Does it look like we went to Hawaii or Cote D'Azur?
Unbeknownst to us till we got there, we arrived in Thailand just in time for:
The Hua Hin Jazz Festival
King Bhumipol's 60th anniversary
(by the way, King Bhumipol is also an accomplished jazz musician.
Heard one of his compositions years ago. Very good), and
World Cup 2006
(Of course we knew this was going to happen but we kind of forgot that it would be celebrated rather differently by the kings of Southeast Asian soccer.)
HUA HIN.
Royal seaside resort and a favourite out-of-town spot for locals. It's a nice alternative to Phuket and definitely more worth going to than Pattaya and Haadyai. It's also not overrun by Singaporeans. Most of the tourists here seem to be from north Europe.
Lots of yummy seafood to be had here (restaurants by the sea):
Also, local fare, if you so desire:
Hua Hin is not as ulu as many people seem to think it is. In fact, I found it rather touristy, though definitely not at the same level as Phuket et al. For example, you can get western food (pasta, pizza, cheesecake, etc) very easily. There is even a dish called 'American fried rice'. Along the beach, you get accosted by people marketing pony rides. Now, why would I want to ride a horse on the beach??
The husband asked, 'Are you sure they have a church there?' Well, in fact, there is at least one. Right across the road from Marriott Resort. Here it is, the gate of St Theresa Catholic Church.
Remember the Filipino diaspora? Well, they are there too!
So it's not completely ulu, and not overly touristy either. We enjoyed ourselves very much. Some more at night got free music from the festival, with the stage so near us (view from our balcony):
Most of the music was nice, except those songs where the singer goes on and on singing some unintelligible stuff. Wah, I really detest that type.
It's just that I wondered what the place would have been like if its visitors were mostly locals.
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