Destination: Hua Hin

Every once in awhile it's good to shake-things-up and do something you wouldn't normally do. This year I chose the resort town of Hua Hin as my Spring Break destination because it is only four hours from Bangkok (down the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand) and is a short enough distance where I could take the train for a change of pace.

Turns out friends from school also planned to go to Hua Hin so we decided to travel together. No complaints about the expense of this 4 hour journey: the cost for each of us was 44 baht, or $1.36 (US). Granted, we traveled 3rd class but that only added to the 'shaking things up' part of the journey =) I think we can all get used to living with the comforts of life, like air conditioning, so it was good for me to learn how the majority of Thai's travel -- with open windows, rotating fans and non-reserved seats on buses and trains.

I heard a lot about the vintage railway station in Hua Hin and it was great to see it firsthand. I understand why travelers say it is one of the country’s most beautiful train stations, marked by its architecture and built during the time of King Rama VI who was the sixth monarch of Siam reigning from 1910 to 1925. By the way, this king's name is typical of Thai names that seemingly go on and on: Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua.

After a hot and sticky ride, I must admit I was glad to arrive at the Novotel hotel located on the north beach of Hua Hin to shower and cool down. It turned out to be a real relaxing and rejuvenating stay, especially in the mornings when I could enjoy the sunrise over the Gulf of Thailand.

Take Me Back

An interesting tourist spot in Hua Hin is an outdoor two-story shopping area named Plearnwan, intended to take its visitors back in time primarily to the 60s 70s and 80s; a colorful few decades to be sure.

Even though it's hard to believe items in my past are now considered antique -- what does that make me? -- it was great to take the occasional trip down memory lane while Peter and I roamed the premises.

The old-fashioned carnival caught my attention as did the nearby food booths.

Food booths in Asia are never boring. I can understand the caramel covered pineapple on a stick and even the choco-ice with topping... but fried insects like grasshoppers and crickets just aren't on my radar of satisfying snack foods.

One Lazy Afternoon

My friend Peter, an avid fisherman, wanted to head up to the Hua Hin Fishing Lodge while in this part of the country to try his hand at inland fishing. I haven't been fishing since my days in Colorado so I was definitely interested in joining him to see what it was all about.

So Peter and I got into a tuk-tuk and headed out of town into the mountains 20 kilometers to the advertised fishing hole. Not only did this place offer two ponds stocked with fish but an outdoor restaurant (of course) and shelters to help keep us out of the sun.

My first thoughts were of fish similar to the size and type we get out of the lake at the cottage in Canada, not the size of fish that I witnessed out of these ponds! Here are a couple pictures of those around us, young and old, who were hauling in some pretty sizable specimens...

Admittedly, fishing in Thailand is a little different than heading to the mountains and fishing the streams or lakes back home. Here, employees hang around and do a lot of the 'work' for you, such as rolling and baiting your line with bread balls, netting the fish and even casting your line out on the lake! It truly was a lazy afternoon -- I didn't even have to get up from my chair if I didn't feel like it except to go for lunch =)

It was an idyllic way to relax for the afternoon. I wasn't patient enough to catch anything -- which didn't really matter because I enjoyed my time anyway -- but Peter was after an Arapaima. Sure enough, the dude caught one and it came in at over 5 foot in length! Here's proof of his catch and a better image of the Arapaima from the archives of the Internet...