Murals In Songkhla

It seems you can't be a legit tourist destination without some hip murals dotting your historic area. Old architecture and new artwork seems to be like peanut butter and chocolate.

You gotta get the photo op factor going, it's an Instagram world.

Getting shoe crazy. Getting meta, the painter painted. Whoa.

Double subject mural wrapping a corner.

Slyly including the building window in the mural. The party's over. Corporate infiltration has commenced, the airline Air Asia pretending to be a regular mural. Nice try.

Inspired: a Beatles, traditional Thai figures, money grab mashup.

Wandering Wat Matchimawat In Songkhla

So many Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, so little time. The Thai town of Songkhla boasts many typical monastery examples. Perhaps the trick to a visit lies in seeking out and enjoying unique details.

The Wat Matchimawat complex.

Details, always a touch of gold. Or a drench.

Buddha, relaxed.

Ahh, those details. How about some holy animals? Looking, soo cute, heavenly creatures, indeed.

Stopping for a moment for a monk portrait.

Fooling Around With Photo Ads In Songkhla

Vinyl signs featuring photography are everywhere now, the lovely gift of technology moving forward. Things get silly with a bit of cropping.

A typical sign for a new development. Looks decent, we could imagine living there. It's so clean!

Wait a minute, who are the zombie tenants? What's so uncomfortably funny?

Time for a lunch break. Appetizing. Nope.

More set dressing, hip dogs, hip transportation, all distorted.

It all makes you want to blow your clown brains out.

Taking A Look At Songkhla

What unique things ya got, Songkhla? It's showtime.

Disco stupa at a Buddhist monastery. Rock it.

Military sign out front of a government building, looking a bit like a movie poster for an action film. Night coming on.

Unfinished business at a portrait studio.

A little scared straight with sculptures depicting the hard life on the docks. Fast forward to the cartoony present, a boy in a lungi (cloth skirt) and, um, a bowl on his head?

Exercise stations at a monastery.

The Interesting Photographic Past Of Songkhla

Recently, there was a fun photography show at a nice gallery in Songkhla. The cool place, a.e.y space, did a great job organizing a show of some photography produced at local studios. Sure, weddings, families and big events were covered. And then things got creative.

A case filled with local history.

Artifacts and photographs, a glimpse of local history. The universal practice of preserving time.

Group portraiture, there's only so much of it you can do. How about we have some fun? Pre-Photoshop, time for some curious posing and cut and pasting. How about a husband in a hat?

Receiving and displaying, all silly. And inspired.

Really going for it. What's the theme here? Super carman?

Hitting The Beach In Songkhla, Thailand

Songkhla is a real town on the coast of Southeast Thailand and visiting the beach there is a laid back, local affair. No big resorts, foreign tourists, hippie backpackers. Just families enjoying the coast.

The scene. Serene.

Into the water and a little portrait.

Color coordinated.

Three friends. A bronze mermaid, the main attraction at that section of the beach.

Uh oh it was fun while it lasted, the storm rolling in.

Seeing Songkhla, Thailand

Songkhla is a quaint, beachside town in southern Thailand that features an Old Town section similar to those found in other mid-size Asian cities. Small streets, shophouse architecture, Colonial remnants.

The city is well aware of the tourist potential in preserving the past and playing up the area. Welcome!

The iconic, touches, a weathered building, rickshaw and relaxation. Old wooden architecture.

Escaping to an inner courtyard.

A building waiting for renovation. Old mosque minaret.

Songkhla is also a port city, with still-active docks.

A couple of examples of Old Town building restoration, showing off Colonial and Art Deco designs.

Back at the port, iconic blue fishing boats.