Hua Hin is a beach town three hours south of Bangkok. We plan to spend a month there later this year with some friends, but we wanted to check it out first. We hired a car to drive us from Bangkok. It was an easy ride with one bathroom stop, but we will try the bus for half price next time.
We chose to stay in a place called My Resort. It is a giant 6-building apartment complex with eight pools and a splash pad. There is also a gym and breakfast restaurant. We booked through Airbnb for $60/night.
Our mission in Hua Hin was to find a place for three families to stay for the month and scope out activities. We walked up the main road and back to our Airbnb via the beach. We stopped at a hotel we liked from the pictures online, but that had some bad reviews. It helps to see places in person. It is difficult to get a good idea of a place from pictures. We ended up booking that place.
We had dinner at a fancy beach hotel with a view of the ocean. Thailand can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. Dinner at a hotel on the beach is expensive ($70), but it costs less than in the US.
On our first full day, we checked out a few places for Muay Thai and fitness classes and a school called Elate. We plan to send the kids to Elate a few days a week. We found a posh mall with shops and a giant food court. Michael, Lucas, and I ate lunch for $2 per person. Henry got Burger King for $5.
We napped in the afternoon, and then Henry and I went swimming while Michael and Lucas went to True Arena to play pickleball. The pickleball at True Arena is indoors. Lucas said he had to get used to the different bounce of the ball. We look forward to playing more pickleball when we come back later this year.
The kids took it easy on Friday while Michael and I went back out to explore. We found another giant mall and scouted out information about kite surfing. The humidity in Thailand is high. You sweat as soon as you walk outside. We took advantage of air conditioning at the mall to cool off. We went swimming in the afternoon at a pool with a view.
We met Kim and JJ from Elate (https://elateth.com/) at the Vana Nava rooftop bar at the Holiday Inn. Lucas got food poisoning earlier that day so he stayed home. He was only down and out for the night. He was better the next day. Henry and JJ played Pokémon Go while we talked with Kim. Elate is an avant -garde educational model that champions self driected learning and fosters innovative learning with a focus on STEAM education.
Michael explored more on Saturday while Lucas, Henry, and I had a zero day. We stayed inside and played games and read books. We did not venture out until the evening.
We went to the Tamarind Market, a night market only open on weekends. It is smaller than the night markets we went to in Bangkok, but it had live music and a lot of food choices. We got sushi, ribs, smoothies, and ice cream for under $40. We chose the expensive food at the market. We could have all eaten for under $15.
We went to a Muay Thai competition after the market. Must Thai is a stand-up sport incorporating fists, elbows, knees, and shins. We watched ten Muay Thai fights. Henry got his picture taken with a fighter named Henry. Henry knocked his opponent out in the first thirty seconds of the bout. We saw a lot of blood that night.
We packed up on Sunday to head back to Bangkok. Michael and I took a morning stroll on the beach. We are excited to come back to Hua Hin for an extended stay.
