Thorn Tree travel forum

Things I hate(d) about Hua Hin.

1/ The encroachment BELOW high tide mark on the southern beach.
From approximately half way along the southern beach, it is impossible to walk along the beach when the tide is in, as the property retaining walls extend below the high tide mark, and the water is too deep to wade through.
In an ideal world, they would have been required to allow a public access way along the top of the retaining walls, but ideal world Thailand is NOT!

2/ The overabundence of tailor shops. They are a curse on every street. Sometimes they are in rows of 5 or 6 together, and every single one has a tout with the old "how are you my friend, just have a look" BS routine as they try to shake your hand.
Jeeze, just how many tailor shops does 1 small town NEED?

3/ The traffic in the old town.
It seems like every Thai that ever earned 10 bht has gone out and bought a motocy! Then they proceed to drive at high speed through the very narrow streets, completely oblivious ( or uncaring ) to the danger they put the many pedestrians in.
Worse still are the b*****s driving cars at high speed, especially the huge station wagons they love, which take up the entire width of the street.
BTW, there are NO pavements and you HAVE to walk in the street.

4/ The police.
Never to be seen controlling the traffic in the old town, as they are way too busy stopping traffic on the larger roads, no doubt to obtain a pre holiday top up to the "Christmas" fund.

5/ The Tuk tuk mafia ( and the idiots that pay those outrageous prices ).
10 years ago, the only public transport were the pedal power trishaws. Now there is an "invasion" of Tuk tuks of 3 and 4 wheel variety, which go charging in columns through the narrow streets of the old town, endangering pedestrians, and polluting the environment both atmospherically and aurally.
As for the prices they ask, it's an insult to any sensible person! 300 bht to go a couple of kilometers!

6/ The pretentiousness of the place.
Calling a restaurant "Brasserie de Paris" and having someone stand outside in a monkey suit, doesn't change the fact the place is a s*** h***!

7/ The way the administration doesn't maintain any of the public infrastructure ( wonder where the money goes, LOL ).
Yes, they do spend money on keeping the main areas clean, and the gardeners do a great job ( the main road looks very nice, with lots of trees and plants, hedges etc. ) but the pavements are disintegrating, and the area at the headland to the south of the beach, where the temples are, is a complete disgrace.

8/ The amount of rubbish on the beach.
None of the big resorts make any effort to keep the beach in front of their properties clean, like they do on Samui. Probably because they've encroached so much, that none of their guests are actually going to want to go on the beach.

9/ The way every flat bit of beach has been taken over by sunbeds, all the way INTO the sea.
How anyone can actually relax with hundreds of people walking past their sunbed beats me!

10/ The lack of overhead crossings on the main road.
10 years ago, it was just a quiet 2 lane country road with few houses, now it is a busy, multi lane, high speed highway, built up on both sides. However, there is only one overhead crossing, and for the rest of it, anyone wanting to cross has to risk their lives.

11/ The poor value of hotels.
Paying 1200 bht for a room of very average quality ( which seemed a fairly low price when asking around other hotels ) and not providing a lift, any services or breakfast, does not impress me. Even some guesthouses were asking that or higher!