Retire to Thailand's Sunrise Coast
A Royal Palace on the Beach and Six Golf Courses, it has everything.
With all year round sunshine and a monsoon season that is bearable, Hua Hin is attracting second-home buyers and retirees who have now discovered its laid-back charm.
While tourists were flocking to Thailand’s Pattaya and the islands of Phuket and Koh Samui, the little seaside town of Hua Hin just 200 Kl. below Bangkok, was left almost to its own devices. Fortunately, Hua Hin had small need of tourist income as the teeming waters of the Gulf of Siam and the surrounding rich farmland provided year-round wealth for the villagers.
Long the favourite resort of Thailand’s royal family and rich socialite families from the capital, the Court influenced the town’s progress, and so the quiet charm of Thai village life remained while elegant and sophisticated hotels were developed. For this reason, the resort is remarkably light on ‘girlie bars’ and massage parlours, the nightlife being more on the cocktail terraces of the hotels, and in the open-air restaurants along the sea-front.
Because of this, Hua Hin is now becoming a Mecca for those seeking a place in the sun, especially retirees who find the relaxed pace of life and excellent facilities in the area so attractive. From sport to health care, the town delivers. There are six international standard golf courses, leisure centres, spas, beautiful beaches, good swimming, and agreeable walks.
The area just outside the town is a favourite place for new buyers to settle. Bungalows, villas and near mansions are being developed at prices from €45,000 to €300,000 – all with swimming pools - and the rush is on. One of the leading firms in the area, Avalon Developments (www.avalon-villas.com), is colonizing the surrounding hills with lush, landscaped villas and bungalows, the views from which are spectacular. The firm has an international staff speaking a number of languages between them, so there is no need for an interpreter.
The Golf courses are magnificent, from the Royal Hua Golf Course to the newest The Black Mountain Golf Course (above one of Avalon’s estates). The Royal opened in 1924 and was created around natural hazards by Scottish engineer A.O. Robins. Built on hilly woodland, tigers’ footprints in the sand pit were one of the more unusual sights early-morning golfers used to find in the nineteen-twenties, but today the only wildlife you’ll see will be the topiary animals for which Hua Hin has a passion. Charming female caddies and strategically placed refreshment kiosks dotted around the course serving thirst quenching drinks, is a definite plus.
Designers involved in creating the other courses include Roger Packard, Max Wexler and Jack Nichlaus. Should you need a partner, Hua-Hin Golf Tours, the organizers of yearly World Pro-Am Golf tournaments can match you with a someone suitable as well as offering you a complete package from hotel pick-ups to tees reservations.
Good eating is assured in Hua Hin. Fine linen may be absent from the tables of most of the seafront restaurants, but the gourmet will be more than happy with the succulent seafood on offer. If more sophisticated dining is needed, then cuisines from Vietnamese to Swedish is everywhere available..
The town is on the sunrise coast and as dawn breaks over the Gulf of Siam the beach is bathed in a soft opalescent pink light as the rising sun colours the sands. Walk along the water’s edge at sunrise, or ride along the beach on one of the horses from the stables at the 5* Dusit Resort Hotel just ten minutes from the centre of the town to experience the magic (grooms can be provided to teach or to accompany the nervous).
Hua Hin is known as The Grand Old Lady of Thai resorts, but she carries her age well. Her sophistication is not brash and glittery, but reserved and quiet. The Thai King and Queen reside here almost permanently now, surely the best possible recommendation.
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