curious as to how we found out about the town of Songkhla.
The locals and other visitors were all great company and extremely accommodating of our terrible Thai! We ate a delicious Pad Krapow and some Thai chicken wings. We were also given a taster of some tuna sashimi and a plate of spicy peanuts for free!
Jellie beer price index: 1 x large bottle of Chang beer cost 80 Baht (£1.87 or $2.31).
The best beer price we found in Songkhla, also our favourite bar. Definitely worth a visit or three!
The view from the Harbour bar - it certainly lives up to its name!
You may notice that all of these recommendations are located within the old town of Songkhla. Our hostel was located slap bang in the middle of the Old Town, and as the weather was raining heavily we didn’t feel like venturing too far in the evenings.
Songkhla is actually quite a large town, and has a couple of other “bar hubs”. Running alongside Songkhla park and stadium and opposite Songkhla’s east coast (next to the Chalatat beach) are a string of party bars/restaurants. We passed these in the day when they were just setting up but we were told they become a very lively party scene after dark. Also between the stadium and the main town along and off the Sai Ngam road are a lot of smaller bars serving the local hotels. Again we didn’t go to these, but passing them in the day they looked fun and all sold the standard Thai beer selection.
Of course there’s more to Songkhla than just its bars, read here to see what else we got up to!
Cheers Songkhla!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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