A Brief Stay in Hua Hin

[RonanTheBarbarian]

The Pattaya to Hua Hin ferry
Several times in my previous trips to Thailand I had meant to get to Hua Hin. But I never quite managed it. As the new ferry service from Pattaya to Hua Hin had come into being since the last time I traveled to Thailand, I decided that this trip I definitely would go in the new ferry.

I bought the ticket at their offices in Bali Hai pier a few days before sailing. I nearly came a cropper a that point actually as I hadn’t thought bring my passport which you need to book a ticket, but luckily after a bit of begging the saleswoman accepted the photocopy of my passport I had instead. There was a choice of an ordinary ticket for about 1200 baht or a VIP ticket for about 1500. A VIP ticket means that you are allocated a larger seat in the upstairs deck and get a snack. Sailing time was 10 in the morning but I was told to be at the pier at 9 o’clock. I turned up by five past nine - was not sure what you need it all this time for but I thought I had better. As it happened I think if you had turned up by 9.30 it would be plenty of time.

19-010ferryhh.jpg


The picture above is of the view leaving Pattaya.

The ferry left as scheduled at 10 o’clock. It was meant to take two hours, and as it got into Hua Hin around 12.20 it was pretty much on time.

One thing to note, if you are booking. I was allocated a seat on the left hand side of the vessel but as that side is facing south on the way to Hua Hin and I was beside the window the sun was beating down right on the side of my head. Luckily as the upstairs deck was only two-thirds full on my trip, so I was able to move seats once we were underway but in case it is full I suggest asking for seat on the right hand side of the boat, when heading to Hua Hin.

The pier the ferry arrives at in Hua Hin is about 5 miles south of the town. Once the ferry got in there was a bunch of songthaws there. Basically what happened was they asked where you’re going and you are more or less unceremoniously dumped into a songthaw with people going to hotels near you and charged 300 bat for the privilege.

Some British guys baulked at the price and were just left there beside the pier. I don’t know how they got to town after. I am sure if you have Uber you can make your own arrangements.


The Baan Manthana Hotel
I stayed at the Baan Manthana hotel in town. This was about 15 minute walk from the beach and about the same from the main gay bar. It was a cheap and cheerful option but the room was clean and it had a pool.

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[Brad the Impala]

".....and about the same from the main gay bar". And......??!! What was it like?

But thanks for the report so far for a boat service that has been much anticipated.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

".....and about the same from the main gay bar". And......??!! What was it like?

More parts of the report are forthcoming Brad. Dont worry....

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Sightseeing around Hua Hin

As I was staying in Hua Hin for only a three nights I decided that to get the best out of it I would hire services of a guide called Suphot to guide me for a day. As most regulars on the board will be aware Suphot is the partner of board member Smiles.

Suphot picked me up from the hotel around ten and we had a full day out until around six.
First step was the Mrigadayavan Palace, the summer palace of Rama VI. It is a few miles north of town.

An unusual design, very Thai. Pic below:

IMG_6371.jpg


Then we went to Monkey Mountain (Khao Takiab Hill), a few miles south of town (right beside where the ferry gets in actually). Has a Buddhist wat on a hill with good views all around and also, as the name suggest, swarms of monkeys.

Then headed for Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, stopping off at a place Suphot suggested for lunch. Aimed at locals, with a menu in Thai only, it is the sort of place I never would have stepped in if I wasn’t with him I got a really nice lunch of pork and rice for something like 40 baht.

I had told Suphot I was interested in seeing the Phra Nakhorn cave, within the bounds of the park. I had read about it, it is famous for having a one hundred year old Buddhist Pavilion built right inside the cave. But had not realised how much of a rig-ma-role was involved. First we entered the National Park which was 100 Baht for me in 40 for Suphot. Then to get to the cave we had to on a boat around a headland to get to a beach nearer it. This involved walking out into the waves to hop into to a long-tail boat that brings you in five minutes around to the beach. That cost 400 baht return. Then after landing at the beach, go to up the path to the cave.

I had read somewhere that this was half an hour away from the beach. But I didn’t realise until I was on it that it is 30 minutes of a steep climb up steps to the cave mouth, and then you go quite steeply downhill again to get to the pavilion.

You need a to have a good level of mobility to manage it. But I was all worth it when I got to the chamber in the cave with stunning view of the pavilion in the middle of the cave as sunlight streams in from he collapsed roof (Pic below).

IMG_6435.jpg


After that it was on the way back to town, with a quick stop off at Rajabhakti Park to say hello the 7 humongous statues of the old Thai kings that the Thai military has installed as a rather bombastically nationalist new tourist attraction just south of Hua Hin.

All on all a very good day. I would enthusiastically recommend Suphot as a to anybody who is looking for a guide around Thailand. Also does multi-day trips for people who want to see other parts of the country . He is a careful driver and his English, although a bit idiosyncratic is fine to understand and he is calm easy-going presence to have around.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Hua Hin Beach
I also spent a day on the beach. Beach chairs can be rented and you can look at the people going up and down the beach on horses, which is a thing in Hua Hin.I took several pictures of the beach, and was going to add some, but as they all come out upside-down or sideways when I add them to the post, I have left them out.


The gay bars of Hua Hin.
There are two gay nightspots in Hua Hin - the New Guy bar and the Red Indian. I went to the New Guy bar on the first night to meet up with Smiles and for a bit of a chat. That night I didn’t really chat much to the boys, of which there were about five are six around the bar, and maybe two or three customers. Later on that evening I went to the Red Indian bar. Smiles had warned me that it is usually fairly quiet but it was worse than that, actually - it was closed. A woman in a bar opposite it said it was closed as the owner gone away for a few days. So I didnt get to visit the Red Indian Bar at all during my stay,

So that was the first night. The second night was after my day trip and I was so tired I stayed in my hotel. But on the third night I decided to go back to New Guy bar and maybe off a guy. When I arrived there was maybe one farang and four or five boys. None of them could speak much English other than the owner from what I can tell. I got talking to a guy there who claimed it was his first week. After being told they had a room upstairs for massage I decided to take that guy upstairs as he said he could do massage. The cost to the bar for the room (including the off fee) was 340 baht.

The upstairs room who is pretty decrepit - the bathroom had no hot water but at least it had a working light-bulb which was more than could be said for the massage room. The massage was carried out by the light coming in from the bathroom, which in fairness you could say lent a slightly romantic ambience to the proceedings! As expected, the massage was not up to much. The afters were okay, though basically the guy didn’t seem experienced enough to know he should be doing. But he was eager to please and he seemed very happy with his 1100 baht. So I wouldn’t really be recommending Hua Hin as a place to go specifically for the guys, but if you’re there you have at least one bar to go to.

On to Bangkok.
You can get a train and a bus to Bangkok from Hua Hin, but the train takes about 5 hours and the bus is not much better. I booked a taxi guy through Suphot that had me in my hotel in Silom, from a Hua Hin pickup, in about two hours and thirty minutes. Considering I had my luggage with me, I considered it well worth the 2000 baht or so it cost me.

[Asia Traveler]

Thank your great report. Very curious about Hua Hin which I have heard referred to as “The New Pattaya”

[Smiles]

Thank your great report. Very curious about Hua Hin which I have heard referred to as “The New Pattaya”

Far from it Asia. HH is great for grabbing some quiet reality from Pattaya, not in tangent to it.

We've lived in Hua Hin for ten years now. In the first few years there was between two and six gay bars here -- it went up and down -- but for the last five years New Guy Bar has been a monopoly. A couple have tried by failed, and then there is Red Indian which may be gone soon as I've heard that the dark and funky little warren of bars and discos where it lives is about to be torn down.

Hua Hin is our home and wouldn't live anywhere else. Visiting Pattaya/Jomtien for 2 or 3 days is as close as I'll get to Brothel-On-Sea.

[frequent]

Unfortunately the opportunity for tea and cucumber sandwiches is well in the past. Some people have described it as quite cha'aming but don't get seriously ill - good hospitals can be quite some distance away

[christianpfc]

The Pattaya to Hua Hin ferry
Once the ferry got in there was a bunch of songthaws there. Basically what happened was they asked where you’re going and you are more or less unceremoniously dumped into a songthaw with people going to hotels near you and charged 300 bat for the privilege.

Some British guys baulked at the price and were just left there beside the pier. I don’t know how they got to town after. I am sure if you have Uber you can make your own arrangements.

Outrageous prices!
The end of the green songtheo line (airport - Khao Thakiap) is about 1 km away, and that's how I would go to/from the pier.

Phraya Nakorn cave can be reached on foot (but then even more walking, part of it upstairs/downstairs).
The 7 kings are best visited in the morning as their faces are south-east.

[gerefan2]

Ronan
I have the same problem trying to post pics. All sideways or upside down. Seems particular to this site...

I returned to my photos and turned them sideways, or upside down as appropriate ...then hit send. Low and behold they all appeared right way up!

Daft ain’t it?