Bangkok Week 74 November 26, 2009 If you're going to the beach to swim, don't go in the winter! (A road trip to and a weekend in Hua Hin.) View fullsize Road Trip! View fullsize Destination: Hua Hin. View fullsize First stop at Hua Hin: a small mountain viewpoint home to hundreds of monkeys. View fullsize This one watched as we ate our lunch. View fullsize This one knew there was rice, too. (The restaurant is enclosed by a wire fence to keep them out.) View fullsize Enjoying our lunch [Fried Rice #1], while the animals watch us inside our cage. Ironic? View fullsize This guy came by to see if we would have the heart to spare some rice. View fullsize Someone took the liberty of hanging out on my precious Vios all afternoon. View fullsize The Wat on top of the mountain provides an excellent view. View fullsize Said Wat on top of the mountain. Rather a windy day. View fullsize Carrying the flowers and incense to make merit while up there. View fullsize A view north, to the main city of Hua Hin. View fullsize A small fishing village we passed through to reach this lookout point. View fullsize Requisite Group Shot #1. View fullsize These temple bells have a great view. View fullsize The monkeys basically lounge around until someone decides to feed them. View fullsize Like this guy. Just chillaxin' on a cool Saturday afternoon. View fullsize This guy and old lady live there, and feed the monkeys regularly. Corn and bananas. View fullsize Action shot! Leaping for his swing! View fullsize Enjoying fresh corn on the cob. View fullsize This little monkey was caught picking fleas off the poor dog, who was trying to nap. View fullsize A bit lower down the cliff, at the same vantage point. View fullsize Another shrine on the seaside. View fullsize Dragons protect the sea and the clouds. View fullsize What monkeys they are. View fullsize Now "downtown" in the city, which recently hosted the 15th ASEAN Summit. View fullsize A little lost in translation? View fullsize A beautiful little park with nicely restored train cars... View fullsize ... is actually the Hua Hin Library! View fullsize Nice new laminate floors, roomy couches to read at, and a selection of books at the rear of the car. View fullsize Pretending we came by train. View fullsize I did come by train! View fullsize Then, got run over by it. Rats. View fullsize The beautifully restored Hua Hin Rail Station. View fullsize Enjoying the seasonal decorations. View fullsize Again, pretending we came by train. View fullsize This poodle was fiercely guarding her stall. View fullsize Our budget hotel room. View fullsize Had a nice little deck with a great breeze. View fullsize A view of a real, non-touristy street, and the mountainous backdrop. View fullsize Selling seashells by the seashore? We must be near the sea! View fullsize The main entrance to the beach is extremely touristy, but otherwise, the beach is quite sparse. View fullsize The toe test indicates the water temperature is COLD. View fullsize Even this beach dog finds the wind too cool for comfort. View fullsize A little choppy? (Hua Hin means Stone Heads... see how it got its name?) View fullsize Enjoying the beach's cool sand (and cold breeze). View fullsize Horse hooves make more of an impression than people prints. View fullsize Did I mention that it was windy? View fullsize Ooh, a new windswept 'do. View fullsize An array of goodies thrown up by the sea. View fullsize A big sea-front property whose fence we peeked over. View fullsize Said (classic white) fence. View fullsize Kite surfers enjoyed the blustery weather a bit further down. (That mountain is the one we drove up earlier, with the temple and the monkeys.) View fullsize Requisite Group Shot #2. View fullsize A tradition among Thai teenagers : take this photo at the beach. View fullsize We brought our mat, so we may as well use it! View fullsize Okay, we have our mat. Now what? View fullsize Reading the free weekly Bangkok magazine we picked up at the car rental place. View fullsize This masterpiece could win any sand sculpture competition. View fullsize Standing on the "Hua Hin". View fullsize Hiding discreetly among the natural landscape. View fullsize And back at the hotel, enjoying its rooftop lounge... View fullsize ... as the sun sets. View fullsize At the night market, which is becoming increasingly touristy! View fullsize A lady makes fun crispy fluff-filled snacks. 10 for 10! View fullsize A colourful fruit seller has a well-organized stall. View fullsize Our choice of dinner joint featured a fancy dragon day bed. View fullsize Dinner! [Fried Rice #2] View fullsize LOTS of seafood restaurants lined the night market. I guess that's why people visit the sea. View fullsize A Swedish Bakery. What's that on the window? Pepparkakor? View fullsize A quieter area of town, lined with small guesthouses overlooking the ocean. View fullsize Of course, there were many seafood restaurants over the ocean on a series of piers. View fullsize We ordered dessert from this lady. It's literally named "Cup Dessert". She scoops the custard out of the cup and puts it in the box to go. View fullsize The main municipality building is all decked out for the holidays! View fullsize As is our hotel's lobby. View fullsize The "Cup Dessert" from earlier. It's a 2-layered custard: one salty coconut milk layer and one sweet agar-based layer. View fullsize Enjoying the dessert and our hotel deck's breeze. View fullsize The next morning: western style breakfast! View fullsize And the Thai take on scrambled eggs. Note the mini-corn in the foreground. View fullsize At Hua Hin's primary food market. View fullsize We stumbled upon an old lady selling vegetarian food... at 9am on Sunday! View fullsize Buy your eggs by the 10! View fullsize Some palm sugar pucks? A discount if you buy 3 kilos. View fullsize There were MANY stalls selling dried squids of all varieties. View fullsize And the traditional way to sell curry pastes. As mountains. View fullsize A huge assortment of condiments for flavouring. View fullsize And how many different grades of shrimp? View fullsize Finally! The Baby and Poodle seller! I knew they were around here somewhere! View fullsize An old house with new dishes. View fullsize Another choppy day on the waters. View fullsize Glad I'm not in those fishing boats! View fullsize As we walk down the fishing pier, almost blown away! View fullsize A hardworking fisherman takes a mid-morning nap. View fullsize Still windy, even today. View fullsize Looking back at the pier restaurants and green waters. View fullsize Requisite Group Shot #3. View fullsize Another dramatic, blustery shot. View fullsize This old man wears his Grandpa Hat as he fixes his boat. View fullsize A dog seeks shelter under a truck parked near the pier. View fullsize Guys pushing around man-sized ice cubes. Normal, right? View fullsize A small, side-soi hidden from most of the tourist shenanigans. View fullsize Another poodle dressed for the winter. View fullsize A 3-story Wat. New to me! View fullsize Stopping at Burger King to write some postcards -- or as an excuse for a cone! View fullsize The one card staying inside the country. View fullsize A huge new complex devoted to reviving Ye Olde traditional Thai life. View fullsize The complex was modeled around the traditional villages built along the edges of rivers. View fullsize Here, a large green lined with old-fashioned shops selling old toys and snacks. View fullsize These two ladies make an old "Thai Pancake"... fried rice patties, then rolled in a sweet-salty-sesame mixture. View fullsize It looks like sandy rocks... View fullsize ... but it's really tasty! One of my favourite Thai snacks. Too bad it went extinct 30+ years ago. View fullsize They have a little carnival area that's open at night. View fullsize An old-fashioned coffee shop. View fullsize And an ancient congee seller, complete with ancient pots. View fullsize Stopping at another vantage point, this one with a small playground. Let's play! View fullsize It reminded me of Miami of yesteryear. Kind of run down. View fullsize That's right, just a few more steps back... View fullsize Finally! A coconut within reach! View fullsize Lunch before hitting the road back to Bangkok. [Fried Rice #3] View fullsize Requisite stop at one of the many huge souvenir stores on the side of the highway. They specialize in the province's official dessert. View fullsize Another pit-stop at a Marshalls-like discount store... except these clothes come straight from the factories down the road! View fullsize O.M.G...! The underwear I used to buy at Costco, that they stopped carrying a few years ago. View fullsize Safe, sound, and back on solid ground in Bangkok. Bye bye, my lovely Vios. (But next time, I'll take a Jazz.) View fullsize The special province-specific dessert that we stopped for on the ride home. View fullsize Christmas has come to Bangkok! View fullsize Time to get festive! (I told you in Week 65 that he would be back!) View fullsize That Australian couple also threw in a tacky gold star. View fullsize Only in Thailand do you hang Christmas decorations from the air conditioner.
![Enjoying our lunch [Fried Rice #1], while the animals watch us inside our cage. Ironic?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57a5b670e6f2e1f140d28fbd/1481760689590-Q94HHWS7MJLUJ5UD5EE6/6.jpg)
![Dinner! [Fried Rice #2]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57a5b670e6f2e1f140d28fbd/1481760782380-ICM64FPF6ILW0MSU6Q6X/68.jpg)
![Lunch before hitting the road back to Bangkok. [Fried Rice #3]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57a5b670e6f2e1f140d28fbd/1481760877451-5Z9R1UP766T9HIBJZXWJ/120.jpg)
