Samila Beach Mermaid

The Golden Mermaid at Samila was placed in 1966, a bronze figure seated on a rock at the northern end of the beach combing her hair, and it comes from a local folk tale about a mermaid who came ashore, was seen by a fisherman, and left her golden hair comb behind. It has been the symbol of Songkhla ever since and appears on provincial material everywhere. The beach behind it is long, backed by casuarina trees, with cat and mouse island offshore and a pair of large cat and mouse sculptures added later along the same shore. Songkhla is an old trading town with a Sino-Portuguese old quarter, a good national museum and a substantial Muslim and Chinese-Thai population, and it sits in the far south of Thailand near the Malaysian border - a region most foreign visitors skip entirely. The beach is used by residents in the evening rather than by tourists.

What you actually see

• The bronze mermaid - on her rock at the northern end of the beach since 1966.
• The casuarina beach - long and shaded, used by Songkhla residents.
• The cat and mouse sculptures - added later along the same shore.
• The town behind - Sino-Portuguese old quarter and the national museum.

When to go

December to April - note that southern Thailand's rains fall October to December, so the season differs from the rest of the country. Evenings are when the beach is used.

Honest expectations

The statue is small and takes ten minutes. The sea here is not for swimming - currents and water quality both. Songkhla is far south and few foreign visitors go; English is limited.

Nearby

Songkhla old town and the national museum are in the centre; Hat Yai is west.