hua hin

Hua Hin is a charming little beach town a little over 200km from Krung Thep. Breathing the fresh sea breeze already makes the trip out there worth it, which is good because the beach is just about mediocre. The beach is 5 kilometres long but the sand is not that white and not that clean; the water is decidedly murky. If not for its proximity to Bangkok, I don’t think it would be as popular as it is.

Instead of taking a public bus or train, J and I decided to take the private vans (180B) from Victory Monument. The vans seat 12 people in air-conditioned comfort; they are the quickest way to get to Hua Hin and back. However, the single-minded focus on speed over everything else, including safety, can be a problem. On our way there, we hit a “road under construction” sign and had to stop in the middle of the highway. On our way back, I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. I am sure that the van did not belong to our driver because if it were my car, there’s no way I would have treated it that way!

In Hua Hin, we stayed at quaint and cheap (800B) guesthouse outside of the main town. Its claim to fame was that it was operated by Swedish people, but I didn’t see a single Swede around. The patch of beach closest to our guesthouse was crowded and more than a little bit dirty so we ventured up towards the Marriott hotel. There we pretended to be guests, requested beach towels, swam in their pool and lounged on their beach chairs for the rest of the day. On Sunday, we tried the stunt again. We, or to be exact, J, was caught red-handed and pretty much kicked out of the resort. So we had to content ourselves with a shady patch under a tree whose fruit kept on falling on us. There we shared the puny little towel I brought in case of such an eventuality. Such is the life of poor unpaid interns…

At night, we ventured out into town. First stop were the fresh seafood restaurants close to the fishing pier. We selected a restaurant crowded with locals and ordered a massive seafood platter. Mmmmm…Then off we went to the night bazaar, crowded with locals and foreigners alike. Most of the locals were there for the food stalls offering roti, fruit, stir fry and, yes, Japanese food. The foreigners were there for the fake handbags, fake DVDs and the kind of beach-y attire and “local” souvenirs that are mysteriously found all across Southeast Asia. I suspect that everything is made in one factory in China.

Other activities: I got an excellent Thai massage. I ate a nice Currywurst. I drank good beer. I bought flip-flops. I can’t wait for next weekend!