Hua Hin
My new friends in Prachuap asked me somewhat bewildered why I picked Hua Hin, located 100 km north of Prachuap with a population of about 66,000, for my next stop. One of them later revealed that they only occasionally go to Hua Hin for shopping. It seemed a popular destination and another Thai friend had recommended it. Time to find out myself. Besides, I had to slow down my leisurely activities temporarily to get a new software release finished.
Again, I took the train, and this time, it was almost one and a half hours behind schedule.
I was very pleased with my accommodation and the central location, just a 5 minute walk from the big Market Village Mall. I'm not an ardent shopper, but I liked browsing and enjoyed the convenient, tasty dishes at the large food court. Was it mere coincidence that one day I bumped into my tandem paragliding flight pilot Jack from Prachuap? He and his wife were sitting right at the table next to me!
One of the few public beach access lanes was across the highway. As usual, I walked in all directions and captured a few moments. But the bottom line is, in my view there's no comparison to Prachuap, and now I'm wondering if I gave away too much of a secret in my last article?
The big western chains, such as McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King occupy a considerable amount of space and were well frequented.
Maybe the presence of these fast food restaurants is the reason that westeners now can find nice clothes that fit? While the majority of Thai people still has a slim built, noticeably overweight people are also a common sight. For reference: 100 baht was less than $4.50 (Canadian).
Besides cheap—but not necessarily poor quality—goods, there were also many higher end items for sale.
Market Village hosted a huge chess competition. I didn't research the rules but it appeared that anybody could sign up and participate.
While Market Village was a chess fans' playground, Bluport, a 10-15 minutes walk away, tried to attract customers with a big dog show. I read somewhere that Bluport was intended to become a serious competition to Market Village. Just like dog and handler in the picture, customers and visionaries seem to be pulling in opposite directions. When I was there, the mall was eerily empty.
… I reached another train station. The Holiday Inn didn't look inviting to me. I checked their website and it appears to be quite a nice place with spectacular views. As so often (in life), it all depends on the angle.
That looked intriguing! On the path leading up I could see a monkey crossing. I believe it's called Khao Hin Lek Fai (View Point). Hoping ...
