Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [461]
Rang Yen Garden (0 3247 1267; 259/40 Th Ruamjit; dishes 50-180B; lunch & dinner Nov-Apr) This lovely patio-style restaurant is tucked away in a lush garden like a juicy secret. It serves up Thai favourites next to a burbling fish pond and is only open in the high season.
Sea_Rocco (0 3247 1879; 274/34 Th Ruamjit; dishes 80-190B; breakfast, lunch & dinner) At the Cha_Inn@Cha-am hotel (left), Sea_Rocco maintains Cha-am’s most fashionable hotel’s vibe but the curry is reassuringly spicy and the prices are reasonable.
German Food House (08 7082 6252; 234/28-30 Soi Bus Station; mains 90-375B; breakfast, lunch & dinner) Run by a butcher and baker (no candlestick maker, though), this joint is deservedly popular with expats. A carnivore’s delight, this butcher shop’s menu includes house-made sausages and artisan breads.
Poom Restaurant (0 3247 1036; 274/1 Th Ruamjit; dishes 120-250B; lunch & dinner) Slightly more expensive than other nearby beach restaurants, but worth it for the fresh seafood served under tall sugar palms. It appears to be the restaurant of choice for weekending Thais – always a good sign.
Getting There & Away
Most hotels have shuttles to Hua Hin for 150/300B one way/return, and a private taxi will cost you 2500B.
Ordinary and air-con buses stop in the town centre, on Phetkasem Hwy. Some air-con buses to/from Bangkok go to the beach, stopping on Th Chao Lai a few hundred metres south of the Th Narathip intersection.
Frequent bus services operating to/from Cha-am include Bangkok (air-con/ordinary 150/130B, three hours), Phetchaburi (100B, 40 minutes) and Hua Hin (30B, 30 minutes).
The train station is inland on Th Narathip, west of Phetkasem Hwy, and a 30B motorcycle ride to/from the beach. From Bangkok two train stations have daily services to Cha-am: Hualamphong (9.20am and 3.35pm) and Thonburi (7.25am, 1.05pm and 7.15pm). Tickets cost from 60B to 150B and the journey is around four hours. Cha-am isn’t listed on the English-language train schedule.
Getting Around
From the city centre to the beach it’s a quick motorcycle (30B) or sŏrng·ta·ou (20B) ride. Motorcycle taxis around town cost 30B. Some drivers will try to take you to another hotel that offers them a commission. Be firm.
You can hire motorcycles for 300B per day all along Th Ruamjit. Cruisy bicycles are available everywhere for 20B per hour, or 100B per day, and are a good way to get around. Travel agencies hire cars or jeeps for 1500B to 2000B per day.
AROUND CHA-AM
Midway between Cha-am and Hua Hin is Phra Ratchaniwet Marukhathayawan (0 3247 2482; admission by donation; 9am-4.30pm), a summer palace built during the reign of Rama VI. The one- and two-storey buildings are constructed of teak and interlinked by covered boardwalks, all high above the ground on stilts. Incorporating high tiled roofs and tall shuttered windows, the design maximises air circulation.
Unlike the current summer palace situated further south at Hua Hin, this palace is open to the public. Camp Rama VI, a military post, surrounds the palace grounds, and you need to check in at the gate. If you catch a Cha-am–Hua Hin bus to get here, ask to be dropped at the road to the palace. There are often motorcycle taxis waiting, or you can walk 2km the rest of the way.
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PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN PROVINCE
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HUA HIN
pop 42,000
Once a humble fishing village, Hua Hin owes its roots as Thailand’s first glamorous getaway to King Rama VII. In 1922 the king instructed his Italian architect to construct Phra Ratchawang Klai Kangwon (‘Far from Worries’ Palace). Today’s royal family still commutes regularly to the palace to unwind from the pressures of keeping the army and politicians in line in Bangkok. Rama VII’s endorsement made the town the place to be for Thai society, and Hua Hin (like Cha-am), settled into a low-key role as a favourite spot for holidaying Thais.
In the 1980s the renovation of the Hua