Photos of Hua Hin

They definitely won't show you what Hua Hin is like :) Perhaps more of the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin where I stayed.

My hotel room. I asked for the 2 beds to be joined together but I only slept on one side.

The toilet was quite huge and I didn't try the bathtub. Not really one to soak in bubble bath too.


A culotte I bought from the night market. It cost me 300 Baht (about S$13) after the lady reduced the price since my colleague bought 3 tops.


An interesting flower arrangement on the tables at one of the dinners.


I came back to the hotel room one night to see a packet of cookies and card on the table. It was from the front office manager who apologised for the inconvenience caused. I had to ask the front desk to check the room phone twice for the 1st 2 days. The first day, my colleague called my room - I could hear her but she couldn't hear me. The phone also gave some high-pitched noises at times. The 2nd day, she also called me but I couldn't hear her and her call went to another room. That night, a hotel staff came to my room, checked, took the phone away and came back to replace with a new one. I didn't think much about the incident after that but it was nice for the hotel to give me something sweet to remember :)

Last night in Hua Hin

My bosses and colleagues have left yesterday/this morning. I have been tasked to attend a workshop today as no one wanted to attend or think it’s necessary for them to attend but there should be a representation. Anyway, it was an interesting experience. The topics and issues discussed were interesting. The participants, resource persons and facilitators were also friendly. I didn’t really mingle with most of participants when my colleagues were around. Today I had the opportunity to talk to some of them.

As usual, there are tea breaks (coconut juice, raw crunchy mango slices to be dipped into blend of salt, sugar and chilli bits and other Thai kuehs) and authentic Thai food lunch (the tom yam soup was really spicy). After lunch, we had to take a short bus ride to some swampy areas to plant some tree saplings. We were all dressed in office attires and jackets and had to rolled up our pants and wear some cloth boots to dig the soft soil/mud to plant our 2 saplings. I managed to walk on drier mud and didn’t get my feet stuck in the mud like what happened to a few participants. But I was perspiring from the heat. It was fun though :)

Dinner was also catered for at the hotel’s restaurant. I had a short walk with a participant from China before dinner and he asked if he could speak in Chinese. I warned him about my horrid Chinese. He feels comfortable speaking Chinese even though he is fluent in English and studied and used it for work. I had to ask him to explain certain words in English and I used English when I don’t know the Chinese words to convey my message. It was a nice chat as we talked about our countries, our work and lifestyle. He is younger than me and also frank in sharing his views. I guess speaking Chinese does help to form some kind of bond more easily. When he had to leave dinner halfway for Bangkok airport, I joined another table to talk to 2 other participants. We all felt more relaxed after finishing the meetings and workshop. I may be seeing some of them again when they attend some meetings in Singapore in Oct.

I didn’t join the other participants to the night market just now since I had visited it on Tues. I also want to check office emails and maybe write a brief report about today's workshop,before packing my luggage. I will be waking up before 6am tomorrow and leave the hotel at 7am for 2-3 hour’ road ride to the airport. I can’t wait to be home :)

Exercise plan

I have just found out that the swimming pool is opened from 8.30am to 6pm. I thought I could do an early morning swim before breakfast at 8am and meeting at 9am. It seems like I can't do that. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll wake up slightly earlier again to do some light stretching exercise at the little balcony in the hotel room (if I don't have to feed the mozzies) or take a walk at the beach within the hotel compound. I was so looking forward to a quick swim.

Working in Hua Hin

I was here 4 years ago to attend a meeting alone. From today till Sun, I'm at the same hotel again to participate in another meeting with my bosses and other colleagues. The hotel still looks lovely. Maybe this time, I will have time to explore the swimming pool.

As usual, the 3-hour long van ride from Bangkok Airport to the hotel made my back and bum ache a little when we reached the hotel at around 2pm but I'm glad to have 3 colleagues travelling with me. The big boss and 2 other colleagues arrived later in the evening. We came earlier to attend some informal meeting before the actual meeting starts tomorrow.

I shall check some work emails and listen to the songs/music on my laptop before turning in. I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow but it may not be as relaxing as today.

Reflection about my experience in Hua Hin

It is heartening to see the other participants committed to this meaningful cause. Coffee breaks, lunches, dinners/hanging together in the evenings gave me and everyone an opportunity to get to know one another better and also understand the different cultures and lifestyles. Most of them are married or have children and quite often I was asked if I'm married or have kids :)

One of the organisers is from China and was happy that I could speak Chinese (although not as good as him). For the first time, I find some use of my knowledge of Chinese, making someone feel happy in finding someone who speaks a language he is comfortable in. Although I'm more comfortable to speak in English or a mixture of English and Chinese, it was quite fun making conversation in complete Chinese sentences. I also spent 2 evenings talking to 2 Swedish ladies. We had dinner together and also browsed through the night markets. We shared the kind of books we read (Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Lord of the Rings, The Alchemist, etc), our religious beliefs, our lives, etc.

I was grateful that my colleague was very nice and helpful in answering my queries about certain issues. I called home everyday as mum misses me and I want to let her know how I was doing in Hua Hin. A good friend of mine also sms me almost everyday like what she did when I was alone in Prague for an international meeting on the same issue. I was very touched by her gesture.

I doubt I will visit Hua Hin again or soon. The 2.5 to 3 hour car ride to and from Bangkok and Hua Hin gave me a bit of aching back and bum but the memories of my experience will stay with me for a long time :)

This is the most expensive item I bought in Hua Hin. Every time I walked past the souvenir shop at the resort, I would look in and admire this picture of the 2 cats. On the last day of the meeting after lunch, I just walked in and bought it after fingering it for about a few minutes and paid 1050 Thai bahts. It was only after I was in my room that I realised I paid more than $40 for a batik scarf. But I have no regrets as I really like it. Not sure what I will do with it though. Anyway, I only bought a T-shirt with a dog cartoon and a pair of white shorts for myself. Sorry, friends - I didn't see anything nice for you.

I worked on my presentations and read the necessary papers at this table of my hotel room. It was not bright enough for me as I'm so used to florescent light at home and at work.

Lush greenery just outside the balcony of my hotel room. I didn't really stay out long at the balcony for fear of blood sucking creatures - the mozzies! Hee.

Isn't this breathtaking? :)

Such a picturesque scene before us when we had our lunch after a morning of interesting discussion.

Some images from my stay in Hua Hin

It won't be accurate for me to say the following photos are representative of Hua Hin, "the oldest beach resort of Thailand, 163 km to the south of Bangkok". If any of you have been to Bangkok, the town area of Hua Hin looks a little like Bangkok but less crowded. I have not really stayed and shopped in Bangkok. I merely had glimpses through the car/van window when I was travelling to and fro Hua Hin and Bangkok International Airport. The other participants of the meeting also told me that what the night markets in Hua Hin offer are not as good as those in Bangkok.

As compared to my past overseas meetings, the photos I took are considerably less. I only took photos in the resort. I didn't take photos of the food I had during the weeklong stay, photos of piles of fried insects, cages of young adorable puppies, rabbits, etc sold at the night market, photos of stray dogs roaming the streets, resting outside the shops or photos of beggars. I don't know why. I wonder if the Thai are happy with their life, selling their wares at the night markets. Perhaps with limited education, there is little else they can do. I saw some Thai trasvesites at night smiling and looking pretty. I saw a stray dog with injured fore legs, limping and crossing the road safety and wondered about its fate. I wondered if the young animals sold at the market will end up with good responsible owners. These images stay with me in my mind. Besides some disturbing thoughts, I have also learned more from this meeting and the conversations I had with the other participants. I will tell you more later.

However, there are some photos that I like and want to share with you :)

We had a few lunches at the Thai Restaurant of Hyatt Regency Hua Hin (the venue of the meeting and also where all participants stayed). It was a nice open air dining experience. Lovely sea breeze and greenery created a good ambience for dining and lively conversations.

Hua Hin

I will be leaving for an overseas meeting in Hua Hin, Thailand later @ 1pm. A last minute decision. I'm not longer handling the issue since a few months back but I have been asked to attend the meeting since I have no commitments. It has been a mad rush to arrange for air ticket, etc on Thurs and I have to catch with the issues to be discussed during the meeting and do a brief presentation on 2 topics. It should be a relaxed round table discussion. I will be back in Singapore on 15 Oct and will blog about my experience with photos! :)