So leaving Kuala Lumpur, I arrive back in Bangkok late at night and make my way to my little airport hotel. I had planned to get the train from Bangkok to Hua Hin, but wimped out. I need to carry less stuff but that is easier said than done, and managing to get it all into Bangkok City, onto a train and then to the hotel at the other end seemed a backpack too far! And I could shave a couple of hours and a few quid off the journey by getting a taxi so that was what was planned. But I have learned that in Thailand, planning and execution are two different things. Suffice to say, booked taxi didn't show, at the backpacker hotel I was harrassed by the travel desk to take their taxi as soon as the booked cab was a minute late (same price, but I was convinced it was some sort of scam....). I held out for half an hour but finally gave in and was transported to Hua Hin in some style in a Merc limo. But it looks like the cab, booked for 9am, was never going to show and here is the email I received a day later, it made me laugh and at least wasn't me held by the Thai police....
We are very sorry about today's matter.
we all operators really didn't know till some hotel staff called us at 10 : 00.
Because you didn't called and your driver also didn't reported to us.
Hotel staff explained you already left to Hua hin and our driver arrived too lately,
and then, we checked it up to our driver manager, he also didn't know about it.
at last, we contacted and asked to our driver what was going on and why didn't report to our operator.
Your driver had some trouble with traffic policeman on the way, but the policeman didn't accept to let him go to pick up the clients,
so, your driver called his friend urgently instead of him, but his friend also needed time to go your hotel,
he reported us about this matter around 12 : 00 after free from that policeman.
we really opologize you.
Needless to say, I haven't booked them for the trip back!
The journey south felt a little bit like driving down to Brighton for a few days. The road skirts south of the city, but it seems to go on for ages through industrial areas, over huge modern bridges, I'm not sure I quite realised just how big a sprawl Bangkok is. And because it is so flat, you get a great view of the downtown area in the distance. And then on to the motorway where eventually the scenery changes and a few hills appear, just like the South Downs, but perhaps not as rounded!
The AKA Resort is beautiful, and I have been upgraded to a two bed villa.
All the villas here have private infinity pools, and I am now ensconsed in a huge area with a big bedroom, living room, indoor and outdoor bathroom, second bedroom in a separate building and joy of joys my own ten metre pool. Oh, and a big rooftop sala with huge day bed. The place is spread over many acres and is that lovely Thai minimalist design. Monochrome, very Zen, very quiet, lots of water. All the staff wear dark grey loose pyjama outfits so it does have a bit of a feel of some posh rehab place, but worry not, it does have a good bar with a happy hour! As you can imagine, I am quite settled here.....
It seemed a shame to leave the place, but I decided I needed to head down into Hua Hin and check it out. It was unrecognisable from last time. The good news is that the overpowering smell of drying fish that I recall so well had gone. There are now loads of hotels and shops that weren't here before, but it still retains a charm of its own. I go to the Sofitel, the old Railway Hotel at the beach where I stayed before. That looked the same, but I guess it would, it has been there since the twenties.... The only thing I couldn't find this time was the baby elephant that used ro visit the pool at lunchtime.... Health and Safety have probably put paid to that! And the topiary elephants that used to be so good were rather difficult to recognise...
On my walk around I also saw a few more Thai-ism's that I quite like. Gob's Fish and Chips restaurant didn't appeal, and am not sure that Effin Cosmetics will go global...
So back into the hills for a few days of total relaxation.....
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