Hua Hin Thailand

 A week at the beach is not a bad transition from Bali to meeting my tour group in Vietnam.  An objective for me was to see what the area would be like for a long stay in the future.  A three hour drive from Bangkok, it is readily accessible.  The place is very spread out, along the water.  There are many huge hotels and condos and of course more being built.  We are in the southern part at a lively condo complex with interesting grounds.

One of the location advantages are the two weekend craft and food markets, both with entertainment. The worst part is making the choice of what to eat - the selection is massive.  Last night’s Pad Thai was delicious. Seafood has to be on tonight’s agenda!

My soup being prepared from scratch

It is a 5 minute walk to the beach which is beautiful - long and packed!  One small problem, the tide seems to be in most of the day so by the time you can sit on it, the sun is gone.  Late afternoon walks are great and the morning sunrise is also very nice.

Tuk tuks and green trucks acting as buses are the major ways to get around.  They are colourful, fast and convenient, at least when they don’t just pass you by.

Riding on the back of a green bus

And you never know what you will see waiting for a bus

There are lots of opportunities for excursions and we managed to squeeze in a few sights.  Visiting the area around the River Kwai was a learning and somber experience.  With the help of the Australian government, two cemeteries that have the graves of over 7500 POWs that were forced to build the Death Railway are very well maintained.

This building is a replica of what the prisoners lived in.

During the visit we had a short long boat ride to see the area and the bridge. 

The day ended with a ride on the train for about an hour back to the bridge.  We certainly saw the new bridge from all angles.

This location is only a couple km away from Myanmar 

The cave for hiding

The Pran Buri Forest was a surprise.  There is a lovely 1 km boardwalk through the mangroves which we were thoroughly enjoying and then we came across the boat ride.  What a treat - we boarded the wooden boats for a ride down the river passing by a small fishing village, seeing birds and even a glimpse of a croc, went under this bridge and wow!  Suddenly we were in the larger fishing village with huge wooden and very colourful fishing boats in varying stages of their life.  It was a great ride!

The croc is there - look closely

Wine in Thailand!  Yes there is a vineyard around Hua Hin called the Monsoon Valley Vineyard.  The main goal in going there was to ride the elephants which are in a sanctuary next door.  Unfortunately they don’t do that any more so it was lunch and wine tasting.  Wine was ok but then maybe I am a bit picky coming from wine country.  Lovely scenery around and setting at the restaurant.

The floating market sounded so interesting but in reality is pretty run down with little open.  It’s a shame as it was probably quite beautiful at one time.  Perhaps a victim of COVID.

Temples, monuments, viewpoints, markets, roosters and oh yes monkeys, lots of monkeys were found in other locations.

Hua Hin train station - just closed last month for the new one 

No idea what this about

Famous monk

Local morning market

Toads and eels

They make a lot of noise on a tin roof

All those spots on the stairs - monkeys

And he was not impressed when the guy tried to get into his car.  We were parked beside and when I got in the driver was saying “close the door quick”

Not a beer but chips!

So will I return for a long stay?  Still not sure.  I have been surprised how little English is spoken here.  Things are very spread out.  Most condos seem to be new but very small but also very cheap - much cheaper than Mexico.   But it is a long flight over!!!