About

WHAT’S IN A NAME

The Shell Lounge Beach Bar & Cafe was so named in honor of the famed Cockle Shell sculpture that adorns the lovely Hin Kong beachfront.

Throughout time, the cockle – or scallop – shell has enjoyed a meaningful and rich history. Though a relatively common shell, it has been long coveted by many cultures as an invaluable food source or handy drinking vessel, but there is a deeply meditative side to the shell beyond its durable, practical, beautiful exterior.

Some of the more mystical, spiritual beliefs surrounding the cockle shell include it being regarded as an incredibly magical material. Created as a gift of Earth and Sea, they are found in the secret space between these two kingdoms, treasures from an invisible world only to be revealed during the change of tides.

Ancient Celtic myth holds the idea that the rays and ridges of the cockle shell resemble the Sun’s beams converging on the horizon at sunset and for this reason became the emblem for the area of Finisterre, which translates to “end of the earth”.

Though this particular sea shell holds many meanings to many different groups of people, it is perhaps most widely known as the cherished symbol for pilgrims making a spiritual or religious journey on El Camino de Santiago. Since the beginning of the 9th century, people from all different countries, backgrounds, cultures, languages and stations in life would embark on the trek starting at different places across Europe, eventually making their way through northern Spain and finally completing their quest upon arriving to the town of Galicia to enter the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

The cockle shell was precious to the pilgrims as they made passage to their destination – the meat used for sustenance and the shell used for drinking water or wine along the way – but it also became an extremely powerful symbol for the participants of this odyssey. For pilgrims, carrying the shell was a reminder to them that we are all undertaking our own unique journeys, that each person has their own story that is unfolding. That, like the shell itself – having many grooved lines leading from the outer rim to a meeting point at the base – so are we all on different pathways that lead to the same place, to the spirit, the soul, that each of our roads are leading back to each other.

The statue from which we’ve derived our name is said to have been a prominent fixture in the heart of Hin Kong Beach for over 20 years, originally placed there as a wish of prosperity and a hope of a bounty of cockle shells for local fisherman. The splendid figure has endured over time long before The Shell Lounge came into existence, however we could not have chosen a more magnificent emblem to draw inspiration from and have represent us.

Whatever your background may be, whatever path you’ve traversed to get here, it is our deepest wish and dearest hope that your unique journey leads you to us. That – like our namesake – we may have occasion to bestow you with the gifts of good food, great wine, fabulous friendships and magical sunsets to sustain you along the way.

As they say, that is our story. Meet us here at The Shell Lounge and tell us YOURS.