Thailand is popular as a travel destination known for beautiful beaches and wild nightlife. However, famous attractions packed with foreign visitors are rarely a favorite of Bangkok residents themselves, who prefer to escape to nearby beaches such as Cha-Am and Hua Hin for a truly Thai getaway.
Thai people in Bangkok are also used to traveling to Hua Hin for one or two days just to relish the traditional foods there, which are delicious enough to warrant the trip. As a beachfront location, seafood is of course a specialty. The distinct sour and spicy tastes of Thai cuisine will strike your tongue with treats such as steamed clams with lime leaves and bright red chili on the beach or vendor carts offering grilled squids served with chili and yellow ginger sauce.
A great place to enjoy seafood is at one of Hua Hin’s bazaars, which stay open every day until 11pm. Along with numerous souvenirs and handicrafts on offer, bazaars offer food courts with a variety of fresh and spicy seafood. You can also turn to popular restaurants for tourists such as Ye Olde Buffalo Tavern or Hua Hin Seafood one selling point of these restaurants is their moderation of spices to suit the palates of a majority of non-Thai diners.
Besides seafood, Hua Hin is also a heaven for street foods from pad Thai (stir-fried noodles with prawns and tamarind sauce) to fried fish balls and fried tofu. Hua Hin street vendors are often also performers. Visit a pancake stall and you will be charmed by the flair of vendors as they prepare their treats, or savor the sight of fruit stalls packed with eye-catching pomegranate and kiwi juice bottles and bags of peeled mangoes, melons or oranges.
After a vacation to Hua Hin, visitors will leave not only refreshed but with a deeper understanding of the colorful and delightful Kingdom of Thailand.