Hua Hin

Hua Hin, the beach town favored by the Thai Kings... I fondly remember a sleepy white city with wide boulevards and sandy beaches, where a rickshaw once took me to the train station.

Well, no more. It's a crowded mess of traffic and tangled power lines, and the beaches are mostly private and difficult reach. The King's Home homestay is lovely though, an eclectic museum filled with everything from oil paintings to tacky figurines, in the best way, run by two old ladies. And it's easy to find good food.