Hua Hin Hot Topics - Weekend Warriors
The long weekend bought the usual long queues of Bangkok plated SUVs to Hua Hin which proceeded to turn the town’s inadequate road system into one giant car park. Reports of it taking over an hour to cross town were common as residents and visitors all took to the roads en-masse. A simple solution may be the construction of a multi-storey car park but considering Hua Hin’s astronomical land prices and the fact that hotels take precedence it is unlikely to happen. There is also the fact that walking is an alien concept to many so a car park may not solve the town’s ever increasing traffic problems after all.
The government’s idea to extend the holiday to boost domestic tourism wasn’t a bad one – the purpose, however, was completely defeated by their draconian law that prevents places selling alcohol on religious holidays!
As the recession continues to bite many are seeking cheaper alternatives to their usual lifestyles. These include travelling by train as opposed to taking the car, eating in local restaurants as opposed to expensive tourist ones, golfing out of town instead of paying over 2 thousand a round and shopping more sensibly. Hua Hin is one of the most expensive places in Thailand to live and it certainly shows when money is tight. The only ones that seem to have escaped the global financial squeeze are the SUV driving Bangkokians that doubled Hua Hin’s population last weekend!
One topic dealt with the ever increasing problem of dual pricing in areas with high farang populations. Hua Hin, along with other tourist destinations, is well known for this practice and it is something that foreigners living here need to learn to deal with. The easiest way to do this is to learn a little Thai and know the cost of things before hand. This way when a moto driver wants to charge you 200 baht for a 2 minute ride you can tell him where to shove his bike! There is also the school that tend to pay anyway as they’re always comparing it to their own currency by stating things like “it’s only a couple of quid”. This will only give the locals the impression that all farangs are well off and that it is fine to over charge them, thus perpetuating the problem.
Hua Hin’s hot topics do seem to be doomy and gloomy lately, maybe the shine has come off for many, maybe financial pressures are beginning to take their toll, or maybe people are just discovering places that are better than Hua Hin.
Maybe a short spell in London, Stockholm, Brussels, or Sydney would change a few perspectives on life here!