Hua Hin

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Hua Hin was like a little slice of home, Thai-style. We rented an apartment, cooked for the first time in weeks and quickly developed a routine (swimming in the morning, working in the afternoon, night market in the evening). There aren't many tourist attractions or sights, but it's a nice, laid back town and a good place to slow down for a week.

Town centre

Some areas of the town are very touristy, as it's a popular weekend destination for BKKers and lots of expats live here. But there are also lots of quirky buildings, food stalls and glimpses of local life to be seen amongst the guesthouses and massage places.

Thai girl on motorbike taxi

graffiti on buildings

two songthaews

quirky building

white building

motorbike

local restaurant at night

Seafood

Hua Hin is great destination for seafood lovers. Seafood dominates most restaurant menus and there's a lot of choice, from simple shrimp and scallop dishes to huge bbq lobsters and river prawns.

display of seafood

lobsters and prawns

chefs cooking outside

prawns on a grill

One of the most popular seafood restaurants (and our favourite in Hua Hin) is Sang Thai, on the pier. Their soft shell crab curry was probably the best dish we had in Thailand.

Sang Thai restaurant

soft shell crab curry

Beach

The beach is one of Hua Hin's main attractions, but we weren't too enamoured with it. It's vast, with little shade (not ideal when it's 40 degrees) and it's tough to beat the beaches on the Thai islands. So we didn't spend much time here, it's a nice place for a morning walk before things heat up though.

Hua Hin beach

Hua Hin beach

Markets

Markets are big in Hua Hin and, as ever, we spent many hours wandering around them. As well as the main tourist night market, there are also local food markets and wet markets to explore.

food market

crabs in boxes

dried squid

food market

stalls at night market

Choosing a new dessert to try each night at the market was my job (always thinking with my sweet tooth!). The mini coconut pancakes were the best, soft and full of coconut milk. We're still not sure what these other sweets are, something crispy and sweet, with a meringue centre.

man making coconut pancakes

thai desserts

Hua Hin was our last stop in Thailand. Next up, Malaysia!