Sundance Huahin Hua Hin

Here we are, at the beach for a couple of days before the big flight home. Pierre agreed to go, despite the extreme heat and the fact that he's simply not a beach person. I had picked the site at Hua Hin for a few reasons:<br>1- it can easily be reached by train under 4 hours<br>2- it's considered older (ie. as in an older crowd) and therefore, there are less beer-swigging yahoos, ski-doos, motorboats and by default, should be less ...

... and to meet (=drink beer with) some Finnish friends of mine who happened to be there on their Thailand holiday at the same time. <br><br>The most action you could see in the rather boring Hua Hin were the preparations for the ASEAN summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, though for instance Australia, Japan, India and China were also present) which is held here, starting today actually. Roads are blocked and policemen with the military are everywhere along ...

Yesterday we negotiated Bangkok public transportation and found our way to Hua Hin via a 3.5 hour "air conditioned" bus ride. We're trying to meet up with our friend Dawn, but so far no luck. <br><br>Last night we went to the night market and went wild; I'm going to have a hard time not bringing all of Thailand home with me in my ...

The beauty of Hua Hin is unique to it's nature. The air is filled with<br>the beach town vibe while containing all the comforts of a city. This<br>beach town has not lost it's good old rule generosity and hospitality<br>due to mass influx of tourism. Many other cities have been culturally<br>dominated by the ways of the west. For example in Koh Samet when<br>entering a store I would "wai" the shop keeper and he ...

... Buses are often late. Mostly this seems to be due to lousy traffic management. In Pai we sat and waited for 45 mins just to leave the bus station as other buses kept turning up and simply parked in our way. This was entirely avoidable. In Chiang Mai the illogical and useless Indra Tours put us through another 30 minute delay, again the station being a nightmare of coming and going buses. On the other hand Bangkok, unbelievably ...

... chauffer driven golf-carts to take you back to your villa! Aui took us to the local Buddhist temple where we took part in various rituals. This included lighting incense, placing flowers, praying, fortune sticks, placing gold leaf on Buddha statues, being splashed with water by a monk, freeing caged birds and 3 circuits of the temple. Had very yummy fresh seafood on a few occasions from a couple of the ...

... stop at the cheapest looking western style eaterie we could find. Nice food followed followed by a not very nice bill. We only noticed as we walked out the restaurant that the place was attached to the Hilton Hotel! Ouch! &amp; to think we had been talking about how to save money over dinner! Stopped a total of 2 nights &amp; we are glad it wasn't more. The place could be anywhere as there is nothing authentic Thai about it at all. English pubs &amp; the place is ...

... who would like to prove him wrong. there is violence in all three of the great monotheistic religions of our time. when the crusaders entered jerusalem in 1099 they killed every muslim and jew in the city. the streets were "piled high with bodies and body parts" and solomon's temple, where 10,000 jews and muslims had taken refuge, was "knee deep in blood" by the time the invaders were through. not just ...

... the family. Train was a tad slow and I arrived a little later than expected, a quick phone call, a short taxi ride and I met up with Paul at the agreed spot. Met the rest of the family, Pascale and their charming son Ziggy who at only few years old was already multilingual!! Enjoyable evening, splendid meal, good company. I felt very welcome - also it was the first time since I left that I was in a home - it was such a nice break from the routine....' Tuesday 5th Sept 'o6 ...

... similar to when I nodded off. We hadn't moved. If this was England there would have been uproar but I was experiencing the south east Asian patience, no-one else seemed remotely concerned. Partly to check I was on the correct train I went to find a guard who said we would be leaving in half an hour. Aha. At 5 nothing happened and I grabbed the guard as she passed for a new ETD. It should now be 6 o'clock. Under normal circumstances a little annoying, but additionally I couldn't get ...