Hua Hin - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

[pharvey]

OK, I'm not exactly in a position to comment with any authority when I only visit 2 or 3 times a year very briefly for holidays with the Long Haired General. At most, we'll spend up to 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year taking advantage of company holidays. It would be interesting however to see what others (especially the residents) think.

For my 2 Baht's worth as a starter: -

The Good:
In general, the people, both Thai's and expats alike. Far more relaxed, open and friendly than where I and I'm sure numerous others are based. The long term visitors/permanent expat residents that I've come to know, such as SJ on this forum are thoroughly decent people. The Thai's that I have met and become friends with, couldn't do enough for you - and unlike some others reported on this site, ask for nothing in return.
The weather/climate/clear blue skies!! I live in the definitive concrete jungle - with construction ongoing at an alarming rate. Central Chongqing population around 12 million, Chongqing municipality 36 million...... HH to me therefore is a God-send!!
The sea/beaches - not HH as such, but a little further south we have been on beautiful sandy, deserted beaches. Clear warm water...... superb.
The food!!
The Beer!! The Cider (can't get in Chongqing)!!
Shopping!! Well, for me it's the food...... you have to understand western food is VERY limited in Chongqing.
HHAD - Well, I had to say it...... Do I get any brownie points?

The Bad
I have to say, there hasn't been much for myself, my wife or our visitors to HH. Possibly the (occasional) overcharging, but then again as a foreigner you should expect it IMHO - my wife, the LHG has certainly experienced UK taxi drivers overcharging first hand..... much to her amusement and their later embarrassment!!
Litter - whilst not so much in HH itself, I find it extremely sad to see beautiful beaches trashed for want of a better word. Don't **** on your own doorstep!! When will people learn??!!

The Ugly
Can't say corruption, as I've not had the experience (thankfully) in HH despite buying a property!!
Can't say the MIB.... never had a problem.
Touring expats - certainly not all, but I've bumped into several who basically were complete and utter ****'s! There's a separate thread on this forum which pretty much describes this scum.
Treatment of Bar Girls... I'm happily married, so I don't tour the bars, but on the occasions I've been there.... there are some ****'s around (as no doubt described in the thread mentioned above)!!

[E-Dork]

The UGLY, Well that's an easy one.

The Ugly are us farangs that have come over and ruined the place. Quite Simple.

[margaretcarnes]

One of the 'goods' for me is the number of local Thai people who are still around after donkeys years in HH - and who of course always manage to remember us farang (and I mean we must all look the same to them yes?)
It's also good not to have to barter for tuk tuk fares these days. Most trips seem to be 100 baht now.

On the bad side of course that is really a bit steep compared with other places in the LOS.
Also bad is the failure of the change in red traffic light rules - i.e no left turn on red. Sadly one of these days someone else will be killed due to drivers (and not just Thais) ignoring the new signs.

Bad is the scrimping by many restaurants on the gung in my regular khao pad (excuse spelling) which seems to often be down to 3 shrimp per meal now. Thats just taking the piss - and it's not just at touristy places either.

But hey - the sea breeze in HH is always welcome

[Korkenzieher]

Hmm. So it's not just me. I noticed the Khao Pad (no problems with your spelling in my book, MC ) Talay isn't only a bit 'gung lite', but 'pla-meuk lite' as well. Really little more than basic stir fried rice, with occasionally some egg in it. Corners are being cut it appears.

[Norseman]

The UGLY, Well that's an easy one.

The Ugly are us farangs that have come over and ruined the place. Quite Simple.

What are you saying?
Do you accuse me and everybody else that I know, that we have ruined this town?
What the f*** are you talking about?
This town is a tourist resort/town and all you have to say is that WE are ruining this town!!
Have you any idea of how much money we are spending on the local Thai businesses in this town?
I personally don't know one farang living here who are exploiting or ruining Hua Hin.
On the contrary; we are (in most cases) taking care of of the our local community as best we can!!
I personally believe that we are contributing quite a lot not only to local businesses and the province, but also to the state in form of taxes and business opportunities.
I've alone have, up to now spent around 10 million Baht in this country, and all you have to say is that we are ruining this place!!
(And hey; I'm a cheap Charlie)!!!
Give me a break!

[Takiap]

The UGLY, Well that's an easy one.

The Ugly are us farangs that have come over and ruined the place. Quite Simple.

You've obviously only spent a very limited amount of time in Thailand, and not seen/experienced those cities in which there are no farang living. I don't mean rural Isaan villages. I mean places such as Samut Sakhon, and etc. 99% of the Thai living and working there would gladly come and live with all us ugly farang if they could.

The good - Just about everything
The bad - soi dogs running in front of my motorbike
The ugly - plastic litter

I guess I don't have too much to complain about

[hhfarang]

The good - Choices of eateries! For a town this size, I've never seen a place with so many choices of restaurants with so many types of food, and at all price points. Location: between sea and mountains (well, big hills at least) is a beautiful setting and just a little over a two hour drive north is one of the biggest and most fun (imo) cities in the world. Take the same drive south and you have some of the most beautiful beaches and rural areas around. Seemingly, an area not prone to any natural disasters. I've lived through tornadoes in Tennessee, earthquakes in California, hurricanes in Florida, and horrendous sandstorms in Saudi Arabia. Other than a couple of little tremors a few years ago and a bit of temporary spot flooding during the heaviest rains, there seems to be very little danger of natural disasters in this immediate area

The Bad - As Mags mentioned, the main thing I don't like about Hua Hin is the cost of living compared to a lot of other places in LOS. The traffic, due to the way people drive mostly and especially motorbikes making their own road rules bothers me and the lack of convenient parking which keeps me away from downtown most times. The infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth. With all the money coming in to this little community from the growth over the last six years, you would think the authorities could afford a few more strategic traffic lights, some road resurfacing, and crossing guard gates at all the railway crossings in town. Better traffic control and railway crossing controls would save a lot of lives each year. The only other gripe I have, and this seems to be only me, is the climate. While most of you from Scandinavia, the U.K., or Canada love it, I find it far too hot most of the time.

The Ugly - Yes, the litter bothers me, but it is much worse in some other parts of Thailand than it is in Hua Hin, and as for us farangs, the majority of residents and visitors I've met are decent folk, but as with everywhere else there are a few (maybe quite a few) rotten apples in this barrel that we would be well rid of that have come to our fair city, just to exploit other farangs (we residents all know who they are). As for foreigners in general and how the Thai community is affected, I agree with Norseman, being one who has brought in and spent around 16 million baht in Hua Hin in six years and have taken virtually nothing out (I've only left Thailand on one holiday in over six years) I think the community has benefited a bit from my residency.

[pharvey]

The UGLY, Well that's an easy one.

The Ugly are us farangs that have come over and ruined the place. Quite Simple.

No offense there E-Dork, but there's no ''us''...... you're in a group all of your own!!

In all seriousness, as I said earlier, there are certainly a ''few'' farangs that do their best to ruin the atmosphere, relations etc. However, Hua Hin or Thailand for that matter is certainly not alone with this problem!

In the poetic words of ''General Kenny'' (aka Kenny Everett), we should ''Round them up, put them in a field and BOMB THE B@ST@RDS!!''..............

For those of you who have zero idea who Kenny Everett is..

[E-Dork]

Norseman screamed....

What are you saying?
Do you accuse me and everybody else that I know, that we have ruined this town?
What the f*** are you talking about?
This town is a tourist resort/town and all you have to say is that WE are ruining this town!!
Have you any idea of how much money we are spending on the local Thai businesses in this town?

Wo there fella. You can come down off your high chair baby boy. So in your eyes paying a load of money into what are predominantly bangkok families businesses makes a certain improvement.

Some of us actually quite liked the nature of the place as a sleepy village.

Takiap said...

You've obviously only spent a very limited amount of time in Thailand, and not seen/experienced those cities in which there are no farang living. I don't mean rural Isaan villages. I mean places such as Samut Sakhon, and etc. 99% of the Thai living and working there would gladly come and live with all us ugly farang if they could.

If you ever read my introduction you would see I have been living here for well over 20 years. My extrended family have a few fish farms 5 minutes up from Samut Sakhon where we frequent regulalry. You couldn't be further from the truth if you think would want us up there 'developing' the place for them. You haven't a clue mate I'm afraid! You obviously niether understand Thai's or Thai culture. Maybe you just understand money grabbers and bar girls. Sure they want ya money mate.

[STEVE G]

Wo there fella. You can come down off your high chair baby boy. So in your eyes paying a load of money into what are predominantly bangkok families businesses makes a certain improvement.

Some of us actually quite liked the nature of the place as a sleepy village.

Surely then the fault lies not with those who come to visit Hua Hin but with whoever decided to build twenty odd large resort hotels on the beach to attract them there.
I believe the first of them was built in 1926 so it's not exactly been a sudden change.
I do understand your sentiments though and it's one of the reasons why I intend to stay based in what is already a developed area rather than go to a pristine area and ruin that. Hua Hin was already a tourist resort when I moved there eight years ago and not a sleepy village.

[margaretcarnes]

Wo there fella. You can come down off your high chair baby boy. So in your eyes paying a load of money into what are predominantly bangkok families businesses makes a certain improvement.

Some of us actually quite liked the nature of the place as a sleepy village.

Surely then the fault lies not with those who come to visit Hua Hin but with whoever decided to build twenty odd large resort hotels on the beach to attract them there.
I believe the first of them was built in 1926 so it's not exactly been a sudden change.
I do understand your sentiments though and it's one of the reasons why I intend to stay based in what is already a developed area rather than go to a pristine area and ruin that. Hua Hin was already a tourist resort when I moved there eight years ago and not a sleepy village.

You are both right in a way. Sofitel (Railway Hotel) was the first but hardly a huge eyesore like some of the resorts are now. Plus it catered for Bangkok Thais at first.
I believe (and someone might have more info) that the next 'tourist trap' hotel would have been Subhamitra. Again - low rise, unobtrusive, and 42 years ago also likely to have been mainly used by Thais. Then the Melia and Dusit appeared - with the Melia having a lot of support BTW by certain royals.
Only fairly recently has the South end of Petkasem started to really develop, and many more high rises have sprouted around the Dusit.

[Francois]

You are both right in a way.

Hello Margaret,

You're right... There have been a few strong words but I do believe that is more a misunderstanding that anything else. It's always difficult to explain something or give a feeling when you're sitted behind a screen.

I'm sure those words would have been quite different in front of a beer.

Keep relax and have a cool beer

[STEVE G]

Incidentally, seeing as we're considered "Handsome man!" in Thailand, surely if we're to be considered a blight on the city, we should at least be in the 'bad' category and not the 'ugly'!

[Takiap]

Norseman screamed....

What are you saying?
Do you accuse me and everybody else that I know, that we have ruined this town?
What the f*** are you talking about?
This town is a tourist resort/town and all you have to say is that WE are ruining this town!!
Have you any idea of how much money we are spending on the local Thai businesses in this town?

Wo there fella. You can come down off your high chair baby boy. So in your eyes paying a load of money into what are predominantly bangkok families businesses makes a certain improvement.

Some of us actually quite liked the nature of the place as a sleepy village.

Takiap said...

You've obviously only spent a very limited amount of time in Thailand, and not seen/experienced those cities in which there are no farang living. I don't mean rural Isaan villages. I mean places such as Samut Sakhon, and etc. 99% of the Thai living and working there would gladly come and live with all us ugly farang if they could.

If you ever read my introduction you would see I have been living here for well over 20 years. My extrended family have a few fish farms 5 minutes up from Samut Sakhon where we frequent regulalry. You couldn't be further from the truth if you think would want us up there 'developing' the place for them. You haven't a clue mate I'm afraid! You obviously niether understand Thai's or Thai culture. Maybe you just understand money grabbers and bar girls. Sure they want ya money mate.

Happily married for many many years, so unfortunately for me, I don't have "bar girl" experience.........perhaps you could enlighten me. BTW, During the few years I lived "in" Samut Sakhom, I never came across any bar girls. What I do know though, is that the majority of Thais I got to know while living there, were simply trying to earn a living, and long for the day they can leave. In fact, my wife's parents are just one example, hence the reason they have moved down here. Your comments did however prompt me to discuss this issue with them, and I'm afraid, judging from their remarks, it's you that does not understand Thais, because according to them, Hua-Hin is like paradise by comparison. I guess they don't mind us Farang being here.

There is something called progress, and progress comes with a price. Whether we are here or not, is not going to stop the country from developing, and with development comes change.....sometimes good, sometimes bad. But yes, I do agree that the presence of expats destroys a country. After all, countries that don't have foreigners living there tend to be amongst the most thriving nations in the world. Places such as Burma and North Korea spring to mind

Giving all our money to Bangkok Thais? Whether they come from Bangkok or not, they are still Thais. And, I give almost no money to Bangkok Thais. Groceries are bought at the markets and Mom and Pop shops, as are all our clothes and etc. In fact, I can't think of one example where I am supporting a Bangkok family. Lastly, I've been living here just as long as you mate, so my guess is I do have at least some knowledge of Thai culture.

Anyway, we'll have to agree to disagree

[margaretcarnes]

You are both right in a way.

Hello Margaret,

You're right... There have been a few strong words but I do believe that is more a misunderstanding that anything else. It's always difficult to explain something or give a feeling when you're sitted behind a screen.

I'm sure those words would have been quite different in front of a beer.

Keep relax and have a cool beer

Too true Francois - to be honest at first I thought E Dork was referring to 'ugliness' physically! (Judging by his avatar )
But Takiap has made a very good point IMO about where farang spend their money in HH. The local Mom and Pops, markets and vendors are the only way really to help to support the local Thai people.