Thailand’s original beach resort is no palm-fringed castaway island and arguably is the better for it. Instead, it is a delightful mix of city and sea with a cosmopolitan ambience, lively markets, tasty street eats, long beaches and a fully functional infrastructure.
Hua Hin traces its aristocratic roots to the 1920s when Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) and Rama VII (King Prajadhipok) built summer residences here to escape Bangkok’s stifling climate. The most famous of the two is Phra Ratchawang Klai Kangwon (Far from Worries Palace), 3km north of town and still a royal residence today; it’s so poetically named that Thais often invoke it as a city slogan. Rama VII’s endorsement of Hua Hin and the construction of the southern railway made the town the place to be for Thai nobility who built their own summer residences beside the sea.
Middle-class and high-society Thais from Bangkok swoop in on weekends, making parts of the city look a lot like upper Sukhumvit. There’s a lot of money swirling around but because this is a bustling Thai town, seafood is plentiful and tasty.
Visit: The Rock Hua Hin Resort –
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