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.

Fit for a King

Although I was only in Bangkok for two days on my recent visit, I made the tough decision to relinquish a whole day there for an expedition to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. I took the easy way out and opted for a coach trip. An added attraction was that the return trip included a river cruise along the Chaophraya, which provided a wonderful perspective of the city of Bangkok. On top of that, we also visited the beautiful Bang Pa-in Summer Palace.

The present day palace dates from the reign of Rama V, King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910). He was one of the royal children tutored by a series of European tutors, including Anna Leonowens, an episode which gave rise to the story of The King and I. He subsequently sent his own sons to be educated in Europe and made two visits there himself, the first Siamese king to do so.

The European influence can be clearly seen in the buildings that make up Bang Pa-in Palace. The literally 'palatial' building are exquisite, but I must admit I was particularly taken with the buildings on the other end of the scale  - a delightful pavilion, the royal raft, and the colonial cottage-style houses of the consorts and concubines. (King Chulalongkorn had 99 consorts and 77 children.)

It could be anywhere in the south of Europe, an Italian lake perhaps,  but this is Devara-Kunlai (the God King Goes Forth) Gate, the principal entrance to the Inner Palace.

Phra Thinang Varobas Bimarn, Residential Hall. The covered bridge to the right separated the Inner Palace from the Outer Palace and allowed the court ladies to look out without being seen themselves.

Aisawan-Dhipaya-Asana Pavilion

Beautiful pots of bougainvillea on one of the bridges.

Phra Thinang (Royal Residence) Uthayan ... 

Another view of the covered bridge and Phra Thinang Varobas Biman, Residential Hall

The Sages'  Lookout, Ho Withun Thasana

Phra Thinang (Royal Residence) Wehart Chamrun (Heavenly Light)

Two of my favourites:

The Royal Raft (just wait till you see inside) ...

And Bubpa Papas Pavilion - how gorgeous is this? 

Here is a little more of the Royal Raft. It had been opened up by the time I walked back.

How wonderful it would be to have this moored in your backyard. You could just cast off when you needed extra peace and quiet to finally start work on that novel!

Inside the raft

Here are some of the houses of the consorts and concubines. I love these little painted wooden cottages with their shutters and verandahs.

Finally, a closer look at the garden...

Potted Allamanda

Adenium, the Desert Rose, which has cropped up everywhere on my travels lately.

As a patriotic Aussie, I couldn't resist a photo of these topiary kangaroos.

Not sure of the name of this, and I hadn't realised it grew as large, but fabulous patterned leaves
(Mystery solved, thanks to Virginia C .  This is  Erythrina variegata) .

A more typically Thai subject for these topiaries and one of my favourite tropical trees, the Breadfruit, in the background.

You know - me and water features.... (love the Chinese pot and stand but hate seeing the protective chain around this.)

This seemed to be a very dainty variety of wisteria.

I have a new favourite tropical flowering tree - the Indian cork - more posts on this to come.

Finally, one of my fellow tourists, a Buddhist nun snapping away on her i-Pad.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to the Bang Pa-in Palace.