Since I get to travel a bit (and I love doing it) I figured I should start writing a little piece about my trips around the world and the things I enjoyed and things you should look out for if you're going there. It's sort of a travel blog, but shorter and mainly written to improve my SEO.
With that in mind, here's a piece about my most recent (second in total) trip to Thailand for the New Year.
I went to Hua Hin for a week to visit my dad in his brand new house. He's not yet moved there but will be leaving Dubai in late 2017 and he couldn't be happier.
After a 3 hour journey from BKK to the city in a taxi driven by Thai Michael Schumacher I made it to his house, a 3 bed bungalow with a cheeky little pool, outdoor chill area, couple bathrooms and a nice kitchen. Initially I was quite worried about the build quality and if everything would be up to standard considering that, in general, building things abroad can often be a bit shabby and cheap. But...I'm pleased to say that the build quality was exceptional. In a community in the hills in Prachuap Khiri Khan developed by a Norweigan guy and his team, you'll now find a piece of paradise that my dad is going to retire to, so that's nice.
The city itself, which is on the East coast of the Malay Peninsula is relatively small and quiet. Whilst most people's beliefs about Thailand evolve around Full Moon parties, sex tourism and getting lost in Bangkok's bustling ladyboy scene, the country actually boasts a huge array of beautiful coastlines, mountains and a large number of small, idyllic cities and towns that form the vast majority of life in the country.
Whilst there I managed to go for a round of golf (I only lost 5 balls as well!), feed monkeys, go to the beach, do some street shopping and eating and spend some time with my step-mum and her parents.
My only real gripe with Hua Hin was the nightlife. Whilst I know this part of Thailand is going to be a little more 'tame' I would have liked a few more bars and a bit more entertainment at night. Plus, and this really got to me, at 1am the police came round and shut down every single bar on both the 30th and the 31st (i.e. just one hour after we had entered 2018). The busiest night of the year, shut down just 1 hour into it! Unbelievable. I suppose it has something to do with the King nearby and 'cleaning up the city' but it did piss me off, not to mention a decent amount of tourists who had forked out a pretty penny on getting there and staying in the place too.
The trip was a difference from my first visit when I went to Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, which was a very relaxing, quiet beach holiday with my then-girlfriend. This time was a lot more family based and it was nice to experience a touch of the expat life there rather than the tourist life.
Anyway, I put a few things in my blog, so feel free to check that out too: