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Hua Hin Prajuab Kirikhan Thailand |
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Hua Hin, 238 km south of Bangkok on the sunrise side of the gulf, is a middle
class beach resort favored by Thai families and Western travelers seeking an
alternative to Pattaya.
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The eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand has long been favored by the royalty
of Siam. In 1868, King Mongkut constructed his "Town of the Eclipse" to house
hundreds of farangs whom the king had invited.to witness the August solar
eclipse. The next royal discovery took place in 1910 after a hunting party
organized by Prince Chakrabongse charged across the lovely beach of Hua Hin. The
prince was so impressed that he built a huge summer villa, which still stands in
the northern perimeter of town. In 1923, King Vajiravudh erected a long,
teakwood palace called Deer Park connected by wooden corridors to the white
sand beach.
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Hua Hin developed as Thailand's original beach resort shortly after WW I with
the construction of the Southern Railway and the new summer palace of King
Prajadhipok, which was called Klai Kangwon, "Far From Worries." The final touch
was the completion of the nation's first international golf course and the
famous Railway Hotel. Initially favored by Thai royalty and the wealthy elite,
the Railway Hotel—an elegant Victorian structure now renamed the Sofitel— later
stood in as Cambodia's leading hotel in the film The Killing Fields. Among the
Thais, Hua Hin still plays an important role in royal his tory since His
Majesty, King Bhumibol, maintains a palace and occasionally visits to sail his
singleand double-handed boats.
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Recently, Hua Hin has witnessed explosive growth that has transformed the once
-idyllic seaside resort into a mega-destination that belies her nickname—Queen
of Tranquility. The beach is a messy affair of tacky souvenir stalls, plastic
bags, water-scooters, and other curses of uncontrolled development. Massive
hotels loom over a rather intimate beach. Local authorities are now working to
implement some much needed zoning laws and sort out the problems of
pollution, overdevelopment, traffic, and theft that confront Hua Hin.
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