My Thailand (iPhone) Blog by Richard Barrow

I spent most of today at Safari World, which is just north of Bangkok. It is a great day out for the family if you are looking for somewhere to go. From Samut Prakan it only took about an hour to get there and it would probably be about the same from Central Bangkok.

The park is split into two sections and you have to buy tickets for each one. The Safari Park, where you drive around in your car to look at the animals in their “natural” habitat is 370/270 Baht. The Marine Park, where there are many shows to watch is 650/420 Baht. You can save money by buying a combination ticket at 800/500 Baht.

The shows are: Orang-utan Show, Sea Lion Show, Cowboy Stunt Show, Bird Show, Dolphin & Beluga Whale Show, Spy War and Elephant Show. There are also animals that you can go and see in-between each of the shows. It is possible to see everything but it will be a long and tiring day.

Sea Lion Show

Spy War Show

Nong Grace feeding the birds

Four birds on my hand

Nong Grace feeding the giraffe

Nong Grace enjoyed her day out at Safari World though she did make a comment that she preferred our recent trip to Sriracha Tiger Zoo. I know we didn’t have to pay, but I think Safari World is a bit on the expensive side. Apart from the entrance ticket, a lot of the food was double in price. Like a 7 baht bottle of water was 20 baht. Even feeding the animals was expensive. A small bucket of leaves to feed the giraffes was 40 baht. I know it isn’t much but it does add up when you have a family. Anyway, many thanks to Safari World for kindly inviting us to inspect their tourist attraction.

- Posted from my iPhone

My favourite hotel that I stayed in during my recent TAT trip down south was at the Atleenta in Pranburi. As you can see, there is no TV, but who needs one when you have such a fine view of the sea! I loved this room and it was a shame that we could only stay one night. The ipod in the room was a nice touch. And the bed was really comfortable.

Each of these rooms had its own patio and of course this jacuzzi. I just had to try it out straight away. As you can also see from these pictures, the beach was very close too.

In front of the room there was a green lawn and also two sun loungers. If you wanted to, you could order breakfast on your patio which is a nice touch. I think a lot of people did that. It wasn’t the best hotel we visited, but it was the best that we stayed at.

- Posted from my iPhone

Our hotel inspection on the morning of our second day of the TAT trip took us to this gorgeous resort by the sea.

As you can see by this picture, the hotel has a lot of greenery which helps guests relax more. It is also a nice change from concrete jungles that some resorts have become.

These pool villas are very nice. Full prices are 13,000-15,000 baht. Each villa has it’s own pool which offers complete privacy.

This is a great picture but it isn’t the public area. It is part of the Presidential Villa which covers an area of 400 square meters along the beachfront.

The villa contains 3 separate pavilions and a large private whirlpool. The walk-in price here is 69,000 baht a night but you will find some good Internet deals.

In front of the lobby there is a large pool which allows you to have unobstructed views of the beach and sea. This looks like a very good place to relax.

Another view of the pool and the beach beyond. Our guide was very enthusiastic about the hotel and it was good to see they were paying so much attention to detail.

A view looking back the other way to the main lobby. Shame we couldn’t stay as the water looks so inviting! Picture below is of one of the outdoor restaurants.

- Posted from my iPhone

One of must-see highlights of Hua Hin is the train station and it’s beautiful royal pavilion.

Hua Hin is one of the oldest seaside resorts in Thailand dating back to the time of King V. It was popular with both the royal family and Bangkokians.

The waiting room used to be a royal pavilion built for King Rama VI at his Sanam Chan Palace. It was later moved here in about 1974.

The last time I came I seem to remember a steam train at the front of the station. However now it is around the back. It was bought from England and used prior World War II.

Around the front of the station there are two old carriages that have been renovated. They are now both libraries which are open every day apart from Sundays.

- Posted from my iPhone

In the afternoon of our second day of product testing, we went to inspect this unique 5 star hotel by the sea.

Let’s Sea Hua Hin Al Fresco Resort has 45 rooms down both sides of a 120 meter long lagoon.

The rooms are very spacious with a balcony that doubles as a kind of pier. The full price for the ground floor room is 9,000 baht and the room above is 11,000 baht. The room above is bigger and also has access to a rooftop garden.

I think I would prefer the rooms on the ground floor as you can jump straight from your sundeck into the water. No need to reserve a poolside space here! Check the Internet for some good bargains.

- Posted from my iPhone

Today we came across some toilets for people who are neither boy or girl.

This sign for a restroom was spotted today at Khan Nam Seafood Restaurant in Hua Hin. As you can see, there are four different kinds of toilets.

You have men to the left and women to the right. Straight ahead you can see a toilet for the disabled but what is this purple door?

In Thailand they have the “third sex” which are often called lady boys. They are usually accepted by society. Even in schools where a couple of my primary 6 students are obviously in training to be lady boys one day.

The restaurant owner told us that many of her staff are lady boys. And as they didn’t feel comfortable using the men’s toilets nor welcome in the lady’s, she therefore built a toilet just for the purple people.

- Posted from my iPhone

On day one of the TAT product testing trip we stayed at a luxurious five star hotel by the beach.

The room was very comfortable but the best thing was the extensive swimming pool which includes a giant water slide. Great for families.

The hotel is alongside the beach. Children can take pony rides here. It is good but I think most people would prefer to swim in the pool.

This is the comfortable poolside seats. Wish I could have stayed all day. Very relaxing. Even saw a few dolphins this morning when I went for a walk.

They also have a very impressive spa in a purpose built building. You can even stay here and be pampered all day.

On Sundays you can make merit by giving food to a monk. I loved staying here and it is a shame I couldn’t stay more than one night.

- Posted from my iPhone

If you want to try something different while in Thailand then try this Western theme restaurant.

The Cowboy Cafe in Ratchaburi Province is a great place to come and try a fusion of Western and Thai food.

The restaurant is conveniently located on Highway and makes a convenient place to stop for a break if you are driving between Bangkok and say Hua Hin.

They also have a cowboy themed shop. More information at www.cowboyshopthailand.com.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am in Hua Hin this weekend doing product testing for the TAT.

I am not sure about you, but I always thought that the sea should be blue. But here we have green water!

One hotel worker I spoke to said she has never seen the water like this before. She said it just started this morning.

I spoke to someone who looks after one of these horses and she said it happens every year but only for a few days. Anyway, today the water is clean enough to swim again.

- Posted from my iPhone

Today I joined with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to do some “product testing” in Bangkok. One of the places we visited was Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall on Ratchadamnoen Klang Road, near Wat Ratchanadda. From the top floor there were some really good views of the area.

Ratchadamnoen Klang Road

Loha Prasat or the Metal Castle

Ratchadamnoen Klang Road

The Golden Mount

- Posted from my iPhone

Around the time of the “Sart chin” Festival, the Chinese have another one called “ting krachaat” or sometimes “tay krachaat”. It basically means to give away basket full of things. It is a kind of Chinese Philanthropy Festival. Local Thai-Chinese business people and private individuals donated a large amount of money to buy food and rice to be distributed to the poor people in the district.

I went to one of these festivals in Taiban, Samut Prakan, this morning. I arrived about an hour early but there were already over a thousands people there. As they arrived they were given a blue ticket.

They were then herded to a tented enclosure where they waited for the ceremony to begin. I had already been to two or three of these events in the past and so knew what to expect. It was complete chaos today and very disorganized.

There was a lot of pushing and shoving as people tried to get to the front of queues to get the free food. They didn’t really need to worry as there was certainly plenty to go around.

- Posted from my iPhone