|
Hua Hin is approximately the same distance from Bangkok as Pattaya but on the opposite side of the Gulf of Thailand.
And that is not the only difference. Whereas Pattaya evolved from nothing more than a fishing village only some 40 years ago and rapidly developed into a major tourist resort, Hua Hin has a much longer and classier pedigree.
It first became prominent in the 1920’s when the then King, Rama VII became enticed with its tranquillity and had his summer residence built there, right on the beach. To this day the Royal Family still frequently visits there.
The great and good of Bangkok society followed in his wake, making Hua Hin a popular summer retreat away from the oppressive heat of the capital, helped considerably in 1922 when the State Railway of Thailand extended its line there building first an elegant station and the following year the Railway Hotel, a graceful; colonial style building for which the resort has become famous.
To this day, this relaxed elegance has set the tone of this town and as such when the opportunity to visit it to view the second holding of a Jazz Festival arose, it seemed an ideal way to escape the bustle of Pattaya for a few days.
This idea was the brainchild of our good friends Peewee and Sue who kindly offered the Pattaya Otter a place in their vehicle for the trip there.
As there is no ferry across The Gulf of Thailand, the only route from Pattaya to Hua Hin was to head up into Bangkok, cross the Chao Phraya River and thence down the other side, a distance of around 350 Km.
The festival was scheduled to take place on 3 evenings from the 4th to the 6th of June, so at around 10 AM on the morning of the 4th we set off from Pattaya aiming to arrive in Hua Hin by mid afternoon.
Unfortunately not being very experienced at navigating the Inner Bangkok Motorway Network, we missed our planned turns on a couple of occasions but without too disastrous consequences and with a couple of stops en -route, arrived at the Hua Hin Marriott hotel not long after 3 PM.
This hotel, like its Pattaya counterpart used to be part of the Royal Garden group and it showed its elegant heritage with its tastefully sculptured buildings and its magnificent grounds leading all the way through to its private beach.
A good omen for the days to come.
The festival was scheduled to commence at 6 PM and from the program we found in our hotel rooms, we saw that four stages in all had been set up along the main road from the station to the beach.
We decided that for that first evening we should visit the beach stage which appeared to be next to the Railway Hotel, now called the Grand Sofitel, and so hired a local Tuk-Tuk from our hotel to there. Again another contrast to Pattaya, reasonably priced local transport with friendly drivers.
As we disembarked we could hear the sound of music, but this was in fact coming from one of the two minor stages, The Beer Park stage. So bypassing that, we made our way through the magnificent grounds of the hotel, and soon came into range of the sounds from the Beach Stage which we reached by descending right onto the sand in front of the hotel.
 There on a large well lit stage a band was performing, and although it was only just after 6 o’clock a good crowd had already assembled, either si tting on the sand, or on a few seats to be found around, or just wandering around.
Not having the Thai youth or agility to squat on the sand, we managed to find some available seats from which to watch the proceedings.
And seeing as how the event was being sponsored by Heineken we decided it would have been churlish to have accepted our free admission without at least contributing something to their coffers, and so quenched our thirst with several of their excellent product, which was of course on sale nearby.
A very pleasant evening was spent watching a number of acts perform on the stage in front of us. What impressed us most was the excellent sound system, enabling us to hear every act and every instrument or singer with perfect clarity and at just the right volume – not an easy task to manage in such an open arena.
We were also impressed by the quality of the acts performing, none of whom we knew but all of whom gave outstanding performances, and although personally not being a huge fan of Jazz, I found all the music most pleasant to the ear.
So with only a brief foray in search of food, we passed the remainder of the evening there, returning to our hotel for a good night’s rest.
The next morning after a leisurely excellent breakfast we set out to explore some of the town, visiting first the elegant railway station, which despite its appearance of belonging to the Edwardian era was still bustling and active with passengers awaiting their trains. In fact in the short time we were there, two trains arrived and departed.
Noting that the ‘Railway Stage’ was right outside the station, we then walked down the main road from there in the direction of the beach, passing en-route the delightfully quaint Hua Hin Fire Station.
We searched in vain for the local market eventually discovering that it only operated at night, and after a stop for coffee, eventually found ourselves once again outside the Grand Sofitel Hotel.
So takin g the opportunity presented we set about exploring its buildings and grounds, finding first a garden of amazing topiary and then the main hotel which had been restored to its original pristine elegance some 15 years previously with high ceiling rooms and sweeping teak staircases.
Making our way from there back though the grounds in the direction of the beach we came to the Hotel Tea Room and museum, where it seemed only right to stop for tea whilst admiring the selection of memorabilia on display and hearing in the distance the sound of bands practising for the evening’s performances.
On leaving the hotel we stopped for a late lunch at a small corner restaurant before returning to our hotel to rest and change for the evening’s activities.
For this evening we decided to visit the ‘Garden Stage’ which we had earlier passed on our walk from the station to the beach, and once again caught a friendly Tuk-Tuk to our destination.
This venue had a similar size stage to the one at the beach but here were laid out tables and chairs and although filling up rapidly we found a free one near to the entrance.
We also discovered that the Heineken was availa ble in draught form, supplied in jugs by a bevy of efficient waitresses. Also a large selection of food stalls had been set up all around, so eating and drinking our fill proved no problem at all. Indeed the only problem was at the other end – so to speak, with an absence of nearby toilets, but in the search for these we also found the whole street closed to traffic and set up with stalls selling all sorts of goods as well as booths offering contests of skill (bursting balloons with darts etc.)
Eventually the needed place was located and with that problem solved, we again sat and listened to another selection of most enjoyable music again with the same quality of sound as on the beach stage.
With another good evening under our belts we again eventually retired hotel wards to another restful night.
About the only minor blight on the whole weekend occurred the next morning when the sheer number of guests somewhat overwhelmed the hotel staff meaning a long wait for a table for breakfast and some confusion with the service. But once this had been drawn to the attention of the management, the problems were soon resolved and we certainly could not fault the quality of the food.
We enquired about visiting the Royal Palace but were told this was not possible as members of the Royal Family were in residence, so we settled for a relaxing day in the hotel grounds and pool.
For our last evening of jazz we originally thought of returning to the Beach Stage but we noted from the program that the last act there was due to finish before 9 o’clock and as we had arranged to dine at one of the hotel’s fine restaurants at 6:30 this would not have given us much of a show.
So instead, once we had consumed our excellent seafood meal accompanied by a complimentary glass of wine from the hotel by way of apology for the breakfast mishaps, we again made our way to the Garden Stage where with a smaller crowd present we had no trouble finding a table close to the stage.
This venue also closed earlier than on the previous evenings but nevertheless once again gave us a selection of most enjoyable performances until at shortly after 10 PM the National Anthem brought the concert weekend to a close.
After a trouble free breakfast the following morning we packed, said our farewells to the hotel staff and headed back home, the journey there being without incident, and without any wrong turns (just) in spite of the again confusing signs, and it was only when just a short distance from Pattaya that we encountered our first rains since we left.
In summary then a most enjoyable break, a chance to see a Thailand seaside town not overwhelmed by tourists and last but not least 3 evenings of music of the highest quality. And the Heineken was good too. Highly recommended and a ‘must’ for next year.
To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it.
|
