Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thailand holiday spot

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Residents of this Asian kingdom list Hua Hin as the top choice when it's time to escape the capital for a few quiet days at the beach, preferring to avoid those resorts frequented by tourists in favour of this local haunt, a three-hour drive from Bangkok.
Hua Hin, and the 5km of sand that defines this destination, has been a favourite with vacationing Thais since the royal family built a palace and holiday estate in the 1920s, when King Rama VII commissioned his favourite Italian architect to design coastal compounds in what was a quiet fishing village by the Gulf of Thailand. Things haven't changed much since. While there is now a selection of hotels mostly boutique lodgings and spa resorts set in the dunes by the beach the destination has managed to avoid the rapid and rabid development that spoils the other corners of the kingdom where tourists rule.
Thailand's bluest bluebloods still live in the original residence, which is poetically called the Far From Worries Palace.
The vintage summer retreat is now a tourist attraction, and the first family and their myriad relatives flee to Hua Hin for a bit of quiet when royal life overwhelms.
This royal presence is part of the reason Hua Hin has maintained the relaxed atmosphere that appeals to holidaying families and sun-seeking seniors, with developers reluctant to work in the king's backyard or build big resorts when the much-loved monarch has long championed sustainable development.
It doesn't take long to realise Hua Hin is different, and Thailand's first beach resort is a mellow refuge.
The alcohol-fuelled frivolity and neon nightlife of other Thai holiday spots is blissfully absent and hawkers don't pester visitors to buy fake sunglasses or massages. 
The central market sells fresh fruit and fish to locals rather than designer fakes to tourists. The night market is the ideal place to sample street food cooked fresh. And it's easy to think there's only a handful of hotels with the odd tower on the skyline and most people staying in the low-profile places hidden beneath the foliage behind the beach.
One of the most interesting resorts is Let's Sea a juvenile name for a chic sanctuary with 40 Mediterranean-style suites stretching back from the sand on an appealing patch of beach a couple of kilometres from Hua Hin's main drag.
This boutique hotel was designed as an ode to the traditional Thai fishing village, with suites flanking a vast swimming pool that mimics a rural canal. There are 20 rooms beside the pool that each feature an exclusive jetty and another 20 second-floor spaces that give the temporary resident access to a private roof terrace.
International travellers visit Hua Hin for the coastline and pampering hotels, but the locals arrive for the food, with the town's fishing fleet delivering baskets of prawns and fish every day, helping the town maintain a reputation as Thailand's top seafood spot.
Golf is a drawcard Hua Hin is one of Thailand's premier golfing destinations, with eight world-class courses and several driving ranges and fishing, hiking, cooking classes, horse riding, diving and snorkelling are some of the options for those keen to do more than sip cocktails.
Pa-La-U Waterfall is a 15-tier feature in the jungle 60km from town, Kaeng Krachan National Park is Thailand's largest reserve, stretching to the Burmese border, Sam Roi Yot National Park has a landscape of limestone peaks and Khao Takiab at the end of Hua Hin beach is sprinkled with Buddhist shrines and worth climbing for the panoramic view.
Hua Hin's unique attraction is Maruekhathaiyawan Palace, the royal family's sprawling summer retreat assembled in 1924 and retired to be an attraction for visiting Thais keen to learn more about their royals.
It's a delight to explore the teak pavilions and covered walkways that were built on stilts to catch the coastal breezes. Standing in the doorway of an elegant blue room, looking across a floor polished to a golden hue in a hallway leading to the beach and feeling the breeze on my face as it whispers through a room cleverly designed to circulate the air, I can see what attracted those first royals to Hua Hin and why the locals have continued to follow in their footsteps.

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