*Video Description*

Hat Yai is the largest town in Songkhla province with lots of commerce and shopping, but little remains of the town's past. Songkhla, the provincial capital, is very different. There isn't as much commerce, but there are many government and education facilities. In addition, there is a genuine old town area in which many of the buildings have been restored to their former glory. Hat Yai has nothing like this and a trip to Songkhla old town makes for a very pleasant change. There has been a long running campaign by some local residents for Songkhla old town to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Songkhla also has a lot of history going back to the time before Thailand was the nation state as we know it now. It never had the same power as Ayuthaya, but at one stage it was a very important place, as was Nakhon Sri Thammarat just to the north.

In this video I'll show you around the old town as well as giving a basic overview of the history.

Note: This video was previously uploaded to my language channel on 10 February 2022. In order to separate different kinds of content I am moving my non-language videos to this channel.

*How I Book Hotels In Thailand And Elsewhere*

Having lived in Thailand since 2003, I have booked many hotels while travelling around the country. Occasionally, I have spent an enormous amount of time trying to find the best deal. However, I almost invariably end up booking through Agoda. Not only are Agoda rates almost always the lowest, but it is a company I have learnt to trust over the years. In 2023 there were stories about another large online hotel Booking company (whose name I won't mention) who failed to pay accommodation hosts and whose customers turned up at hotels to find that they did not have a reservation. I have never had any such problems with Agoda, and the few minor issues I've had have been dealt with efficiently by their customer service representatives.

Agoda is a company I trust and recommend. Use the following link to book your next hotel room!

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Disclaimer. I am an Agoda affiliate and will receive a small commission for any completed bookings that are made through my links. However, I only promote goods and services that I am happy with and use myself.

*Are You Interested In Learning How To Read Basic Thai?*

Being able to read enough basic Thai so that you can negotiate menus and read signs is incredibly useful, and it's not that difficult. It's not like Japanese or Chinese, where you have to remember thousands of characters. Like English, it's just consonants and vowels. Yes, there are more characters than English, but phonetically Thai is a lot more consistent. English vowels and vowel combinations change sound in different words (cough, rough, through, thought, bough, etc). In many ways, Thais is actually easier to learn than English. If you are interested, try the tutorials on my other YouTube channel. With some effort and dedication, you will be able to read quite well after around six months.

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