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| Edited By: DNA Sunday Team |Source: DNA |Updated: Apr 29, 2018, 08:05 AM IST
When the first impression of a place is formed from the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle speeding at 80km/hr, buildings whizz past, lights form psychedelic waves, and the tar road resembles a grey sea. Bangkok is a chaotic picture in my mind – a collage of billboards, buildings and neon signboards.
Four hours and 220kms later, the montage changes drastically as we enter Hua Hin, the oldest seaside resort on the Gulf of Thailand. At the beach, crisp waters and an azure-cyan sky meet the sands, a shade of toasted almond flour. I crane my neck to see the colourful signs – vibrant restaurants with the promise of seafood.
Hua Hin can be lazy and luxurious, or offer you much to explore. The balmy, tropical savanna winds tempt me to do the former when I reach Chiva Som Resort Spa, but being the curious tourist, I opt for a slice of history.
Hua Hin's first tryst with royalty was around the 20th century. During a hunting trip, Prince Chakrabongse fell in love with Hua Hin and built the first beach villa here. Later, King Rama VI built Maruekhathaiyawan Palace, his summer retreat.
But my guide takes me to the train station, built in 1911, saying, "That's where the story of Hua Hin begins." On the end of Damnernkasem Road, the station sits like a majestic structure, flaunting a steep-gabled roof, typical of Thai architecture. Painted red and white, the station wears a Victorian charm, found in palaces and heritage homes of Thailand. Adjacent to the station, the waiting room, built during King Vajiravudh (Rama VI)'s reign (1910), is an actual pavilion from the Sanam Chandra Palace, built over 110 years ago. It was originally meant for the king. "Of course, he wouldn't be made to wait in an ordinary waiting room," she says.
That's how the train came to be preferred by the elite of Thailand and travellers from Europe to reach the 'royal' beach town. Even today, the platform is packed with travellers awaiting their ride, and a whistle announces the train's arrival. Opposite the station I notice abandoned train carriages that upon a closer look turn out to be reading rooms!
We return to the present with Krailart Niwate. A living monument, it breathes fresh air into the area with its lush mangroves. A cement running track loops right around it to promote wellness among locals, who can use it as a workout spot, and simultaneously appreciate the mangroves or Hua Hin's 'green lungs'. To protect degradation of mangrove forests from shrimp and salt farming over the past 50 years, this preservation-cum-wellness project was initiated by Krip Rojanastien, CEO of Chiva-Som, and Preserve Hua Hin Group under the Royal patronage of HRH Princess Maha Sirindhorn. On May 13, the Hua Hin will host a marathon, rehabilitation programmes, clean-up drives and planting of over 2,000 trees to raise awareness.
By evening, a balmy summer breeze sets in; the right time to explore the markets, which are aplenty – a floating market, all-night markets and the most popular, the Cicada Market that is divided into four venues: Art A La Mode, Cicada Art Factory, the Amphitheatre and Cicada Cuisine. On one end, a group of musicians jam Thai notes, and on the other B Boyers entertain with headstands and spins, and windmills. The food area teems with carts of grilled seafood-, pork- and mushroom satays, Pad Thai noodles and Thai-style mussels that share space with Korean barbecue, wood-fired pizzas and cheesy pastas.
At the amphitheatre, an over-dramatic performance of Likay – a popular form of Thai folk theatre, is on. I don't understand a word, but can tell it's a lover's tiff.
Our final stop is at the art section, a sea of canvases and knick-knacks traded mostly by youngsters from art colleges, and locals from Hua Hin and Bangkok City.
I take home a pillow with a world map print, shoes with cat caricatures and a watercolour painting of a sunbird. As if magically, the painting comes alive the next morning, the yellow bird flies past across a rising sun when I visit the beach.
