Goodbye to Hua Hin

With only a few days remaining of my week's holiday in Hua Hin, I thought I should shake off my slothfulness and make an effort to see some of the 'sights'. Fortunately, given my tight timeframe, there aren't very many must-sees in Hua Hin apart from the beach. However, I was keen to see Baan Silapin a local artists' collective on the outskirts of town. There were a couple of fabulous paintings on display, which I managed to resist, but it was still a fun and colourful place to visit.

Heliconias in bloom

Can you see a black and white 'something' near the bottom of the stairs in the distance? It warrants closer inspection.

At another end of the property... Why do I feel that face looks familiar?

Of course, the divine Miss B... I wonder what those two are up to while I am off working in foreign climes to support them in the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.

Just so long as no one is sleeping on the newly recovered sofa that isn't even in its official position yet!

But I digress....  My second and final port of call on my visit to Hua Hin's tourist spots was to the King's Summer Palace - Phra Ratchchaniwet Marukhathayawan - built by Rama VI. The teak buildings are connected by a series of elevated, covered walkways and surrounded by lush gardens.

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The sparkle of blue plumbago in the garden bed.

You can just catch a glimpse of the sea to the left behind the ancient frangipani.

I love this building set to the rear of the palace, presumably for officials. It's too big to be a cottage and too pretty to be barracks.

The submerged terracotta pots catch the rainwater from the downpipes.

It's official: I am a failure as a butterfly photographer, but I had better hone my skills quickly as I have an exciting wildlife adventure coming up soon!

Finally, a look at some of the other blooms around Hua Hin that caught my eye.

The Queen's Flower Lagerstroemia regina

The always fabulous Hammerhead Frangipani Plumeria pudica

A rather lovely white Ixora with a very narrow petalled, starry bloom compared to the one I have.  Here is the link to an earlier post of mine so you can see just how different the two are.

 

It was also quite tall. This was the growth above what was a five or six foot fence.  (The gorgeous veined leaves of the tree above are of a breadfruit.)

So it is goodbye to holidays, Hua Hin, and Thailand for now, and hello once more to my working life in Jakarta.

I do love to be beside the seaside!

After a couple of days in Bangkok and a fairly long drive, I finally arrived in Hua Hin to start a week's R&R in the hope of shaking off the bug I had caught on my way home from Indonesia. It was lovely to feel the sand under my feet, explore the waterside restaurants and jetties, and sample some of the local cuisine.

I fell in love with this young pup who had crawled under the boat to be as sick as the proverbial dog. (I think it was the Miss Bella ears that won me over.)  I even started making all sorts of crazy calculations about vets and quarantine and airfares until I remembered that I was flying on to Jakarta to work and not heading home. But all is well that ends well. When I checked again the next morning, Pup had made a full recovery, and I realised was probably a dearly loved family member from one of the fisherman's cottages by the beach.

That wonderful coconut shell and orchid combo, again.

Sorry Mr Hilton if the purple umbrellas below are yours, but this is not my idea of fun at the beach. Imagine being Umbrella 11 in Row E. Maybe the Europeans are more used to massed umbrellas, but it's just not the Aussie way.

I regret not having bought one of the terrific shell mobiles.

One of my Thai connections told me that Hua Hin was an 'old money' resort. It became popular during the twenties when Kings Rama VI and VII both built residences there. My base for exploring Hua Hin was Baan Bayan. The main building was a beautifully restored beach house from those times, reminiscent in many ways of a traditional Queenslander from my home state, but with even more under-cover veranda space: a great design for the tropics. 

This is the rear of the building from outside my own more modern unit. I love the blue and white ginger jar against the lemon at the top of the stairs.

I've been thinking of having fairy lights put into the big poinciana in my front garden, but these white shades are another great option.

There were some wonderful dendrobium orchids in the garden, as well as the beautiful Indian Cork tree I had fallen in love with at Bang Pa-In Palace, a few days earlier.