At the beginning of 2001 we decided to spend the next vacation in the little known bathing resort Hua HIn at the western side of the gulf of Thailand. The end of May we flew from Frankfurt with the excellent Quantas airline non stop 10 hours to Bangkok. It rained cats and dogs - rainy time! - and was with approx.. 30° C unpleasantly stifling hot. The airport was chaotic - like always. After longer searching for we found the pre- booked taxidriver, who should bring us to Hua Hin. To our astonishment he spoke a nearly accent-free German, which he had learned according to his own statement at the Goethe-Institut in Bangkok. On our question, why he did not use this phantatic language knowledge on another job as taxidriving, he said, due to the crash the Thai economy lies down and it would not be some years before he would find other job...

After about 3 hours of travel, by pouring rains and one of the driver initiated pause in a café, in which one could drink "German coffee", we arrived in the early evening at Hua Hin. The city is well-known with Thais particularly as summer seat of the admired Royal Family, which escapes the sticky Bangkok annually this season. Hua Hin is a typical Thai city with chaotic traffic, which consists predominantly of the popular small motorbikes, which are steered of their drivers in a breath-taking speed in the left-hand traffic around the cars. Typically also many small business seam the roads.

Finally we drove to the portal of the historical Sofitel Central hotel, which belonged in former times under the name "Railway" to the French hotel chain. The catalogues had not promised too much: The lobby consisted of an open resound, which - typically for Thailand - was decorated with portraits of the King family. Unfortunately since the invention of the air conditioning the open building system in the tropics comes ever more into oblivion. How much more pleasant it is however to sit in elegant club chairs in a light breeze instead of being frozen with an air condition!
At the reception one gave us the most beautiful room of the hotel, directly above the lobby in the first floor with beautiful teakwood floor and an enormous balcony, from which one had a view of the sumptuous garden.

In the next days the weather turned out as for the rainy season typically mixed. Rather cool downpours alternated with the sun, which had enormous strength. The weather changed immediately into a hardly bearable tropical sultriness of 30° C and 95% air humidity. The roads were often for hours after such downpours for pedestrians impassable: more exactly said - for European pedestrians, because the Thais usually had no problems with this for they simply wore flip-flops.
Anyhow our desire for sightseeing was stopped by the weather enormously and we planned to spend this vacation as a pure beach vacation. Unfortunately we were told differently....

In the course of the investigation of the hotel we visited also that enormously broad beach. We were surprised that there were no hotel beach chairs and employees of the hotel, but itself instead many locals walked by. An official of hotel explained us that all beaches in Thailand are state property and that the hotel does not put up any chairs because of the importunate flying dealers. For us it was clear that we could not lay on the beach without any shade: no tree, which could donate shade, was in view and the sun burned without mercy. Thus we decided to occupy beach chairs in the fantastic park of the hotel and go from there into the sea to swim. We had hardly put the feet into the water we noticed enormous amounts of jellyfish in direct beach proximity! Besides the water had a not very inviting brown color. We did leave without a bath and decided instead to walk at the beach. Already after a few meters I saw the first dead fire-jellyfish at the beach, after a few meters followed by a next and a next. That could not be true nevertheless! In the travel guide it was told of "occasional appearance of jellyfish"! We inquired immediately with the hotel concierge, which told us without hesitating that with the rain time the jellyfish would always come. We were shaken, bathing in the sea thus for the time of our vacation would be impossible - and this in the stifling heat!

In the evening we ate usually in the beautiful open restaurant of our hotel or went to the nearby Hilton or Marriott. In direct proximity of the Hilton also the red light district - unfortunately inevitable for Thailand - was located, not matter of the presence of the royal family. The quarter consisted only of some side roads with the mandatory open "bars", at which the prostitutes hung around. For lack of tourists and concomitantly customers at this not very inviting season, they diverted themselves with television looking and stump-intimate bar plays. They wanted to invite it us to beverages and called always after me "hello Madam". It went on my nerves, even the sight of the fortunately very few customers, who made with the women at the bars.

Except of the red light district outside of the hotel was only the night marked to look at. These night markets are typical for Thailand and begin around 7 pm if the temperature cooles down somewhat and sell enormous amounts of food and clothes. If one would like to become acquainted with Thai way of life, one should not miss a visit! Here one gets a completely protruding view of the enormous variety of the Thai kitchen for example. But caution! Original Thai meals arehardly enjoyable for a European palate due to the sharpness!
Typically for Thailand is also Thai boxing, which is there at least as popular as with us football. Thus we decided to go one evening to the local box show . We already knew the procedure from Bangkok: for our ears very shrill music announced in each case the fights. The weakest candidates, half children, started first and hit with unbelievable strength and speed in several rounds one another. Everything is permitted: impacts, footsteps etc.. The more fights took place, the better became the fighters, all unusually tough, trained men. Meanwhile also the Hua Hiner village youth had crept beside the combat ring with approval of the organizer and without having paid entrance fee.

Main tourist attraction of Hua Hin is the historical train station, in a Thai-Victorian mixing style at the railway line from Bangkok to Singapore/ Malaysia. The station building reminds of the historical meaning of the place, because at the beginning of the 20th century the royal family discovered this village as place of residence for the summer. Thus also the High Society felt pulled toward Hua Hin, the former Railway hotel reminds of this time. Nowadays Hua Hin enjoys large popularity with many Bangkok residents due to the relative proximity to the capital. Particularly on weekends one could observe the Bangkok High Socierty in Hua Hin. Many had bought apartments in the innumerable Condominiums, which situated are north and south of Hua Hin along the coast. However many of the ugly buildings were empty since the economic crisis some years ago.

Worth seeing in Hua Hin is also to the southern end of the beach approx..5 km from the Sofitel the temple Khao Takiab, from which one has a beautiful view.

Daily in the afternoon we could also always observe the leaving of the fishingboats, which went to their nocturnal catch travels. On the early morning they did land then their catch at the jetty of Hua Hin -in the heat nothing for sensitive noses!

If the weather was not so completelystifling, we used the time for a city-stroll. Particularly in proximity of the large hotels innumerable stands and cutter had established themselves. Made to measure tailors, "the" speciality of Thailand. If one knows the rules, one can quite make a good deal. Before my first visit to Thailand I had no idea how many different qualities of silk exist and "Thai is silk" is not always real silk! As also with the allegedly pure wool fabrics artificial fiber is under-mixed. With a simple test this is to be found out however - to the large annoyance of the dealers -: one must ignite simply a thread. Silk and wool disintegrate to ash while artificial fiber fuses to something hard.

On a not so warm day we rented a taxi and drove to Cha Am, approx.. 30 km north, which disappointed us totally. Along the beach road lined up hotels, which could be arranged at best in the category "middle class". Between them are small shops. The beach was however still broader than in Hua Hin, the water from no better quality. At the beach there were some beach chair rental businesses, which had draped their chairs however still more closely than on Mallorca. Because of the covered weather there was not much going on, one could however well image how it would be her on a weekend...
On our way back to the hotel we used this time not the 4-lane main street, but tried to come as near as possible to the beach. A difficult venture. Anyhow we saw between Hua Hin and Cha Am some Condominiums and hotels, of which was the best the Dusit Resort.

From a trip to the Kaeng Krachan national park we refrained which was sold everywhere. On the one hand it was much too hot us for such far trips, on the other hand lay the park in direct proximity to Birma, and nobody could guarantee us in the rainy season no risk of malaria.

Our conclusion of the journey: Who expects a dreambath vacation, is surely totally wrong in Hua Hin, but should rather fly to one of the islands lain in south of Thailand. The city is interesting, has a routistic infrastructure good for Thailand. Without vehicle one visit many other hotels or objects of interest. Before the departure one should absolutely inquire about the prevailing climate. In the rainy season it is simply too stifling for many excursions and one can not bathe in the sea. We would recommend again and again the Sofitel Central Hotel, which is still the first house at the place.