The Fifty Best Buys in Hua Hin

[wenshidi]

The Fifty Best Buys in Hua Hin

While prices have certainly risen dramatically over the last ten years in Hua Hin, there are still plenty of great bargains out there. I will start off here with three of my own and then maybe you can add a couple more and we will see if together we can make it up to fifty.

1. Thai Style Dining Table Place Mats – 99 Baht – Shopping Mall
Occasionally you will see these displayed near the front tills in Shopping Mall, but not very often as they sell so quickly. They come in sets of four and six, are tasteful in colour and design and make great gifts for friends back home.
2. Christmas Cards – 5 Baht – Second Floor – Shopping Mall
Up in the office supplies section, there are lots of beautiful Christmas cards, starting at just five Baht, all with Thai and English greetings. Some of the twelve Baht cards are fantastic, with beautiful Thai designs, much nicer that boring old baubles and reindeer
3. Pumpkin Crackers – 25 Baht – Royal Project Shop
I love the quirkiness of the Royal Project Shop, especially as there is no OTOP outlet in Hua Hin. There is a large selection of locally produced items that you would never find in Tesco or 7-11, and often at quite reasonable prices. Pumpkin crackers are a bigger pack than most mass produced crisps, much healthier and only five Baht more.

[margaretcarnes]

Coasters made from carpeting - 5 baht - last forever and go in the washer!
Chopping boards - huge thick round ones from the back of pickup trucks - from about 200 baht depending on size.
Rubber wood spatulas etc from the kitchen shops and market.
Bags of dried chillies from ChatChai market - 10 baht.
Pashminas from the little shop next door to HH Mall.
Heat sealed packets of sliced kiwi fruit from 7 Elevens.
Wasabe peanuts from anywhere!
Fresh pineapples in season 5 baht - back to the pickup trucks -
and corn on the cob cooked in pots by the roadside.
Not forgetting sticks of quails eggs in crispy batter.....

(book me a flight please quickly)

[wenshidi]

I though that with all the posts over at the 101 reasons thread, this one would also take off.
Anyway, great additions from Margaret and here is another three from me to get the ball rolling again.

11. Dental Work – Just recently had nearly an hours work done for nearly 800 baht. All modern facilities, super polite staff and ultra hygienic. Is there anywhere else in the world that can provide this kind of service at such fantastic prices?
12. Roasted eggs with pepper – 15 baht for three from any street vendor. Tasty filling and money that goes directly to working Thais instead of international supermarkets.
13. Coconut ice cream from tricycle vendors. 10 baht for a big scoop and just as delicious as Hagen Daaz or Ben and Jerry's

[margaretcarnes]

Number 13 is certainly a winner! There did used to be a Ben and Jerrys near town - great tutti fruttie - is there one in MV now? But I just despair about the lack of imagination in icecream flavours here in the UK.
What we need over here is an Icecream Revolution. MInd you - it probably wouldn't taste the same would it?

[Takiap]

I dunno MC, I think some of the ice creams in LOS are pretty weird.

Durian ice cream being one of them, and then there are some with bits of corn and/or little black bean type things. Even worse.....tea and green tea flavored ice cream.


As for the best buys in Hua-Hin........just too many to think about. Nevertheless, tools would certainly be on my list. I find even good quality tools are very reasonably priced here. Okay, I just myself a new Bosch angle grinder so I have to try and justify the expense. A belt sander will be coming home soon as well.

[Bristolian]

tools would certainly be on my list. I find even good quality tools are very reasonably priced here. Okay, I just myself a new Bosch angle grinder so I have to try and justify the expense. A belt sander will be coming home soon as well.

As somone who is settting up a home hobby shop/workshop, where do you buy your tools? I have so far thought that most of the imported tools are expensive.

[Takiap]

tools would certainly be on my list. I find even good quality tools are very reasonably priced here. Okay, I just myself a new Bosch angle grinder so I have to try and justify the expense. A belt sander will be coming home soon as well.

As somone who is settting up a home hobby shop/workshop, where do you buy your tools? I have so far thought that most of the imported tools are expensive.

For all I know they might be expensive compared to US or UK prices. I've not bought tools in years so I'm more than likely out of touch with today's prices. However, I bought a Bosch angle grinder the other day for 1,390 baht, which I think is very reasonable. The same one is available at a hardware store in soi 6 for 1,950 baht. Quite often you'll find a good deal at the "sell everything" shop on the klong road, but it's seems to be a matter of being there at the right time.

I don't really go out shopping specifically for tools like these unless I need something urgently, so it's more a matter of buying when I see something which appears to be a bargain. I certainly don't have many tools at present but that's mostly because I don't have a place to store them. I'm working on it though, but of course Mrs Takiap doesn't quite understand why I need all these things, or why I would even want them in the first place. Well, not until something needs to be repaired urgently.

For instance, I managed to justify buying the angle grinder because our gate basically needed to be redone completely. The belt sander shouldn't be an issue either because our wooden picket fence needs a good seeing to, and it ain't going to be done if I have to do everything manually. Could get workers in, but I prefer doing it myself because then I know it's done properly and won't need to be done again for at least another 6 or 7 years.


Just shop around and you're bound to find some good deals, but don't wait until you actually need a certain tool.

[Dannie Boy]

tools would certainly be on my list. I find even good quality tools are very reasonably priced here. Okay, I just myself a new Bosch angle grinder so I have to try and justify the expense. A belt sander will be coming home soon as well.

As somone who is settting up a home hobby shop/workshop, where do you buy your tools? I have so far thought that most of the imported tools are expensive.

You can sometimes pick up good deals at one of the many Thai hardware shops, but of the big DIY chains, I find the price/selection at Thai Watsadu hard to beat and many of the branded items such as Bosch and Makita seem cheaper to me than the equivalent in the UK.

[Frank Hovis]

I agree, Thai Watsadu is well priced, especially on the Japanese Makita tools although the Chinese Maktec are OK for lighter use (or use by people who will drop them). They also do DeWalt which is nice and have both blue and green Bosch (as per Makita/Maktec) and perhaps the best thing about Watsadu is that although they have loads of staff on hand if you need them, they don't follow you round like a pack of wolves tracking an injured deer.
Not sure if they still do it, but Home Pro used to have a table for cheap/sale/opened.missing bits items where you can really pickup a bargain if you don't mind not have the tool case or supplied drills or whatever.

[Bristolian]

I certainly don't have many tools at present but that's mostly because I don't have a place to store them. I'm working on it though, but of course Mrs Takiap doesn't quite understand why I need all these things, or why I would even want them in the first place. Well, not until something needs to be repaired urgently.

This I really understand as I have the same problem with Mrs B. She could not understand why I wanted to build a hobby/workshop and then spend more money on buying tools. Trying to explain that I actually enjoyed making and repairing things simply did not compute because she is probably right that it would cost less to employ someone to make or repair it for you. However as we know.....That’s not the point.

[johnnyk]

Fresh fruit off the back of a pick-up truck just in from the farm.

[Lung Per]

Female companionship - longtime/short time.
They say money can't buy love - but you can get something that's pretty close. And with no further obligations.

[Dannie Boy]

I think the best buy of all is the HH Forum - not only is it packed with useful (normally) information, it's also free...........how can you beat that?

[wenshidi]

Female companionship - longtime/short time.
They say money can't buy love - but you can get something that's pretty close. And with no further obligations.

Sorry, but this doesn't count.
The post is about bargain buys, not rentals!!

[christopher1]

When I used to come here for holidays, I always took back...Black peppercorns and cashew nuts. Un-beatable bargains at the fresh market.