A Recent Trip to Hua Hin

[forrestreid]

In my January Trip to Thailand, I spent some time in Hua Hin. I wrote a bit of a report about it for the other gay board. I usually post there, but as I have got useful information on this board in the past too, and there doesnt seem to be much info on this board on Hua Hin, I thought I would do a cross posting here.

I will write about my getting there in this post. I will add a bit about a day trip I took while I was there and the nightlife in another post.

 

Getting there - On the ferry from Pattaya to Hua Hin

Several times in my previous trips to Thailand I had meant to get to Hua Hin. But I never quite managed it. As the new ferry service from Pattaya to Hua Hin had come into being since the last time I travelled to Thailand, I decided that this trip I definitely would go in the new ferry.

I bought the ticket at their offices in Bali Hai pier a few days before sailing. I nearly came a cropper a that point actually as I hadn’t thought  bring my passport which you need to book a ticket, but luckily after a bit of begging the saleswoman accepted the photocopy of my passport I had instead. There was a choice of an ordinary ticket for about 1200 baht or a VIP ticket for about 1500. A VIP ticket means that you are allocated a larger seat in the upstairs deck and get a snack. Sailing time was 10 in the morning but I was told to be at the pier at 9 o’clock.  I turned up by five past nine - was not sure what you need it all this time for but I thought I had better. As it happened I think if you had turned up by 9.30 it would be plenty of time.

The ferry left as scheduled at 10 o’clock. It was meant to take two hours, and as it got into Hua Hin around 12.20 it was pretty much on time.

One thing to note, if you are booking. I was allocated a seat on the left hand side of the vessel but as that side is facing south on the way to Hua Hin and I was beside the window the sun was beating down right on the side of my head. Luckily as the upstairs deck was only two-thirds full on my trip, so I was able  to move seats once we were underway but in case it is full I suggest asking for seat on the right hand side of the boat, when heading to Hua Hin.

The pier the ferry arrives at in Hua Hin  is about 5 miles south of the town. Once the ferry got in there was a bunch of songthaws there. Basically what happened was they asked where you’re going and you are more or less unceremoniously dumped into a songthaw with people going to hotels near you and charged 300 bat for the privilege.

Some British guys baulked at the price and were just left there beside the pier. I don’t know how they got to town after. I am sure if you have Uber you can make your own arrangements.

 

The Baan Manthana Hotel

I stayed at the Baan Manthana hotel in town. This was about 15 minute walk from the beach and about the same from the main gay bar. It was a cheap and cheerful option but the room was clean and it had a pool.

[forrestreid]

Sightseeing

 

As I was staying in Hua Hin for only a three nights I decided that to get the best out of it I would hire services of a guide named the Suphot to bring me around me for a day. (People who read the other main board might recognise the name as the partner of one of the posters there, Smiles)

Suphot picked me up from the hotel around ten and we had a full day out until around six.

First step was the  Mrigadayavan Palace, the summer palace of Rama VI. It is a few miles north of town. An unusual design, very Thai.

 

Then we went to Monkey Mountain (Khao Takiab Hill),  a few miles south of town (right beside where the ferry gets in actually). Has a Buddhist wat on a hill with good views all  around and also, as the name suggest, swarms of monkeys.

Then headed for Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, stopping off at a place Suphot suggested for lunch. Aimed at locals, with a menu in Thai only, it is the sort of place I never would have stepped in if I wasn’t with him I got a really nice lunch of pork and rice for something like 40 baht.

I had told Suphot I was interested in seeing the Phra Nakhorn cave, within the bounds of the park. I had read about it, it is famous for having a one hundred year old Buddhist Pavilion built right inside the cave.  But  had not realised how much of a rigmarole was involved. First we entered the National Park which was 100 Baht for me in 40 for Suphot. Then to get to the cave we had to on a boat around a headland to get to a beach nearer it. This involved walking out into the waves to hop into to a long-tail boat that brings you in five minutes around to the beach then go to up the path to the cave. That cost 400 baht return.

I had read somewhere that this was half an hour away from the beach. But I didn’t realise until I was on it that it is 30 minutes of a steep climb up steps to the cave mouth, and then you go quite steeply downhill again to get to the pavilion.

You need a to have a good level of mobility to manage it. But I was all worth it when I got  to the chamber  in the cave with stunning view of the pavilion in the middle of the cave as sunlight streams in from he collapsed roof.

After that it was on the way back to town, with a quick stop off at Rajabhakti Park to say hello the 7 humongous statues of the old Thai kings that the Thai military has installed as a rather bombastically nationalist new tourist attraction just south of Hua Hin.

All on all a very good day. I would enthusiastically recommend Suphot as a to anybody who is looking for a guide around Thailand. Also does multi-day trips for people who want to see other parts of the country . He is a careful driver and his English, although a bit  idiosyncratic is fine to understand and he is calm easy-going presence to have around

[forrestreid]

Gay bars in Hua Hin

 

There are two gay nightspots in Hua Hin - the New Guy bar and the Red Indian. I went to the New Guy bar on the first night to meet up with Smiles and for a bit of a chat. That  night I didn’t really chat much to the boys, of which there were about five are six around the bar, and maybe two or three customers. Later on that evening I went  to the Red Indian bar. Smiles had warned me that it is usually fairly quiet but it was worse than that, actually -  it was closed. A woman in a bar opposite it said it was closed as the owner gone away for a few days. So I didnt get to visit the Red Indian Bar at all during my stay,

So that was the first night. The second night was after my day trip and I was so tired I stayed in my hotel. But on the third night I decided to go back to New Guy bar and maybe off a guy. When I arrived there was maybe one farang and four or five boys. None of them could speak much English other than the owner from what I can tell. I got talking to a guy there who claimed it was his first week. After being told they had a room upstairs for massage I decided to take that guy upstairs as he said he could do massage. The cost to the bar for the room (including the off fee) was 340 baht.

The upstairs room who is pretty decrepit - the bathroom had no hot water but at least it had a working light-bulb  which was more than could be said for the massage room. The massage was carried out by the light coming in from the bathroom, which in fairness you could say lent a slightly romantic ambience to the proceedings! As expected, the massage was not up to much. The afters were okay, though basically the guy didn’t seem experienced enough to know he should be doing. But he was eager to please and he seemed very happy with his 1100 baht. So I wouldn’t really be recommending Hua Hin as a place to go specifically  for the guys, but if you’re there you at least one bar to go to.

Back to Bangkok

You can get a train and a bus to Bangkok from Hua Hin, but the train takes about 5 hours and the bus is not much better. I booked a taxi guy through Suphot that had me in my hotel in Silom, from a Hua Hin pickup, in about two hours and thirty minutes. Considering I had my luggage with me, I considered it well worth the 2000 baht or so it cost me.

[biguyby]

Another transport option now is the Catamaran from Hua Hin to Pattaya - a pleasant 2.5 hour cruise. 1100 baht when I did the trip last year.

I’m not sure if still the same now.

[Guest]

Another transport option now is the Catamaran from Hua Hin to Pattaya .

 

Wouldn't that be the same transport option referred to in the opening post ?    Or is there competition on this route that no one has posted about before ?

 

When I travelled from Hua Hin to Pattaya a couple of years ago, there was no ferry or catamaran, so I took the excellent Bell Travel bus.    If I remember correctly, that was very comfortable, took just over 4 hours & cost about 400 baht.   

 

That's a lot cheaper than the ferry, although I would at least try the ferry if it's still operating next time. 

[biguyby]

Wouldn't that be the same transport option referred to in the opening post ? Or is there competition on this route that no one has posted about before ?

 

When I travelled from Hua Hin to Pattaya a couple of years ago, there was no ferry or catamaran, so I took the excellent Bell Travel bus. If I remember correctly, that was very comfortable, took just over 4 hours & cost about 400 baht.

 

That's a lot cheaper than the ferry, although I would at least try the ferry if it's still operating next time.

The OP referred to a “Ferry” not a “Catamaran” so I assume there is now also a ferry service?

[captainmick]

The OP referred to a “Ferry” not a “Catamaran” so I assume there is now also a ferry service?

Surely the catamaran is the ferry. A ferry is a merchant vessel used for the movement of passengers and sometimes vehicles. The vessel can take different forms. A catamaran is a vessel with twins hulls as opposed to a monohull with one hull or a hydrofoil which lifts up onto foils. All three are frequently used as forms of ferry.

[tamtam]

Sounds like you had a great day in Hua Hin with your guide. How much did he charge you for the one day experience? And did you have to book him long time before you arrived?

[biguyby]

Surely the catamaran is the ferry. A ferry is a merchant vessel used for the movement of passengers and sometimes vehicles. The vessel can take different forms. A catamaran is a vessel with twins hulls as opposed to a monohull with one hull or a hydrofoil which lifts up onto foils. All three are frequently used as forms of ferry.

Perhaps I am being a little pedantic but I responded to an advertisement for a “New Catamaran Service” from Pattaya to Hua Hin when I made the trip in March 2017.

[kokopelli]

It is a catamaran ferry.

 

 

[Vessey]

Hua Hin is a place I have oft heard referred to but never been,

 

Having read the report, which is both excellent and informative thanks, I am still wondering whether, in hindsight, it was worth the expense and the effort?

 

Certainly having your guide seemed to offer a far better experience than had you tried to get around solo,

 

The night life does sound disappointing, maybe best to take a 'friend' with you?

[Boy69]

Hua Hin is a place I have oft heard referred to but never been,

 

Having read the report, which is both excellent and informative thanks, I am still wondering whether, in hindsight, it was worth the expense and the effort?

 

Certainly having your guide seemed to offer a far better experience than had you tried to get around solo,

 

The night life does sound disappointing, maybe best to take a 'friend' with you?

Or find boys there through the apps .

[GWMinUS]

Sounds like you had a great day in Hua Hin with your guide. How much did he charge you for the one day experience? And did you have to book him long time before you arrived?

 

I can also highly recommend Suphot for travel and as a guide anywhere in Thailand.

I have toured the temples in Southern Isan, along the border with Cambodia, with him.

And this past November, he took me and my Filipino friend to the Floating Market south of BKK.

He is a great driver and knows all of the places!!!

[Guest Morph]

Thanks for a well detailed report on Hua Hin. This would be helpful for me coz i am planning to go there in the 23-27 May.