Hello from Hua Hin!

Hua Hin is a coastal city about 3 hours south of Bangkok. Thursday morning we boarded a minibus with 12 other people. We all had a seat but it was a, shall we say, "cozy" ride.  Miles and miles of commercial buildings, ramshackle buildings and homes and then as we got further away from Bangkok, rice fields. We arrived about 3:00, found a place to have a bite to eat and lots of water and then called our couchsurfer host at 4:00, exactly when we told her we'd be there. She told us to meet her at a coffee shop about 1 1/4 miles away.

Okay, picture this: we're a bit tired and hot from our cozy minibus drive, it's over 90 degrees outside and we have two heavy packs and a backpack to carry down a busy noisy main thoroughfare. You should have seen Val - he had one pack on his back and one strapped on his front. We thought, it's only a mile, we can walk. A couple blocks in we thought again about catching a taxi but it was $100 Bahts. That sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Shortly before we got to the coffee shop, Val brought up the point that $100 Bahts is . . . $4.00. I felt so bad! And I felt even worse about it today when I carried the packs for just a fraction of the distance he carried them! Definitely packing lighter next time!

Our host wasn't ready when we got there so we dropped our bags and had a drink while we waited. Before finally heading out to her place, we walked along the beach, picked up a few groceries and did a bit of sightseeing. We chatted a bit on her front porch where the cool breezes felt like heaven. A nice cool shower before bed felt even better and we called it a day about 10:30. Our host, Bente, is from Norway and has been spending at least part of her year in Thailand for 20 years. Interesting that both hosts so far are foreigners (we're staying with a native Thai in Bon Song, our next destination) but still appreciate their knowledge about Thailand. Bente is an interesting character and while it wasn't our best couchsurfers experience ever it was high on the entertainment scale. The fact that we're leaving Hua Hin a day earlier than expected might give you an idea!

We enjoyed our stay here though.  A few highlights, the pool at Bente's complex. Beautifully landscaped and a nice respite on a hot afternoon.

The pool at Bente's house - we spent just a few hours here one afternoon, but it was wonderful

A place called Monkey Island where the hundreds of monkeys running around were quite friendly and very curious. There was a large German man in a Speedo who had to run after one of more bolder scamps who stole something out of his knapsack on his motorbike. Pictures on Facebook soon. Of the monkeys not the guy in the Speedo.

An evening out with some new friends, Rety and Bruce, who weren't able to host us but who met us for dinner. The woman in the blue tank is Bente and the person behind her is Rety. That's Bruce in front on the right.