April 2018
We wanted to go to a beach close enough to Bangkok with some attractions other than the ocean. Hua Hin seemed to fit the bill. It is 200 km south of Bangkok and the road there was mostly wide lane highway. With 5 of us traveling together, hiring a van/driver seemed a good way to go. Bangkok Taxi Service charged us 4,200 baht($140) for the round trip, the car was comfortable and driver was professional.
Our Airbnb rental was a very spacious 3 bedroom unit in the Dusit Thani Hua Hin condominium and we were able to use the facilities at the Dusit Hotel next door. The resort complex was right on the beach.
The hotel ran a shuttle service(50 baht each way) to Hua Hin town, about 10-15 minutes away. The first night we had dinner at a restaurant on Hua Hin pier. Very touristy and not cheap for Thailand, but that was expected.
Hua Hin(population: 50,000) was a sleepy fishing village till the Thai royals started to build summer palaces in 1920’s, and it is now a thriving beach resort with a sizable expat community. This is a popular weekend getaway spot for Bangkokians.
The next morning we hired a car/driver(2,500 bhat) to go to Sam Roi Yot National Park where the highlight was Phraya Nakhon Cave. The driver was not supposed to be a guide & did not speak a lot of English.
To get there, we were dropped off at a seaside village where we had to jump into the water and walk to a small boat.
The boat ride was about 10-15 minutes and fun.
Once we arrived at the shore, an English speaking guide showed up and collected admission. She said a “student” guide would show us the way. This student turned out to be a 11-12 year old boy who did not speak a word of English. But he did know his way, and he could run up and down the mountain in his flip flops! He seemed bored that he had to stop and wait for us to catch up with him every few minutes. It was an uphill hike for 60-80 minutes – depending on how frequently you had to catch your breath.
Yes, it was totally worth it! Magical!
On the way down, the “student guide” gave up on us and ran down the mountain. It seemed he had total faith that we’d make it back.
Our driver then took us to some other beaches and a lookout spot (too tired to hike up there), but seeing that cave was good enough for us to remember this outting.
Back in Hua Hin town, we stopped at the Railway Station, which was cute. Then we walked around the night market in town looking for delicious looking food items to take back.
Sea food was not cheap at all which disappointed us because we were in a fishing village. It seemed that all the eager tourists from Japan, Korea and China (where shell fish is very expensive) drove up the price. But there were other things to eat.
We came back exhausted from all the walking, had a feast, and went to bed satisfied.
Next day was at the Resort. Swimming, lounging around. Having lunch at the hotel. We could see why many expats were retiring there.
Another dinner in town then a massage. We lucked out that we ended up at a beach resort, not at a place in town – we didn’t know what we were doing when we made the reservation, but we did the right thing. The town was close enough when we wanted to go there.
Small Wide World 