In September 2014 we visited Hua Hin and explored some of the sights in the surroundings. Oi, our tour guide told us a lot of facts and history about Hua Hin. It was quite interesting to learn so much about the town we stayed at for 15 days.

The district of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province consists of eight districts and Hua Hin is one of them. It’s in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. The capital is Hua Hin and is known as beach resort and for the summer resicdence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand. It’s 3 hours by car from Bankgkok, about 199 km south-southwest of it.

Our first stop was the summer palace, which was built by King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) in 1926. It’s named Kla Kang Won, which means “far from worries”.

Rama IX stayed there fulltime from 2004 until 2006, but due to his health issues he returned to a hospital in Bangkok.

The palace has no halls as there are no audiences. There are also no extra wings for the concubines as King Bhumibol Adulyadej had none. The wings are parted in the royal living quarters and the quarters for his entourage. Prince Itthithepsam Kritakara was the architect and built the palace on stilts. On the lower floor the servants could go everywhere in the palace without disturbing the King. All the floors are made of teak and the royal rooms are very airy and bright and are facing the garden or the beach. We lingered around the gardens and gazed at the beautiful architecture of the palace.

The next stop was Takiap Hill. It’s famous for the temples and the great view over Hua Hin. There are a lot of macaques running around and begging for bananas or corns. They are cheeky and coming really close. Oi told us that they are a little dangerous because they tend to bite tourists if you want to pet them.

We crested the steps to the highest point of the temple to be rewarded with the most stunning view over the bay and the town.

If you are ringing the bells, they say it brings you luck. So I rang all of them.

After we soaked in the stunning view and the quietness of the temple, we decided to do something good and donated a little amount. It’s been reputed that Buddha will reward you for your kindness in your next life.

With that we headed in our taxi and back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the day in our plunge pool with a coconut.

xox Mel