Hua Hin

This week marks the beginning of Buddhist ‘lent’ when the monks go into seclusion for three months. So most everyone took Friday off—my school included—to celebrate and prepare the monks. Since Monday was also another Buddhist holiday, I had my plans set for a good get away to a nearby beach called Hua Hin.

On Friday, my roommate Michael and I were invited to temple by one of our neighbors. We put on our Sunday’s best and went to meet her family at 7pm, then drove to the temple. Stepping out of the car and approaching the temple, we immediately felt extra self-conscious. Not only were the people staring at us white folk, as usual, but most everyone was wearing casual clothes, shorts, t-shirts, etc., and there we were, all dressed up!

The temple ceremony involved a normally clothed man speaking into a microphone for about thirty minutes. From what I could discern from my Thai language skills (still needing work) he talked about today being a good day to donate money and suggested different amounts. This was mentioned only a couple times, the rest of the speech was completely beyond my understanding. After the speech, everyone lit incense and everyone—about two hundred people—walked around the temple three times. There were monks inside the temple, but we really only saw them a few times throughout the entire ceremony.

The next day I was off to Hua Hin. Step One: take van to Bangkok. Step Two: take van to Hua Hin. The travel was about 3 hours, then an hour spent tracking down a good, affordable hotel. I met up with a group of about ten other teachers whom I had met and became friends with in training at Phuket. We went to the nearby mall for lunch and I ate some delicious New Zealand ice cream: chocolate fudge! I originally intended this trip to be an exploration and hike through the nearby National Park, but I found out that the trip I desired required a minimum of four people. It was a bit pricey, so no others wanted to join me L I asked the tour organizers to contact me if another group signed up that I could tag along with, but this being slow season for tourism, it didn’t happen. So instead, I occupied my time with some tanning on the beach, and then occupied my adventure appetite with jet skiing on the ocean! Since Hua Hin beach is in the Gulf of Thailand, the waves were weak and didn’t provide much lift for me to catch some air, but it was still fun. The water there was really more ideal for water skiing.

Whenever I travel to a major tourist spot like this, it is very important that I eat at some of the Western food establishments and skip Thai food whenever possible! So on Saturday, and then again on Sunday, I ordered a delicious 4 course meal at Ye Olde Buffalo Tavern. Some of the Brits we were with told us that the meal was pretty close to an authentic ‘Sunday Roast.’ Here’s what I ate: Australian beef, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, pumpkin and carrot mash, and vegetables. The food was amazing! So good that I ordered the exact same roast the next day and added an apple pie for dessert.

I did some browsing at the night market, not looking for anything in particular. Nevertheless, two souvenirs ‘found’ me and I am very pleased that they did! One is now hanging in my room as a great addition to my growing decorations, and the other souvenir is for a lucky sibling back home.

If any of my readers are curious about this fun in the sun and what a trip like this would cost, especially if any readers are considering visiting Thailand (ahem), let me show you how far $100 can go in Thailand:

Transport to and from Bangkok to Hua Hin….$12

Hotel for two nights……………………………………..$23

Jet skiing fun…………………………………………………$16

Ice cream!!!........................................$6

Sunday Roast……………………………………………….$10 / each night

Souvenirs……………………………………………………..$8

Fresh fruit and fruit smoothies…………………….$3

One hour foot massage……………………………….$7

Other food and snacks…………………………………$5

Transport along the beach…………………………..$3

Great weekend and memories…………………….PRICELESS