The Wheel and Axle

Of course, one cannot go to another city in Thailand without gorging on their food. Because Thai food is love, and when in Thailand: Eat. Pray. Love.

Thus, aside from relaxing by the beach, food was another target when we went to Hua Hin last Sunday and Monday.

I had to have lunch at McDonald’s because it’s my personal mission to eat at a McDonald’s and visit a Starbucks in any new country I go to, assuming they have these stores. McDonald’s, in particular, makes sure to customize its menu to cater to local tastes.

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Hua Hin is known as the Royal Beach Resort because it has been the favored holiday destination of Thailand’s royal family. In fact, the royal family apparently have their own special “receiving dock” in the train station; it’s as opulent and gorgeous as pretty much anything associated with Thai monarchs.

Well, I may not be a member of any royal family, but I certainly enjoyed my stay there – from the very lush and luxurious Putahracsa Hotel and Resort to the food-coma-inducing Night Market where one can enjoy lots of excellent meals and cheap goodies. We almost had not gone to Hua Hin due to possible time constraints and, to be honest, just a tad bit of laziness, but I’m glad we got rid of that funk and made our way to this town.

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Looking for Platform 9 3/4 in Hua Lamphong.

Last Sunday morning, we decided to travel to Hua Hin, a beach resort town about three and a half hours south of Bangkok by express train.

We were supposed to go by bus early in the morning but decided to try the train – which was a good choice. After our pleasant river mini-cruise to Khao San the previous night, seeing that a classic train – old but efficient – would bring us to another part of the country was just exciting.

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My only experience with a Bangkok tuk tuk in the past was in 2005, and it was not a good one. Suffice it to say, the guy tried to rip us off. We decided to jump ship (almost literally) and take a cab.

Fast-forward to 2016, and I wanted to ride a tuk tuk again. You know, just to get that awful experience over-ridden, somehow. My bestie, who has been to Thailand way more than me, did say tuk tuks remain somewhat shady, but as long as you know how to handle them (and perhaps act like a local), it should be fine. The funny thing is, they’re more expensive than cabs and Uber, so most of the time we took Uber.

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