Vacation Diaries - As seen through the eyes of Krishni Iresha; a Sri Lankan wanderer in Thailand...

Hua Hin - Thailand 

"One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster," said Murray Head. And this was the song that was stuck in our heads in the run up to our great big trip to Thailand, the land everyone must visit, apparently (so they say).

However, for me Thailand isn't my top choice destination for a strange reason. It looks fun as everybody goes there and the top spots to visit while in Thailand are Phuket, Pattaya and not forgetting Bangkok.

Now I am a hardcore beach lover and my friend, well she is a hardcore shopaholic! It was her dream to go to Thailand and I was only going to tag along unless we go to a beach city. Truth be told, when we started doing our research into Thailand's beach destinations we didn't come across very promising information for two girls to travel alone. Big groups with guys, yes, but it didn’t look too inviting for two girls to travel by themselves. It was while researching, we were suggested Hua Hin.

So Hua Hin it was, for the beach leg of our holiday!

Right after we landed, we embarked on our 3 hour journey to Hua Hin. On our way, we had by far one of the nicest experiences. A massive Harley Davidson pack on the road! It was music to our ears! The guys were in typical biker boy outfits with the skull images and bandannas, cruising their way on the road! It was a pleasant sight. Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures as we were too slow in our cab.

When we entered the city limits of Hua Hin, it actually looked very sheepish and 'dead'. I must say at this point we had no idea how much we would miss Hua Hin after we'd left.

We spent a lot of time exploring the city including basking in the beach for 2 days, however it gets very hot, so hot you can't walk on the beach! But that didn't stop us. The sea in Hua Hin is absolutely calm. No waves either! Just a few splashes and you can go quite far out into the sea as it's very shallow.

It's when the sun sets the beach gets livelier with bands and other performers including drummers who put on a free show for the people.

The Hua Hin beach is indeed the picture of a postcard with white sand and coconut trees and a clear blue sky. It also has a bit of the Hikkaduwa/ Unawatuna element with little shops selling all sorts of lovely jewellery along with little souvenir gift items.

The city also has a sort of hidden food and drinks zone. Not a food court. This was a zone. Behind a big massive temple is a small alley that takes you to a whole different zone! Small lanes that are filled with bars and restaurants and around the middle of this area was a stage with a live band. So there was the music blaring from the band and music blaring from the bars, making it one big party area! We spent a couple of hours here eating and walking around.

Hua Hin also has a massive night market. It gets very busy here, so we thought of taking a stroll during the evening to do our shopping before it got busy. The night market can empty your purses fast if you don't get out fast enough! So beware if you're planning a visit! But this is also the only place to do some shopping. If not you have to wait until you get to Bangkok. So it's good in a way because you are forced NOT to shop.

With all this going on in the little city, one would think it's quite the ' happening' place to be as there is much to do. Truth is, there isn't all that much to do, there are a few things but very paced out so you end up spending a lot of time with those around you and also doing sweet nothing... Just ideally chilling with your feet up, body relaxed and looking into the ocean right in front of you.

Hua Hin in our thinking is probably one of the most underrated places as I don't think many people know about it as everyone travels to the popular places which are often crowded. This little city isn't crowded and isn't too fast paced with many bars or mainstream shops but still is a great holiday spot in a country overcrowded with tourists!

By Eshani Seneviratne