Southwest of Bangkok about 150 miles on the Gulf of Thailand is Hua Hin, the favorite vacation destination of the Thai elite since the nineteenth century. The current King still maintains a summer palace there, although you aren't allowed to visit it. It's not as clean or as beautiful as Phuket, but its perfect for a weekend getaway. We rented a van with a driver and headed down with two other families in our ward.
We spent the first day at the beach, downing fruit drinks, getting massages, flying kites, playing soccer, (Canada clipped Britain 5-4 on a beautiful takeaway)...the day was so full of activity we hardly had time to get in the water. I even posed for a few pictures with Thai families vacationing at the beach. After that we visited Ba-la-U waterfall about 60 km away from the town. After some friendly cajoling, the gatekeepers even allowed us to pay the Thai price (forty baht) instead of the farang price (four hundred baht). We had a great time hiking up the trail, climbing over the rocks, and trying to keep the kids from drowning. There's nothing quite as relaxing as keeping young children out of cool water on a hot day. It's like...instant calm. We also visited the summer palace built by RAMA VI, a beautiful teackwood structure with elevated walkways and a Taco-Bell colour-scheme. The cool breezes from the ocean, combined with the absense of open-sewers, made it an attractive location for escaping the pressures of the capital city.
But the trip was not without its misunderstandings. One night our driver dropped us all of at the night market to check out Huan Hin's finest wares, which incidentally are exactly like Bangkok's - only 30% more expensive. After spending an hour or so walking around we decided to just walk back to the hotel. Someone (I'd rather not say who) forgot to call our driver and let him know he didn't need to wait around to transport us home. At 10:30 that night I was awakened by a phone call from him, wondering when we wanted to be picked up. I told him he must have the wrong number. Bad form on my part, but he was a good sport about it, as Thais often are in such circumstances. After a few days he even stopped trying to slam the van door on my fingers.
But the most disturbing event took place at the go-kart track. True to Thai form, Hua Hin has a very cool track with cars that will really move, even with a freakishly large white guy sitting on them. One of our party (an English gentleman) persisted throughout the trip in telling me how he was going to blaze past me like the roadrunner past the Coyote. His taunting had no effect on me however (I can't understand his accent anyway) and when it came down to racetime, I crossed the finish line with my British companion nowhere to be seen. Later, while he was driving with his three year old son, he tapped Kaddi and Meg's car from behind, spinning them into the guard rail so that he could pass them on the last lap. A truly shocking display.
Despite this unpleasantness, we managed to enjoy our time in Hua Hin and make it back safely. I just wish our driver would stop prank phone-calling me in the middle of the night.
