Insiders’ guide to the royal playground of Hua Hin, on the Thai Riviera

[Big Boy]

Hua Hin is a three-and-a-half-hour train journey from Bangkok. Hugging the coast 200km from the Thai capital, the royal resort town is the northernmost district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

“We’re located between the mountains and the sea, and enjoy good air quality most of the time,” says Patrick Jacobs, a 69-year-old retired hairdresser, citing one of the reasons he chose Hua Hin as a place to settle. “It’s small, but also international. Coming from Belgium, I speak four [European] languages. I use all of them here.”

Significant among Hua Hin’s cosmopolitan community are retirees seduced by the tropical sunshine and sedate pace of life. Catering to their needs, the town boasts two air-conditioned malls – Blúport and Market Village – nine golf courses and a plethora of dining options ranging from seafood restaurants to pizzerias.

But for Jacobs, it’s the mountain temples and hidden coves that have kept him busy over the past 16 years.

“When I moved to Hua Hin, I began taking photo­graphy seriously,” says Jacobs, author of Hua Hin: A Coastal Canvas in Pictures (2023).

Photo ops
The best place from which to shoot the sun rising above the Gulf of Thailand is Khao Takiap, or Chopstick Mountain, says Jacobs, referring to the rocky outcropping to the south of Hua Hin that provides a spectacular view over the 22km strip of sand known as the Thai Riviera.

For centuries, this section of coast constituted little more than a smattering of fishing villages, one of which endures at the foot of the hill, and Jacobs often photographs the fisherfolk at work, in the company of Chopstick Mountain’s macaques. “You see people and monkeys living side by side,” he says. “There’s very little conflict.”

Jacobs champions conservation initiatives such as the non-profit Blue Swimming Crabs Bank, which was established in the village by a fisherman concerned about declining marine stocks. “They look after netted, immature blue swimming crabs, shrimps and other species, which are released back into the sea,” says Jacobs.

A short distance away is the Krailart Niwate Mangrove Ecosystem, a project aimed at protecting what remains of Hua Hin’s saltwater habitats. “The fish are protected from predators here until they are mature enough to swim out to sea,” he explains.

A public walkway zigzags through these mangroves towards the hilltop Wat Khao Krailart, a 19th century temple that “was in disrepair but a new abbot is now renovating the whole complex”, according to Jacobs.

The hilltop, with its spectacular views of the south side of Hua Hin, was loved by King Rama IX (1927-2016), and close to the temple is a humble, wooden cabin that was frequented by the late monarch.
Eighteen kilometres inland from Hua Hin is Wat Huay Mongkol, a sprawling temple complex with a towering statue of monk Luang Phor Thuad. It’s an attraction recommended by local artist Nang Kesa-Ngam, who also suggests, “as an alternative to the beach”, Pa La-U, an 11-tiered waterfall.

About 60km west of Hua Hin, along a road that passes through pineapple plantations and lush forests, Pa La-U is in Kaeng Krachan National Park and home to butterflies, rare monkeys and other wildlife.

Where to stay
For visitors, Jacobs recommends two guest houses in the Khao Takiap area: Resort de Paskani, which is Greek-island white-and-blue hued and ideal for couples, being near an almost unused stretch of beach; and the Thai-style Ruenkanok Thaihouse, which is centred on a “very photogenic” pool.

However, there is one hotel, Jacobs says, that cannot be ignored: the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas.

The Thai royal family put Hua Hin on the map when they started holidaying on the gulf coast around the start of the 20th century, but it was the opening of the Thailand-Malaysia rail line in 1921 that turned it into a resort town for the masses. Around a year later, the Railway Hotel was opened, as an overnight stop on what was then a three-day journey.

Since rebranded as the Centara, it has been expanded over the years, and now has four pools, a spa and five restaurants, including The Museum, a cafe decorated with heirlooms such as black-and-white photos of the cast of the movie The Killing Fields (1984), which was partially shot in the hotel. The property oozes charm, the integrity of architect Alfredo Rigazzi’s two-storey design having been preserved.

Musical attractions
A regular at the Centara is Englishman John Murphy, who joins me on the terrace of the hotel’s Railway Restaurant for dinner while watching a traditional Thai music ensemble perform.

“I’m consistently amazed by the musical talent we have in this town,” says Murphy, founder of MIMO Events, which organises several high-profile shindigs across town, including BluesFest, held in January, and the Royal Coast International Jazz Fest, scheduled for May 1 to 5.

Murphy came to Hua Hin in 2019 after 16 years working in Hong Kong and Bangkok. “It took about two months for the pressure of big city life to dissipate,” he says. “I would just drive into the surrounding hills.”

Among his favourite live-music venues is Woodstock, which is owned by local guitar virtuoso Ped Bluesman, who performs there five nights a week. “He trained as a classical guitarist before he discovered the blues,” says Murphy. “That’s why he’s so good.”

He describes the Amara Resort, a congenial hotel and outdoor restaurant, as “a little oasis” where “they have live jazz nights every Tuesday and Thursday”.

Another of Murphy’s haunts is 3 Monkeys, near Khao Takiap Beach, with its outdoor seating, wood-fired pizzas, full Thai menu and a regular cast of performers. It is popular with couples as well as a troupe of (more than three) opportunistic macaques.

When he’s not scouring the town for musical talent, Murphy says, he is busy planning other events, including the Hua Hin Wine Expo, which will be held in October.

“You know we actually have a vineyard in Hua Hin,” he says.

Wine and art
Monsoon Valley is a little under an hour’s drive west of town. The vineyard, which benefits from a microclimate cooled by sea air, is on a former elephant corral, hemmed in by verdant hills.

Monsoon Valley offers tours, tastings and meet-and-greets with the two elephants that still live on the grounds, and visitors to the vineyard’s Sala Wine Bar & Bistro can sample colombard and shiraz vintages in a sublime setting, overlooking the surrounding fields.

Another attraction worth leaving town for, Murphy says, is the Hua Hin Artists Village. An amalgamation of studios, galleries and workshops 15km from the coast, it is very much a family affair: Nang Kesa-Ngam and her husband, Tawee Kesa-Ngam, greet visitors from their respective studios, and their son runs the cafe. Nang leads me on a tour that encompasses permanent exhibitions, visiting painters at work and tourists attending a watercolour workshop. Much of the art on display was produced by local creatives and is for sale.

For inspiration, Nang says, she and her husband often head to Hua Hin’s notable sites, including the old railway station, which dates back to 1926 and is just north of its modern elevated replacement, which opened in 2023. Settling trackside in the evening, when the day has cooled, the creative couple sketch the outline of the Victorian station house and adjunct Royal Pavilion, a wooden structure constructed for King Rama VI (1881-1925) at the Sanam Chandra Palace, in Nakhon Pathom province, but relocated to Hua Hin in 1974.

Full story, with photos: https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/art ... pe=article

[HHTel]

and enjoy good air quality most of the time

Not according to the stats!

But other than that, quite an interesting article.