Hua Hin

 Do you know about a small town called Hua Hin? Well, let's know more.

Have you heard about a place called Hua Hin? It is a small town in Thailand, located about 200km south of Bangkok. You all might be wondering, why am I writing about some unknown small town when there are many known and famous tourist places. Well, there is a reason behind which will be revealed as I move on.

Why Hua Hin?

Thailand is known for its pristine beaches and amazing marine life. When we visited Thailand, our main aim was to go for a Scuba diving. We contacted an agent and he suggested that Hua Hin is one the best places to go scuba. Underrated and silent as this is a little unknown place and far away from the known beaches of Phuket, Krabi and Pattaya. Since we had nothing to lose, we travelled to Hua Hin. However, as luck would have it, the scuba was cancelled due to inclement weather and high tides. We didn't lose our hearts and we did something more adventurous, which I will cover further.

How to reach Hua Hin?

Hua Hin is well connected by road, rail and air. There are direct flights from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Fastest route is by road. Many cabs ply from Bangkok to Hua Hin. However, we chose the cheaper option - train. It is a 4-hour journey through the countryside of Thailand. Comfy train made us fall asleep through the journey, giving us a bit of a break too.

(Hua Hin railway station)

Accommodation:

Hua Hin is a small but a resort town. There are a lot of beach resorts and Airbnb stays available. We had booked a small condominium which was cosy and beach facing. Rocco condo sea view was our stay here.

(View from our condo)

Things to do in Hua Hin:

As I mentioned before, one of the major activities is scuba diving. Since, we did not get any opportunity to do so, we went on a hiking trip to a cave called the Phraya Nakhon cave. There are other activities here too. One can visit the Hua hin beach, Rajbhakti park, Night market, a viewpoint etc. I will show you around the cave.

Phraya Nakhon cave:

The Phraya Nakhon cave is about 50km from Hua hin, a max of an hour journey. The Phraya Nakhon Cave is located in the depths of the Khao Sam Roi Yat National Park. We booked a cab and drove towards the cave. On the way, we were lucky to see numerous pineapple plantations. The entrance of the park is by the beach. From here, you have two ways to move forward. You can either hire a boat to reach to the other side where you can start trekking a hill. Or you can trek another hill before the beach again to the same point.

As I said, due to inclement weather, we had no option of boat, so we had to start the trek sooner with the first hill. There are well laid steps, so it is not a difficult trek. It took us around 40 mins to climb up and down the hill. The views were amazing as we climbed. The hill overlay the beautiful Andaman Sea and with the breeze blowing across, it made the trek wonderful.

(Beach at the entrance of the national park)

(Pathway for climbing the first hill)

(View of the beach from the top)

Once we climbed down, we were welcomed by another beach side. Very pristine and clear beach.

We steered though the pathway to reach the bottom of the second hill.

(Pathway from the hill towards the beach)

(Pathway from the beach towards the hill)

The trek on the second hill is quite steep with uneven steps. However, you do have stop points where one can have good view of the beaches.

(View of the sea from one of the stop points)

The hill is made up of limestone deposits over the years. You can even see that with rains, some parts of the deposit are eroded. A lot of stalactites and stalagmites can be seen all through the way.

(Limestone stalactite)

(The hill)

(The pathway to the cave)

(Heart shaped opening as viewed from bottom)

After a gruelling 450m trek, about 30 mins or so, we climbed down a few steps to reach the entrance to the cave. It is a small entrance which needs to be traversed by crouching. 

(The entrance)

A short wooden path called crocodile back path, because it looks like the back of a crocodile, leads from the first to the second cave. King Chulalonkorn the Great (Rama V), who fell in love with the area’s beauty, built the second chamber in 1890. Its centrepiece, the Kuha Kharuhas (Kharuehat) royal pavilion, is illuminated by the sunlight falling from a circular hole in the saddled ceiling. Sparkling finials surround a statue of Phraya Nakhon, and bushes and trees grow inside. The temple stands on a hill surrounded by trees and vegetation.

(View as we enter the cave)

(The temple)

(Inside the cave)

(Opening of the cave - bottom view)

(Vegetation inside the cave)

This is one the best treks and worth visiting places that I have been on to. The hike and finally the view in the cave were just awesome. However, do wear proper shoes while hiking and carry water and snacks, as there is nothing available in the vicinity. The best time to visit the cave is in the morning, as you can see the illumination when the sun rays drop down on the temple. If you are visiting Thailand, then do not forget to add this place to your list. I can guarantee you would not be disappointed.

Phuket

PHUKET

One of the most famous tourist destination in South East Asia is Thailand. Be it for the wonderful beaches or the city culture of Bangkok, this country has everything to show case.

This blog is about a trip to Thailand. Of course, I’m not covering the entire Thailand, I would be concentrating only on the southern part of the country – Phuket.

Phuket is the largest island in the country and is surrounded by the Andaman sea. Being an island, you could be bound with beaches all over but each one is worth visiting.

I would be covering a 3-day visit to Phuket and the activities and adventure that we performed here.

Day 1:

We reached Phuket on the noon of Day 1 of our trip and we checked into our rooms. The location was very near to the Patong beach – which is the most popular beach around. Since we did not have much time and we need some time to relax, we thought we could do some local sight-seeing. After consulting the local tuk-tuk wala’s - the famous rickshaw which is called as tuk-tuk here, we proceeded to the Dolphin show near Chalong beach, a good 30 mins drive from our location. It was amazing to see how dolphins and seals performed and danced around.

(Dolphin Show)

After the show, we went to the Karon view point, from where we could see the whole beach view.

Our time was slowly ending, so we reached Patong and we settled on the sands of the beach.

(Karon beach view-point)

(Sunset at Patong)

(Patong Beach)

Day 2:

We had planned and booked a day trip to James Bond Island.

Now why this island was named after James Bond? The James bond movie ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ in 1974 was shot here and the place has been famous since.

This island is located in the Phang Nga Bay and it takes an hour ride on ferry to reach. We had booked a long tail boat and our journey started. Initially what started as a boring journey, soon turned interesting as we danced and sang through the journey. Soon, we reached our destination.

(James Bond Island)

The island has a single rock structure made of limestone. It stands with no support and hence is an attraction. Alongside, there is a cave which can be traversed through.

We clicked some pics and enjoyed our time out there and then we left the island.

On the return journey, we stopped at Phang Nga Bay, which is home to many caves.

(Phang Nga Bay)

(Heart view from the canoe)

(Called James Bond 2 island although this is less known)

We canoed through the caves which was a mesmerizing adventure. The silent surroundings made it a better feeling. 

Day 3:

Another adventure lay in front of us, as we proceeded to the Phi Phi islands.

Phi Phi or Koh Phi Phi is a group of islands that are most visited. Although it is a group of many island, only a few are inhabited while others are limestone formation. The Maya bay on the Phi Phi Don island (largest island in the group) is the most visited one.

(Elephant island)

Again, Phi Phi is an hour drive on speed boat. There are some good locations for scuba diving while there is no entry to some other. We reached Maya bay and we had good fun playing on the beaches.

(Maya Bay)

We also did snorkeling and were amazed to see the beautiful Marine life. We were drained of our energy as we returned to our rooms to pack our bags and move on to Bangkok on our return journey.

Other islands that you can visit from Phuket is the Similian Islands. This is mostly famous for scuba diving as vareid marine life. We couldn't visit this place and this wasn't in our plan as well so we had to forego it.

If one thought that Thailand is a place only for couples, then they are wrong. It’s a place for anyone and everyone and it is guaranteed that everyone will enjoy. A definite and a worthy place to visit.

Just to add more info about Visa and currency in Thailand.
Visa is on-arrival for Indian citizens. The cost of Visa is 2500 INR. You can pay the visa fee at the immigration center. Since there are a lot of Indian tourists, the line would be longer, so it may take a couple of hours for the stamping.
The currency of Thailand is Baht. One BHT is twice that of an INR. BHT is easily available in any forex and you can also exchange Indian currency in Thailand. There are a lot of forex available. But please make sure you go for a good currency rate.