Songkhla for the whole family, with grandma and grandpa in tow

Songkhla in southern Thailand is something of a revelation. Boasting serenity and cornucopia like no other, the southern province is home to street art that rivals the creativity of Singapore or Penang, waterscapes in its kaleidoscopic forms, and proximity to the cradle of curries. With all these hidden gems, Songkhla could keep a multi-generation holiday crew riveted for a whole weekend, maybe even more. Here’s what to do, from Friday to Sunday, when your large family is ready to hit the road.

Friday Afternoon and Evening: Cross to Ranot’s Friday Floating Market via the Songkhla Lake Car Ferry and follow Nakhon Si Thammarat’s (“Nakhon”) curry trail

Before it exhales into the Gulf of Thailand, the Songkhla Lake transports vehicles on a ferry from town to Singhanakorn, a sleepy district on the way to Ranot, where there are hardly any tourists. The nearer floating market to the Old Town is Klong Lae, but proximity to popular Hat Yai has its challenges: floods of tourists hungry for boat noodles have left no room in the boats for locals, who have had to settle for instant noodles.

You won’t find that kind of market gentrification in Ranot’s Floating Market. Here locals flock the market on Friday, starting at 4 pm. Look out for a particularly tasty stall underneath the bridge: two women sell honeycomb and layer cakes glimmering in earth tones. They grow the flavoring pandan themselves (but that’s just the Songkhla standard). It’ll leave the grandparents feeling nostalgic for a time when food had no artificial additives, while younger generations’ eyes will pop when the pandan’s aroma invades their nostrils.

From Ranot, you don’t have to go deep into Nakhon to taste rich, earthy curries. A pit stop, Krua Jai Baan in southern Nakhon, delights even the locals. You might be eating in a six-seater hut, equipped with boxes of tissues to serve you during your sweaty feast of coconut milk soups, red curries, and a umami-centric koong pad sataw (sataw stir-fried with shrimps). Huddled together under the hut, the family meal is as cozy as it gets.

Come into the Old Town at sundown, where you can appreciate the street art. Mature tastes will find fun in details such as in the mural of a woman eating kao yum, an herbal salad, while offering it to a man who reciprocates with a traditional Chinese medicine jar. Audiences who are neurodivergent or have neurodivergent family members will feel particularly seen by a piece of a bright character blossoming amid blooming flowers. “Dedicated to those with autism,” it’s lovingly signed.

Check into Baan Nai Nakhon, a boutique hotel decked out with vintage furniture carefully chosen by its well-traveled owner. If you’re booked elsewhere, you can always grab a meal at Baan Nai Nakhon.
 

Saturday Morning: Feast your other senses in the compact Old Town

Early risers will have plenty to do at the start of the day. At 8 am, at the fan-studded Wat Doi Hae massage center, oscillating floor fans are as colorful as the pants and towels. Don’t forget to look up, the ceiling is equal parts questionable taste and je ne sais quoi: tin ceilings, monochromatic tiles, and floral wallpaper represent the temple’s making.

If the young ones are too young for a squeeze, they have Baan Nai Nakhon to look forward to. Prepare for story time inspired by the boutique hotel’s dreamy blend of old and new. “What is that?” the kids might ask. Be prepared to describe all kinds of retro things, from old-school televisions to barber chairs.

Besides making a killer roti with chicken curry, Baan Nai Nakhon’s owner has a penchant for showering guests with local foods he sources from markets, including the donut-like kanom pada: a surprising concoction of banana-shrimp-coconut filling and batter. Be a guest just for these.

A few blocks away, Thailand’s largest natural lake, the Songkhla Lake, looks like the Zurichsee from some of the entrances. You’ll be whacked with the smell of salt and burning questions of why you had never heard of this lake that is so large and clean (and the source of many fish you’ll be having during your time here).

While walking the streets, you’ll find locals might be plucking plants and harvesting vegetables from dilapidated home lawns. Even in the Old Town, there’s plenty to share.

Sunday Morning: Explore the Sunday Morning Market

On Ramvithi Road on Sunday, from around 7 am, young children will be delighted to know they can eat an insect-devouring plant, the Monkey Cup, while older generations will be wondering why they hadn’t been doing this earlier. Steamed for its tender leaves and stuffed with a blend of sticky rice and coconut milk, the Monkey Cup in the form of kanom maw kao maw kaeng ling is a slightly oversized amuse bouche. Look for a grandmotherly figure selling them, sitting behind heaping stainless steel bowls.

Nearby, watch hawkers shove escaping eels back into sacks. You’ll also notice hawkish regulars accelerate the minute a reputable seller of Crudia chrysantha Schum, or “sataw,” puts one bunch on display on plastic chair. Market-goers snatch this up as if it were free gold. Those in the know also lunge for other delicacies, including kai krob, duck egg emptied of whites and replaced with another egg yolk, salted and steamed, so that it looks like blooming orange backsides. Kai krob is best eaten with curries, so grab some of that, too, before you leave the market or the market leaves you (at noon).

One thing is clear when you visit Songkhla: this isn’t a place where “relaxation” equals yoga retreats, nor is it a place for group tours to come and industrialize what remains as old-town charm. Elevated beyond the stereotypical, Songkhla commands respect to stay this way, and the locals, who live off the land, know that they can sustain themselves fine. It’s we who must knock tenderly at their doors, whether young or old. All generations welcome.

Ready for a trip to Hat Yai? Fly directly to Hat Yai with Thai Airways and Thai Smile Airways.