02.11.2007 - 24.11.2007 sunny 30 °C
In Hua Hin there are many places of interest. The railway station which is one of the oldest in the country, is considered as one of the most beautiful. We went there to take some photos but I had forgotten to recharge the battery and the camera would not work. So we also missed taking photos of the Luxury Scenic Train which runs from Singapore to Thailand, and which was coming in the station at that moment. Ce la vie. The largest statue of Buddha (Luang Phor Tuad) is at Huay Mongkot temple. Kao Takiap (the chopstick mountain) about 5kms from the city is another place to visit a Buddha temple. If you have time to visit another seaside town, there is Cha-Am, which is about 45kms from Hua Hin and a quieter place. Local bus or tuk-tuk will take you there. Then there is The elephant Village and Wat Eitisukato with a very large statue of sitting Buddha. At a distance of about 70kms. are Pala-U Waterfalls. And the Hua Hin Night Market, a must for every visitor. This market stretches in two long streets and is full of stalls selling fresh Thai food. Satay, Pancakes, noodle soups, Corn on the Cob), fresh fish and seafood and even Beef Steaks.
In this market you can buy leather bags and belts, Thai silk scarves and cushion covers, paintings, wooden carvings and many more things and T-shirts. Every imaginable and most popular designs printed on T-shirts. Bilabong, Rip Curve, Quick Silver and some other brands were most popular. The stalls are run by young Thai girls and boys, very friendly and not at all impatient if you want to bargain. But the prices were cheap. A size S T-shirt for Bht.120, size M for 135-150 and size L or LL for Bht.200. A wide assortment of sizes and styles in ladies' fashion handbags. And almost all women seemed to be buying silk scarves.
Since arriving in Malaysia we had stopped eating in western style restaurants, we preferred to eat at local eateries and even preferred to sit with locals and eat food recommended by them. In Pangkor Island, Penang and in Langkawi we frequented fresh food stalls, even eating standing up. Thai soups, Chicken tandoori and rice, fish head fried with fresh okra and octopus and calamari and prawns, we enjoyed them all.
On arriving in Thailand we kept up the same mode of eating and in Hua Hin also, every evening of our stay there, we went to eat in the Night Market. My wife is very fond of sea food, give her baby clams in white wine and lemon sauce, king prawns in garlic & butter sauce or baby octopus, morning glory or fresh vegetables with bean-curd or chicken in ginger sauce, she will be in heaven. I myself like fried and grilled fish, fish steamed with baby clams, with lemon grass and ginger.grilled and fried calamari, king prawns and oysters. I suppose that living in Spain for so many years taught us how to enjoy food.
In the afternoons, we went to eat at an open air pavilion on Chom Sin road (in front of Fishing Pier). A large open place with tables and chairs setup with some space between each place to distinguish seating arrangement of different owners, it was run by five food stalls, running kitchens on the side of the raised platform. Each served a variety of dishes, Thai fish soup with shrimps and ginger, grilled pork and rice, fried chicken at one stall, next frying rice noodles with bean-sprouts and bits of pork, beef, pork balls in soup, the next one serving grilled honey pork with rice and vegetables. All food was fresh and delicious. The place closes in the afternoon so it is advisable to go before 2 0'clock in the afternoon or after 6 0'clock in the evening. In fact all eating places where they cook fresh food, close in the afternoon.
It was our plan to stay in Hua Hin for two days , my wife wanted to have some tailor made clothes, and then to continue our trip bypassing Bangkok, but we felt so comfortable and welcome that we stayed there for four days. Each night we packed our things and told the friendly receptionist that we will be leaving next morning, but very morning we came out to have breakfast and were greeted by everybody, "good morning" "how are you this morning?", we said to ourselves, one more day and then we leave. We stayed there for four days. Hua Hin and Cha-Am are weekend retreats for many people from Bangkok who leave the hectic life of the big city and come to enjoy the quiet atmosphere of these two places.
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