In the run up to the ASEAN conference on October 23-25 a number of security precautions are being taken by the local authorities in Hua Hin. One of them is the registration of all Hua Hin residents and their vehicles for a sticker allowing them to travel in and out of the city limits during the meeting. This implies that security will be heavy handed with road closures, check points and parking restrictions – the authorities obviously do not want a repeat of the circus caused by the red shirted mob at the last conference in Pattaya. The sensible thing to do for this weekend (and the week running up to it) would be to leave Hua Hin completely.

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The bars of the block received some attention this week as readers posted their raves and rants on Hua Hin’s nocturnal establishments. The bar scene has mushroomed over the years and what once was a sleepy town with two or three watering holes now has hundreds of them. A common complaint about some bars in the binta-block area is bill padding whereby additional items mysteriously appear when it is time to check bin. This does occur from time to time, occasionally intentional and often accidental; furthermore customers often get confused especially after consuming 12 Changs. The bars in town change hands so frequently that a good bar this year could be a bad one next and due to astronomical rents a lot of bars are now popping up out of town as Hua Hin’s urban sprawl spreads further afield.

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There have been a lot of questions for the expats this week as people turn to the forum in search of answers to some often quite bizarre requests. Many are simply asking where to by certain items however those items occasionally raise a few eyebrows. Starting with the sensible stuff the list has recently included distilled water, maids, aerial photography, grass seed, bedding, wood carving and pest control. Moving on to the realms of the strange we get TDS (total dissolved solids) meters, pith helmets and boomerangs. The mind boggles … maybe Hua Hin’s expats are getting bored with beaches and golf!

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An interesting discussion was started on our perceived and actual status in Thailand and whether we consider ourselves tourists or residents here. Income is probably the major factor as many still rely on incomes from overseas and are heavily affected by exchange rates; others work in Thailand and get paid in baht. The bottom line, as aptly posted by one observant reader, is that most other countries allow you to take part and become integrated with society if you move there and make the effort. You can achieve a status close to its nationals with relative ease (depending on the country), get loans, credit cards, buy property, apply for citizenship, and even vote in some instances.

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