A trip report

[Isabella]

Our accommodation in Hua Hin was brilliant. We booked it privately thru the Internet It was a 3 bedroom “townhouse” with a huge 200m+ swimming pool. About 4km south of the town centre. (near the Hyatt – which if I was going to stay in a hotel in Hua Hin, this would be my choice – brilliant pool area, great for kids of all ages). It cost us betwen 80 - 100 baht to get in to town centre by tuk tuk.

The restaurants in Hua Hin were wonderful. Every type of cuisine available and so very cheap. We ate in all types of places from 5 star hotels to the little backstreet café’s to street hawkers. Not one stomachache or “Bali Belly”. Staff were always very friendly and love kids. They would set them up with games like Connect 4 or Jenga. The seafood also in Hua Hin was outstanding. The restaurants at the end of the jetty's are well worth a try.

Our accommodation was located very close to the beach, so we regularly walked along the shore. The beach in Hua Hin was better than I expected. From the forum it received a lot of flack. It’s not clear blue water more brown/blue, but calm. The sand was fairly clean, and I liked the horses trotting by. You could get an hour’s ride for 400 baht or ½ hour for 200 baht. We walked to Monkey Mountain and ate at the famous Le Mer’s. Our unanimous opinion of this restaurant was we would not rush back. In fact, was our only real flop of a meal. I think you had to know Thai, but certainly had a magnificent view of Hua Hin and the coastline.

I did a Thai cooking course and was taken to their local markets. Mixed reaction here. Wonderful fresh foods, but boy did it stink! Water puddles everywhere and motorbikes racing through with big buckets of ice on the back to supply to store holders. The store holders were really friendly and offered us food to taste when we couldn’t work out what it was.

One of my most memorable times during our holiday was a trip to the River Kwai. We booked our own private car as we were a party of 7 (my husband’s parents had joined us from Aus), as we didn’t want to be part of a tour group. We booked our own tour guide too (but turns out this was a waste of money – live and learn).

The River Kwai was a 3 hour journey from Hua Hin and we set off early. We visited the Jeath Museum, Aussie cemetery and Hell Fire Pass, as well as a train trip along the railway line the POW’s built and over the famous River Kwai Bridge. It was a truly wonderful, emotional and enlightening experience. One I think we all will never forget. Also, entrance fees to all these places are so cheap. 30 baht for the Jeath, I think it was about 13 baht each for the train trip – which you have to do. It took us about 1 hour to get to the bridge. And the Hell Fire pass museum is a donation.

Our hotel choice as arranged by our agent friend in Hua Hin was spot on. It was right on the River Kwai and set in the middle of a jungle. I can thoroughly recommend it – The River Kwai Village hotel. We had the Royal Rooms @ 2000 baht a night, including b/fast. They were as good as a 5 star hotel room. The other rooms are a lot cheaper, but it’s a case of you get what you pay for. It had hot/cold water & electricity. The view out our hotel room was the river and a dense wall of jungle. Within the hotel’s huge grounds is a waterfall, small museum, petting farm, walking trail and paintball field. Also in the evening there is a cultural dance show, free of charge.

We did a floating bamboo ride down the river. This was ok. Quite expensive for what it was. 500 baht per person, half price for kids. Boat pulled you one way, then you basically floated back down the same direction you just did!

We have all agreed, that next time back we are going to do a few nights on the River Kwaiat the same hotel as there is so much in the area that you can do. And just taking in the scenery is enough in itself.

Back in Hua Hin again. And getting in to our relaxed lifestyle. We had quite a few massages. My favourite place being the Royal Massage opposite the Hilton. 300 baht for a foot massage, but they not only do the feet, but the legs, arms, hands and back, then to top it all off pull your neck and head upwards. I walked in 5’6” and left 5’9”!! 700 baht for a facial and 500 baht for oil massage.
They also do hair braiding here. My daughter had hers done for 800 baht and it looked excellent.

Shopping was great. They have a supermarket for the bare essentials, plus heaps of 7/11’s. Copy gear everywhere. Following is an idea of prices paid

40 baht for a Bacardi breezer or Chang Beer in supermarket
120 for Music CD’s
120 for DVD’s (or buy 5 @ 130 and get the 6th free)
150 for copy t shirts (give or take some baht – depending on quantity)
100 – 150 for ladies sarongs
110 kids copy shirts – great quality

We went to the night markets in the town centre. But did not really like these. Thought it was quite cramped with not that much different gear to buy that you couldn’t get anywhere else.

We did however enjoy the Grand Plaza markets (open each night from 7.30pm except Mondays and Tuesdays) located roughly opposite the Marriott. Great food, more variety and not as hassley.

We did a day trip out to the factory outlets in Petchaburi. Great bargains there. We hired a car and driver for 1200 baht (minibus) from 1.00pm until 10.00pm. We also went to the Big C and stocked up on more supplies.

We managed to get a couple of games of golf in. Luckily during August there was a golf promotion on. Only 600 baht for 18 holes. Great value. Beautiful courses. Mind you anything is beautiful coming from here, we play on a diesel sand course in the desert!!

In a nutshell our opinion of Hua Hin is a very family friendly holiday destination. No sleaze, great shopping, superb restaurants. This was our third visit back to Thailand, first to Hua Hin and we fell in love with the place and already counting down for our next visit.

Resource link:http://www.travelforum.org/thailand

[Isabella]

shall continue with my trip report now, even though it appears that no-one has anything to say about Part two of my report - oh well, ever the professional - here goes;

On the 24th August, we decided to go to the nearby Elephant Safari in the hills to east of Hua Hin - only approx 15 min drive from our hotel. The weather was extremely hot and sunny - whoever said it was the rainy season ?? We were asked to climb a staircase to a platform that enabled us to mount the elephant - surprisingly, the three of us were allowed to sit together on the same elephant - poor thing !!

The ride was a very strange experience - the seat was not designed for 'long haul' journeys, let me say, and I compared the ride to slow motion turbulence on an aircraft - up and down, up and down. We were grateful for the small mercy of an umbrella provided to protect us against the blazing sunshine. The ride lasted for nearly an hour, with three elephants (the other two for our friends)rambling their way through a trail that passed through a small village and finally into a pond - well, the steep pond banks made us feel more like bucking broncos as the elephant carefully strode down the bank, until we levelled out into the pond to be greeted with large mounds of elephant poo floating in the water. However, despite all this, it really was a thrill to ride on these beautiful, elegant animals.

Not surprisingly, the rest of the afternoon, was spent swimming and relaxing by the pool.

At this stage, I would like to mention the weather - apart from a few spots of rain here and there, and one 10 min heavy shower, we had superb weather throughout our stay in Hua Hin - I have heard that the monsoon doesn't really hit the east coast until during September, so for all you families/couples - a good August choice.

We made mistake of choosing the famous 'La Mer' hilltop restaurant that evening for dinner - solely because none of us eat seafood (except my wife who likes fish but not shellfish/crab etc). The setting was beautiful, and indeed my wife's food was very tasty she said, but for meat eaters who do not eat fish - not worth it really. For those fish/shell fish lovers - go still, as I am sure you will have a lovely meal.

On the 25th August, we finally heard from Marriott Manager who my friend had been trying to contact - he offered us a free hotel switch to sister hotel, Anantara, but by now we were half way through Hua Hin part of trip and considered it too late to waste half a day packing/unpacking - so my friend politely declined the offer - more to follow on this story.

This evening, we went to a lovely Austrian restaurant down the road from Hilton called, Amadeus - superb food, all for 1000 Baht for 3 of us - ridiculously cheap.

Throughout all these treks to Hua Hin each evening, we were continuely buying watches, bags, t-shirts - hard to resist at such good prices - bartering every time of course.

One if the highlights of our holiday occurred on the Thursday 26th August - we went on day trip to National Park about 1 hour drive to east of Hua Hin (our friends went on a separate trip as this was unsuitable for small children). We stopped at caves first which housed a buddhist temple, then a pineapple farm, before finally reaching our main destination - we had a 30 minute trek through the jungle alongside a fast flowing river, precariously feeling our way over stones in the water and using low hanging branches for support. Finally, we reached a beautiful waterful with a shallow area to swim in - my wife opted out at this point, but my daughter and I, keen to cool off, eagerly splashed our way into the river - boy was it cold at first, but very refreshing and we quickly became accustomed to the water. In addition, there were hundreds of carp swimmimng around us and through our legs, every now and again going into a frenzy as people threw fish feed into the water - what an experience. The hardest thing was trying to dry myself once I got out of the water, and retain my dignity - luckily, the wife was on hand to help !! The trip ended, with a pleasant Thai lunch on the return journey.

That evening, we tried out Mamma Mia's Italian reaturant, once again in Hua Hin centre - a bit more upmarket this time, but at 1900 baht we still thought it was good value.

The rest of the holiday was spent relaxing by day - with the odd massage, beach walk, laundry trip in between - oh yes, we used an excellent laundry place just over the main road opposite the hotel - I don't know what they used, but the clothes smelt wonderful ipon collection.

Two more significant things to mention - firstly, the Marriott Manager, finally offered us a monetary refund of equivalent of US$40 per room for paid nights of our stay - very generous and considering our friends had two rooms (interconnecting), even more so for them.

Secondly, we decided to take advantage of in internet restaurant recommendation on the Friday evening (27th)to a place in Cha-Am, about 20mins away, offering "The best Mexican in town". It was simply called 'Chicken-Coop' - BIG MISTAKE. We first suspected a problem when our taxi driver, turned off the road towards Cha-Am beach, into a dark alleyway - then when we say the actual place, it consisted of a Go-Go bar connected to a cafe (that is being polite) - in a state of shock, we actually sat down in the 'cafe' - the women seemed equally surprised to see two families, but to their credit attempted to treat us with respect and showed us their menu. Needless to say, the food was awful, not surprising, considering state of kitchen - and every now and then a scantily clad girl would pop into the bar/cafe from next door. We couldn't wait to escape.

So there you have it - the final few days were very relaxing and we left Hua Hin on the journey to Bangkok Airport, feeling like we had had a proper rest - lovely.

Unfortunately, the flight home took a distinct turn for the worst when we encountered air rage for the first time ever - an english husband and Thai wife had a massive argument about two missing game boy's that cost him £200 by all accounts. He was drunk and being very loud and abusive to her and all around him , and then it all became too much for her and she exploded into a rage of swearing and crying - very unpleasant. He finally fell asleep in a drunken stupor - thank god.

Even then, the problems were not over - having landed at Heathrow 15 mins early at 6.15pm, we were delayed in Baggage Reclaim for 1/2 hour due to lack of trolleys - when they finally appeared at 7.15pm after a total of 1 hour delay (30mins before we arrived too), there was an almighty stampede for them - I am surprised no-one was hurt in the melee. In all my years of aircraft travel, I have never experienced chaos like it anywhere in the world - thanks Heathrow !!!

But , at last at 9.30pm, we reached our front door - hooray.

But what a great holiday - Thailand is BRILLIANT !!!!!!!!!

[Bamboo Grove]

Thank you, Isabella, for your excellent report. Good to see you enjoyed your holiday.
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[gale]

Thank you Isabella. We shall be arriving in Hua Hin in October expecting rain - but after your report, good eating and a relaxing time.

Thankfully we are leaving the UK from Norwich, which is usually hassle free.

[Digger]

Isabella
lengthy report indeed but just to prove that people do read what you write I was surprised to read your comments on paragraph 6 of your recent submission concerning your meal at la Mer.
You refer to your wife's meal so I am confused as you are 'Isabella'.Have I missed something.
Chicken Coop has been mentioned on this website before so surprised that it took you by surprise as a GO Go bar even though I had a great meal there a while back.
Digger

[Heebio]

Thanks for the reports Isabella, I thought they were very informative and a real advert for Hua Hin.

I've never got round to visiting Kanchanaburi but from what you're saying sounds like a really interesting place. Must make a point to get up there next time I'm in Thailand...thanks for that.

Does anyone else have any further info or recommendations re River Kwai? I know all the local tour operators do trips but can anyone recommend one? I was thinking of going for 2-3 days.

Thanks in advance.
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Never trust a hippy....