Hua Hin

Hua Hin, Thailand
Sunday, May 12, 2013

HHua Hin is arguably the biggest tourist destination we haven't already visited in Thailand. Located 200km South West of Bangkok virtually opposite Pattaya on the other side of the Gulf of Thailand they couldn't be more different beach destinations so close to each other.

Due to its location Hua Hin is Bangkok's beach and there was a noticeable amount of Thai families enjoying the beach alongside the farangs. We are surprised we haven't used that in a blog yet, traditionally farang was the Thai word for European people but now more widely used for Westener's.

The beach was amazing and probably one of the best we have seen in the whole of Thailand. The atmosphere was more relaxed than other beaches and with a distinct lack of water sports taking place, apart from the hawkers that try and sell you everything while you sit in the sun it was an incredibly tranquil place.

Day 1 - Beach Day

We got to the beach nice and early to beat the crowds but as we found out the beach is gigantic and with it being out of season it never got that busy.

As soon as we arrived at the beach Ross spotted some horses and went to find out if he could take one for a gallop down the beach. To his surprise the answer was 'yes' as he was fully expecting them to be offering donkey style rides. Without hesitation and before they changed their minds, thinking later if it is busier the answer would have been 'no' he chose a horse and jumped on. It quickly became obvious that this would never have been the case as health and safety just doesn't exist and you can freely gallop up and down the beach at anytime weaving around the children as they play. Plain crazy but this is Thailand!

Ross picked a complete plodder and to his disgust it didn't want to walk let alone trot or canter and we don't think it knew that gallop existed. After a few minutes a guide turned up to try and coax the animal into a trot. Ross was having none of it and although the guide couldn't speak much English he managed to understand that Ross demanded to swop horses or he wanted his money back. Eventually the guide agreed as his horse was far from placid.

Now going back to health and safety.... Ross changed horses on the beach, there was no safety helmet, no safety stirrups, no shoes and a loose girth. But after bombing up and down the beach on a crazy animal for 20 minutes weaving in and out of the children playing it was none of those things he regrets. In the excitement to get on the horse he decided not to go back to the hotel and get his half chaps, sorry Mum we know you spent ages looking for them. It was a plain stupid decision and the first (and last!) time he has ever ridden in shorts. The grazing to both legs is not something that is easy to forget we just hope they don't scar.

Day 2

We had planned more of the same but unfortunately Ross was struggling to even walk this morning.

Hua Hin was a nice stopover but we are unsure if we would ever go back as it doesn't offer anything different to the other islands and beaches in Thailand.

Hotel Review

We stayed at the M&A Guesthouse in a double private. The Guesthouse is ideally located just a few minutes walk from the beach, a 5 minute walk from bars and restaurants and a 15 minute walks from the Railway station. The Guesthouse itself was nothing special nor was the room but for 700B a night it was good value for money. After a little negotiation we payed 500B for 10:30pm check out which worked well for our evening train. Not a bad Guesthouse but with so much choice in the local area probably worth looking at a few before departing with your hard earned cash.

5.5/10

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