Rim Talay Beach, Hua Hin
It was SOOO nice to be able to breathe clean air, out there in the beach paradise that is Hua Hin.
(Not too mention the unblocked Internet sites.)
"Chat Chai" or Night Market
Hua Hin is less touristy (and less pricey) than Phuket. Walking through the streets of central Hua Hin feels a lot more local than Phuket. "Chat Chai" (or the night market) in Hua Hin not only had the usual t-shirts, shorts, & Thai crafts that seem to appeal to tourists, but also had numerous seafood restaurants, and a good variety of local street food. It was interesting to see the Thai versions of familiar yet different hawker food: wanton noodles, roti prata (known as Rotee - available with different kinds of fruits + condensed milk!),fried kuay teow (pad thai), and rojak (lots of raw vegetables with suspicious looking sauces that looked like ground up raw seafood!).
For me the best part of the holiday were the walks on the beach with my younger son, wading in the sea waters at low tide, and looking for sea life in the receding waters. Also, nothing beats a good exfoliation of dry, cracked & chapped heels like walking barefoot in the sand!
Of course, I can't go to a beach resort without visiting the spa. I certainly felt like a well-seasoned wok after all the massage oil treatments I received...a very relaxed well-seasoned wok.
On the way back from Thailand, I saw a family traveling with a toddler of about 2 years old. It made me reflect on how much my older boy has grown (he turns 18 today). I still remember how he would fall asleep on my chest during similar flights to various destinations. It also made me appreciate how I do NOT have to carry around bag loads of diapers/formula/extra change of clothes/baby food/toys etc! Bittersweet memories indeed.
So now we are back in the frigid cold of Beijing & it's coal-laden winter air. I am already missing the beach, and the warm sunshine, and the sound of the ocean waves.
And starting to think of where we should go for our next beach vacation...
