Vietnamese Whirl (And a Cup of Thai) Part 10 – Across the Miles...to the Land of Smiles

Although we had enjoyed our time in Vietnam and appreciated the differences between the two, we were looking forward to heading down to one of our favourite places on Earth – Thailand.

Vietnam offered a very different experience in terms of culture, cuisine and unfortunately weather (during our stay!).  We struggled with the traffic, pollution and general infrastructure.  Thailand definitely wins on the organised tourism front.  They’ve been doing it a lot longer I guess, and Vietnam is still on the learning curve – and sometimes get it badly wrong.  We loved the Vietnamese people who seemed so kind, friendly and genuine. Value for money, Vietnam is unbeatable – our accommodation was clean and comfortable and cost a pittance, whereas prices in Thailand have almost trebled since our first visit. I found the vegetarian food quite uninspiring, whereas I love the flavours in most Thai dishes – although Western food was easily located.

Each of the places we stopped offered us a unique, memorable experience and I’m very glad we took time to visit this wonderful country, but we were now off to more familiar ground…

I had previously visited the bustling capital, Ho Chi Mein City, some 16 years ago and knew that Ian would hate it, so we headed straight to the airport to catch a late flight to Bangkok.  A quick overnight near the airport, and a fond reunion with a local “Seven Eleven” for a toastie and some coconut yoghurt and we were set for the journey southward.

We’d previously travelled up the east coast of Thailand a few of years ago by train, but due to the inconvenient timings, we found the taxi apps the easiest form of transport on this occasion.  The the three hour journey down to the resort of Cha Am, was relatively hassle free – other than navigating a swollen river and flooded road, which Google maps seemed blissfully unaware of!

Cha Am was the closest real coastal resort to Bangkok and the place was still buzzing with Thais enjoying the remains of their Christmas/New Year holidays.  Again, the beach appeared to be non-existent but the park adjacent to the sea was set up with hundreds of tables and chairs and small stalls selling food and drink. We enjoyed the lively atmosphere from the comfort of our fourth-floor balcony overlooking the sea.

Further down the road was a night market and beyond that a long stretch of sand which was heaving with deckchairs, stalls and mostly Thai tourists.  There did seem to be a few more westerners at this end and adjacent to the market was a street full of bars and clubs of dubious nature!

We woke up one morning with huge waves crashing over the side of the sea wall and into the road in front of our hotel.  Apparently, this was the result of a storm surge all along the coast and was quite spectacular to see from the safety of our fourth-floor balcony!  Fortunately, it didn’t last too long, as the lovely staff at our hotel were holding their post-Christmas party in the park across the road that evening.  Everything was soon tidied up and ready to go, and we were impressed with their elaborate fancy dress costumes – although less impressed with the late-night karaoke session!

Researching activities in the area on-line, I hit upon a large water park in Hua Hin, the next resort along.  A 30 minute drive down the coast brought us to The Vana Nava Water Jungle which is part of the Sofitel Hotel, and looked like it had some amazing rides including some “virtual reality” tubes – how could we resist?!!

It was a fun day out, and at a bargain price which included entrance, towels, lockers, the VR rides AND an all you can eat buffet… Since we were in Hua Hin, we took the opportunity to check out the beach there.  It didn’t really appeal to me as a place to stay as it seemed like a huge resort with lots of high rise, massive hotels, and not our thing at all.  Our views were confirmed as we made our way down streets lined with massage parlours, bars and souvenir shops to the beach.  The tide was in, but what we saw of the beach left us less than impressed, and glad that we were staying somewhere less crowded.

On our last day here, I hired a bike and cycled down the far end of the beach, across a little bridge and found another very long stretch of sand which seemed popular with kitesurfers.  Beyond this was a harbour filled with colourful fishing boats but sadly, also lots of rubbish. Inconsistent waste management systems and a low uptake of recycling initiatives still seem to be a massive problem here, especially in rural and fishing communities, although we were pleased to see rubbish bins every hundred yards or so along the beach in Cha Am, with regular collections. 

Next stop: The Long Road South