We spent the weekend at Hua Hin. This tourist city is about 3 hours south of Bangkok. It is probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The beach is magnificent. We stayed at the Hilton, which is a 5 star hotel in Thailand. Here is a view from my $200 per night room. It would have been double that here as it was a huge room.
People in Thailand understand customer service quite well. Upon checking in we were given a welcome drink and then a tour of the facilities by their staff. In the U.S. we would hand them a nice map & turn them loose.
The sun here is excessively strong. Even with 45 SPF sunscreen I got pretty sunburned. I thought the “sweater in a bottle” would protect us, but not here.
Dr. Panpim, the Dean of International College at SWU, took us to dinner on Saturday night. We went to a restaurant on the beach. By U.S. standards it should have cost the 6 of us about $250 for all that we had. By Thai standards it cost us $65 for 7 entrees, appetizers, drinks, and 3 desserts. I ordered fish & Panpim sent it back to have its head cut off. I can’t eat anything dead that is still staring at me!
This resort town was awesome, but few Thai’s actually use the area because it is so expensive for them. Also, many people who used to go to Phuket (also a coastal town), now come here after the tsunami destroyed much of that beach area. All the Thais say that area is even more beautiful than Hua Hin. Part of it has rebuilt, but many Thai’s are staying away because someone they knew died there.
The last picture is of a monkey. This monkey wasn’t in a zoo, but just roaming the streets. They are everywhere in this area, much like we have rabbits. However, they are far more annoying. They hang out near food and will steal things from people. We were told to leave bags and purses in the car because the monkeys would try to take them. The monkeys smelled, but it was kind of neat to see them outside of a cage as I oftentimes find zoos barbaric.
Bangkok is a very large city that is not big enough for all the people who live there. It lacks a lot of infrastructure to support the people. This means there are pockets of poverty all over the city. However, Hua Hin as a spectacular place. Yet most Thai’s can’t even use the most beautiful places in their country. There is definitely a much larger gap between have’s & have not’s in Thailand than in the U.S., where we also see it as a major problem.
Here are just a few observations….
1) You do not see people out exercising in the mornings and throughout the day like we have in IL. That is because it is so hot! I have never experienced heat like this. They lift their windshield wipers off the glass because they can melt. If people are going to exercise they belong to a club or they do it just as the sun is setting. It is still in the upper 90’s, but not as bad as during the day. I don’t know what people who are poor do. My guess is they do not exercise at all...just like in the U.S.
2) There is quite a difference between men’s & women’s leisure. Men play sports & women really don’t. Women do more passive activities than men. There are true gender roles here in terms of leisure.
3) The Jazz Festival was gong on in Hua Hin. It was just like any other festival in the U.S. There were stage sponsors and everything. There was a huge grounds crew out the next morning picking up trash. I have included a few pics of the festival.
The sun here is excessively strong. Even with 45 SPF sunscreen I got pretty sunburned. I thought the “sweater in a bottle” would protect us, but not here.
Dr. Panpim, the Dean of International College at SWU, took us to dinner on Saturday night. We went to a restaurant on the beach. By U.S. standards it should have cost the 6 of us about $250 for all that we had. By Thai standards it cost us $65 for 7 entrees, appetizers, drinks, and 3 desserts. I ordered fish & Panpim sent it back to have its head cut off. I can’t eat anything dead that is still staring at me!
This resort town was awesome, but few Thai’s actually use the area because it is so expensive for them. Also, many people who used to go to Phuket (also a coastal town), now come here after the tsunami destroyed much of that beach area. All the Thais say that area is even more beautiful than Hua Hin. Part of it has rebuilt, but many Thai’s are staying away because someone they knew died there.
The last picture is of a monkey. This monkey wasn’t in a zoo, but just roaming the streets. They are everywhere in this area, much like we have rabbits. However, they are far more annoying. They hang out near food and will steal things from people. We were told to leave bags and purses in the car because the monkeys would try to take them. The monkeys smelled, but it was kind of neat to see them outside of a cage as I oftentimes find zoos barbaric.
Bangkok is a very large city that is not big enough for all the people who live there. It lacks a lot of infrastructure to support the people. This means there are pockets of poverty all over the city. However, Hua Hin as a spectacular place. Yet most Thai’s can’t even use the most beautiful places in their country. There is definitely a much larger gap between have’s & have not’s in Thailand than in the U.S., where we also see it as a major problem.
Here are just a few observations….
1) You do not see people out exercising in the mornings and throughout the day like we have in IL. That is because it is so hot! I have never experienced heat like this. They lift their windshield wipers off the glass because they can melt. If people are going to exercise they belong to a club or they do it just as the sun is setting. It is still in the upper 90’s, but not as bad as during the day. I don’t know what people who are poor do. My guess is they do not exercise at all...just like in the U.S.
2) There is quite a difference between men’s & women’s leisure. Men play sports & women really don’t. Women do more passive activities than men. There are true gender roles here in terms of leisure.
3) The Jazz Festival was gong on in Hua Hin. It was just like any other festival in the U.S. There were stage sponsors and everything. There was a huge grounds crew out the next morning picking up trash. I have included a few pics of the festival.
4) A lot of soccer is played at night on the campus. The fields are much smaller. I think this is due to limited space plus the heat. A smaller field means they run less.
5) People do not walk very far at all. They take taxis (very cheaply), skytrains & subways, or motorbike taxis. These motor bikes look dangerous! People don't walk because of the heat and the pollution in the air. This has made it difficult for us as I really like to explore new cities on foot.
Until later....
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