The other side of the tracks
This morning I got up early (first time in a while) and went for a run around Hua Hin. The streets in Asia are narrow, some with sidewalks and some without. And if you find a sidewalk it is probably cluttered with vendors, scooters, and dogs. 🙂 So finding a place to run can be a challenge. The only solution is to pick a time when there’s not much traffic and run down the middle of the street. So that’s exactly what I did.
Aside from the main street in Hua Hin, most of the streets seem to be pretty short. I cobbled together a route that went from my guesthouse up the beach past the fancy resorts, crossing the main road and heading toward the train station where I had arrived into town. There wasn’t much going on at 7:15 in the morning, so the run was pretty easy going. It only took me about 7 minutes to get to the train station, so from there I had to make up the route as I went. I decided to cross the tracks and run toward the hills. Once I crossed the tracks was when I got a taste of the real Thailand. The homes were all quiet and there were much fewer vendors around. Cattle were roaming about, and I passed one bull that was nosing around in the roadside garbage can. The school busses were making their rounds and it looked pretty much like any other small country town. Except for the fact that I was the only westerner around. I did get a couple of curious looks, but for the most part the locals seemed to ignore the beet-faced and sweaty white guy running by. It was vastly different from the touristy beach side of town, with it’s open-air bars, shops, and massage parlors. It was a nice change of scenery. I finished my run back where I started, and walked out to the fishing jetty too cool off. There were several men out on the jetty searching the water for signs of fish, ready to cast out their nets. A couple of boats were launching out sea, and it made for a nice morning.
I’ve been in Hua Hin for a week now, and have gotten to like it quite a bit. The owners of the guesthouse are an English-Thai couple named Ken and Natalie. They have been very friendly, and their guesthouse is quite comfortable. Most evenings are spent lounging around downstairs, enjoying a cold beer or a game of pool while watching the passers-by on the street outside. This past weekend was the Hua Hin Jazz Festival down on the beach, and it was quite impressive. There were acts from all over the world playing on two large stages, with plenty of food and drink. I went with these two English girls, Catherine and Matine, who were staying in the room next door to me. They were quite fun, and it was nice to have the company. Friday night ended up being quite a late night as we all stayed up visiting until around 4:00 AM.
I’m heading off to Phuket on Friday night. I’ve booked a spot on the VIP bus, a large double-decker with air-con, toilets, and food service. It’s quite a bit more expensive (by Thai standards that is, as it was only $25 USD), but well worth the cost since it’s so darn hot here and it’s about a nine hour trip.
Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, although it’s barely an island since it’s connected to the mainland by a highway. Normally I would have avoided Phuket since it’s a popular tourist spot and expensive to boot, but while I was in Taiwan I found out about the Phuket International Marathon that is being held on June 18th. I think I’m going to give it a go. I haven’t been running very much, but I have been getting tons of exercise by hiking, swimming, walking, etc, so we’ll see what happens. I’ll be sure to post my results.
View from my guesthouse balcony in Hua Hin
I should have stayed at the Hilton!!
There are a lot of “horse taxis” on the beach. This one’s obviously taking a break.
The Saturday night crowd at the jazz festival
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