Our first destination upon reaching Songkhla - a province in southern Thailand, was Samila Beach.
Residing here was one of the more famous landmarks in Songkhla - the bronze Mermaid. On this particular day, tonnes of tourists were waiting in line just to have a picture taken with her.
Legend of the bronze Mermaid:The statue sculpted in 1966 by Jitr Buabus is a consequence of that legend which has since become the symbol of this beach.
According to Thai folklore, a Mermaid appeared on the beach one day, combing her hair with a golden comb.
A passing fisherman caused the frightened Mermaid to leap back into the sea, leaving her golden comb behind.
The fisherman waited at the beach day after day, hoping to return the comb to her, but she never did appear again.
Another symbolic icon of Samila Beach was the Mouse and Cat statue.
Unfortunately, I could not find the statue anywhere on the beach therefore I had to use a borrowed picture. I wished the Thais would put up prominent signs (in English) making it easier for tourists like us to locate them.
I only managed to spot them from a distance while the coach is leaving Samila Beach for the next destination on the itinerary.
Legend of the Mouse and Cat Island:
Legend has it that a dog, a cat and a mouse stole a merchant's magic crystal from a Chinese sampan and tried to swim ashore.
The mouse and cat drowned and turned into two islands known as Koh Nu and Koh Maeo which literally means "Mouse Island" and "Cat Island".
The dog, though managed to make it to shore, died of exhaustion eventually and became the hill called Hin Khao Tang Kuan.
The crystal was totally destroyed and became the white sandy beach called Hat Sai Kaeo which translates as "Crystal Sand Beach".
Prior to this trip, I have done my homework on the to-dos and must-eats.
One of the must-eats that caught my interest was the Coconut Ice Cream most people were raving about.
One of the must-eats that caught my interest was the Coconut Ice Cream most people were raving about.
Needless to say, I made a beeline for the Ice Cream stall at the car park the moment I alighted from the coach.
Various condiments in the ice cream includes Peanuts, Atap Chee, Glutinous Rice and squares of bread
Those must have tasted better.
The Coconut Ice Cream
Why would anyone wanna buy such creepy eggs at the beach? *scratch head*
The waves were quite strong, no wonder there was no one in the waters...
I realised later that there were many more such Ice Cream stalls around Samila Beach (I thought this was the only one). The stall I bought the ice cream from served them in plastic cups whereas the other stalls serve them in coconut shells.
Those must have tasted better.
The Coconut Ice Cream tasted fine but omit the bread and glutinous rice for me next time. Just a personal preference...
This is the reason why I had to 'borrow' the Mermaid photo in the first picture above. I just could not get a proper shot of the Mermaid without having random strangers getting in the view.
The rocks leading up to the Mermaid were quite slippery so be careful lest you slipped and fell flat in front of a crowd!
The rocks leading up to the Mermaid were quite slippery so be careful lest you slipped and fell flat in front of a crowd!
Stay tuned for the next post at Tang Kuan Hill.