Goodbye Hua Hin , Love You Long Time !

This would probably my last entry on Hua Hin. It was a magnificent, activity filled and one of the most exciting beach holiday I ve ever had, so wonderful that i get to share the experience with my daughter and husband.

I bought another batch of prawns from Chat Chai market the day before. We were so happy with our udang masak lemak ( prawns in coconut milk), that we wanted to repeat the eperience. But this time i didn't have time to cook, i needed to pack before check out.

Ii was not confident that we could smuggle the prawns thru imigration , what if they get confiscated ? Kempunan pulak tak merasa, so we decided to ask the hotel kitchen to cook Tom Yum Goong for us ! What a way to end our holiday and eat the prawn for lunch just before check out.

I was so looking forward to the juicy and succellent prawns cooked in hot and spicy tom yum gravy . Slurrrrrp......

Wow , the +tomyum thai goong prepared by the Sea Cret kitchen staffs was delicious. We are Malaysian so the spicyness did not bother us, the spicier the better . But if you are not used to our level of spicy , i recommend that you request for mild.

Tip 1 : when ordering food in thailand , do not under estimate it's spicy-ness, do order the mild version.

Tip 2 : i was dissapointed that they peeled the skin off the prawn for the Tom Yum. I took forgranted and thought that they wouldn't. It would be better with the skin, as it keeps the prawn moist and juicy. Rugi rugi .

Took me an hour to packed our stuffs.

Me and Kaseh , really sad to leave. What a wonderful 4D/3N adventure for us. All in the trip cost us RM 3100 for the three of us excluding meals and shopping. RM 1038 for 3 nights in The Sea Cret booked vi +Agoda and the rest are for flight +BerjayaAir.


Kaseh felt asleep in the Tuk Tuk on our way to the airport.

I didn't feel like going back , too short lah the trip . Next time we have to take longer leave.

My prayers got answered when we already boarded the plane and was asked to disembark.
Apparently the flight was fully booked and is carrying maximum weight. A trimming proccess must take place and to do this , all passangers must leave the plane . Trimming is a proccess when you re-arrange the cargo so that all sides of the plane balances.

So what choice to we have ? Shall we throw away some of the golf clubs that 's pulling us down? For your information, +berjayaair only allows 20kg per pasanger. So please adhere to it, otherwise you'll be facing similar situation like me. Thanks golfers !

Help , we are stranded !

i was kind off hoping that they would announce that flight is cancel and we shall fly off the next day , all expenses paid for by +Berjaya. I don't mind another day in Hua Hin. Less than 1/2 hour they made an announcement that the flight is reading for boarding. Adoi , so much for day dreaming.

So we got into the plane and settle in nicely.

Tip 1: when travelling with toddler request for all seats to be parallel. In my case , i took forgranted that the +berjayaair staffs would do if for me. Ended up , we got 2 seats together and one seat in front , not convinient . I got the window seat and requested for a swap with this Indian uncle , but he refuse to give in. So i sat with Sol and Kaseh sat on our lap . what. Waste cause we acctually paid for Kaseh's seat :(.

Uncle won't swap seat with me, as you can see i left my window seat empty.

Wha i should have done is to request the seat where the lady ( eating snikers) is seating . This way , we ll all get to sit in a row !

Beautiful sky on the day we left Hua Hin, perfect time to chill out on the beach :(.

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What's With Pleawarn in Hua Hin ?

This is one interesting place to visit in Hua Hin, some say it's a museum , but i say it's a haven for cam whores. Even if you are the shy kind , i bet you won't be able to resist from taking out your camera phone and snap a photo of yourself doing the peace sign.

From Chat Chai Market , we headed straight here , and because it's already pass noon, it's time for Kaseh's afternoon nap . Usually i would prefer for her to nap properly, meaning in the most comfortable area and undisturbed. In this case i would have decided to go back to the Hotel , but because she kong-ed out just when we arrived , we decided to make her nap as comfortable as possible.

Travel tip 1 : if travelling with toddlers try to arrange your site seeing around their nap time. If they miss their nap time , chances of them being very grumpy is very likely.

Yes some babies sleeps in their stroller , but in our case , we laid out clothes and cloth from our shopping and create a thin layer of mattress like support for her. Thus myself and Sol must take turn to jalan -jalan(walk around) around the area.

Travel tip 2 : take turn between you nd your spouse to take care of the young ones, when you need some personal time. Me and Sol also took turns to go for our Thai Massage sessions. Tak sah gi thailand tapi tak gi urutkan ?

So Pleawarn, is a very unique eco vintage village, with a rustic feel. The entrance to this museum like building is free and offers many intresting photo opportunity opps like this:-

The mural of the Beetles is very popular for photo opp.

The whole area, was conceptulised t reflect Hua Hin during the older time . Thus the songs played in the back ground and some of the restaurant deco has that 60s feel.

One of the diners with the 60s concept.

This classic car further emphasise that oldies feel.

You can go for a spin in this merry go round.

I bought a t-shirt for Kaseh at this shop.

I walked about and snapped numerous photos and completed the route in about 1/2 hour. Of which now is my turn to look after Kaseh while Sol explores the place.

When travelling with toddlers, you will no doubt face various challenges, for example in my case here is her nap time. But manage the travel accordingly and soon you will see these challenges as opportunities . It makes the travel/holiday alot more meaningful to have your kids around to share the experience with you .

Thanks for reading XOXO!

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Sup Ikan Merah Hua Hin ( Red Snapper Soup)

So what else did i cook during my holiday in Hua Hin ? Well while at Chat Chai market we couldn't resist looking at how fresh the fishes are. Talapias, ikan parang, tenggiri , kembung they were all so fresh and they can even fry the fish on the spot if you wanted to eat instantly .

Red snapper or ikan merah has always been our old time favourite. The soft while flesh of the fish makes it a great combination with steamy white rice , kicap ( soy sauce) and sambal belacan ( pounded chili with shrimp paste), yummy , just by blogging this makes me want to
fry a red snapper right away .

So back to my sup ikan , why soup ? Well i'm on holiday remember ? So my resources are very limited , plus if you buy really fresh fish like these , making soup is one of th best option cause it won't have the fishy smell . So using the remaining condiments from my udang masak lemak , here s how to make really super easy, fast and simple fish soup while on travel:

- lightly pounded garlic
- lightly pounded ginger
- lightly pounded lemon grass
- bird eye chillies
- salt to taste
- red snapper cut into 5 pieces

Throw everything at once into the rice cooker with boiling water and let it simmer.

Tip 1 : simmer it max of 5 mins only , do not over cook the fish or it will turn to feel and taste like rubber .

Tip 2: eat it with white steamy rice with a dash of soy sauce, lime and cili padi,

Was so into the fish soup that i only manage to snap a photo of the finished product just before we finish the last piece.

Tip 3 : after about an hour of soaking in the pool , this hot fish soup is just what you and the kids need.

And after all that masak campak campak jea style ( throw everything in cooking style) , i got this foot massage from dearest Kaseh , so sweet !

Family time is best time in the world and everything else does not matter at all , don't you agree? Bliss !

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Shopping in Hua Hin - Market Style !

What s travelling without shopping. Shopping is probably the most loved activities by all traveller. The only difference is that you banyak duit lagi best lah kan . But most of the time a traveller would already put some money aside for this purpose , even if shopping is not your fav thing to do , you would still be curious to browse and window shop at the local shopping area.

Shopping gives you an indication of the type of culture a place embraces , the type of economy they depend on , in the case of Thailand - imitation products are abundant , crafts , painting, textile , food, sex trade to name a few.

Since this is a young parent travelling with a toddler blog , i will not go into the last item mentioned above. However from my observation , Hua Hin unlike Phuket and Samui is a lot more popular with the local and very family oriented . The night activities are meant for families and focuses more on arts and music. Cicada Market and Chatsila Market is a great example of a market unlike those in Patong beach (Phuket) or Chaweng beach ( Samui), where musicians and artists are given a space to perform and have an artsy feel.

Personally for the three of us we would rate Cicada Market as the #1 night market in Hua Hin.

Sound check going on at one of the stage in Cicada Market, Hua Hin.

Another stage , where a Jazz concert will take place.

Dining elfresco style with Jazz music on the back ground really makes you want to dance away in this market.

Hua Hin is also famous for it s vine yard , thus dining such as this gives them the opportunity to promote their local wine. The food are sold over a stall like set up and sells a mixture of international and local cuisine such as pad thai, bbq seafood , mango sticky rice and loads more. Generally , halal food is not such an easy find in Hua Hin , that is why i brought my rice cooker and canned curry chicken along .They proved to be useful. Will write in a different entry about eating in Hua Hin.

Cicada market offers you items that are unique and rare , most unlikely you will find the stuffs else where.

What we bought here - Sol bought a t-shirt, leather card holders, embroidery t-shirt for Amyra ( Kaseh s cousin) and my mini ipad and iphone casings.

Opens fri - sun , 4pm to 11pm.
Tuk tuk about 120 baht from #theseacrethuahin

#2 - Chat Chai Market

Situated in the middle of town, a wet market by day and night market by night. The day market is also known as Chat Chai , we came here on our 2nd day and glad that we did Cause we went crazy with the fresh produce . As mentioned, halal food is a bit difficult to get , prior to coming here , i have done my research and found. Great blog by lynn

http://zlynn17.blogspot.com/2010/04/halal-food-in-hua-hin-prachuabkhirikhan.html?m=1

However since we are YPWT ( young parent with toddler) , it was very chllenging to find all the places mentioned by her , Kaseh s stroller have limited access to the smaller lanes , so since i brought my good old rice cooker , i decided to cook ! My mother did this you know n we always complained that she brings too much stuffs on our holiday , but now i am a mom , i can so relate ! /a>br />

Kaseh in her stroller and Sol buying fresh prawns . 1/2 a kilo for rm 10.80 , omg so cheap , so fresh , so yummy.

Sol requested for masak lemak , amboi banyak cantik , you ingat ni kat rumah ke ? On second thought , its not that difficult , so i bought serai , lengkuas, daun limau purut, lime, cili padi and santan tin.

The next day we came again to buy ikan merah ( red snapper) and tiger prawns. Red snapper only rm 9.60 . Would normally cause me rm 17 at pasar ttdi.

Recipe , nanti this blog is about shopping , will share in the dining blog kay :).

Banana bakar (roasted) at Chat Chai market .

Overall , you can find some things to buy here , like clothes and groceries . If you are looking for souvenirs , then the night market has better variety but bit more expensive by about rm 7.
Contoh i beli thai pants for rm 10 at Chat Chai and the same thing cost rm 17 at the night market .

Opening time : early morning to about 1pm, everyday.

#3 Hua Hin Night Market and Chatsila

Two markets combined into one , situated right smack in town , land mark dia ialah opposite Swensen and Starbucks , very lively and impressive , this market where you come to eat and shop . It s similar to Jonker Street Market in Malacca. Very touristy too but this is one of the places you must visit in Hua Hin.

Seafood restaurants like these memang bersepah kat Hua Hin market .

Fridge magnets, key chains and the usual sourvenirs can be found here.

Roti stalls , ala ala roti canai are a popular snack amongst shoppers. Our fav are rotee banana and roti nutella.

We enjoyed ourselves just strolling the night market , we bought more thai pants , fridge magnets and the yummies mango sticky rice here .

We also finally found the halal stall mentioned in lynn's blog, just opposite the railway restaurant. But since we already bought some fresh fish and prawns , Sol said he would prefer if i cook :).

Opens , Fri,Sat and Sun only 5pm to 11pm.

#4 Grand Night Market

Ok , this is our least fav market here in Hua Hin, seriously tak pergi pun tak pe ( you can give it a missed). Initially we wanted to go to this one first , we were decieved by he word "grand", thnking that it is the biggest night market in Hua Hin. But it acctually got it s name because it is situated just opposite The Grand Hotel, tapi tak lah grand mana.

Plenty of fashion and street wear , not much sourvenirs to be found , there s only two stall selling Hua Hin t-shirts. But i found a stall that sells these bags at rm2.90 and i bought 10 to give away as sourvenirs , what a great bargain !

More to come about Hua Hin in my blog, so watch out for it . Thanks for reading ,XOXO.

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The secret garden @ The Sea Cret

Hey , masih lagi di Hua Hin and i am still no over how beautiful this hotel is . We ve walked around and along the beach and checked out other hotels and i am fully satisfied with The Sea Cret , location and facilities wise .

Apart from the fatantic rooms, ambience and decor , this hotel have one of the cutest and cosiest garden around .

Plenty of swings like this to relax, read , talk and just chill.

The gate opens to the path way to the beach .

Kaseh s favourite spot and she made friends with these three local thai girls.

Ducks pots greets you as you walk into the garden .

It s really refeshing to wake up to this , Kaseh enjoy the garden very much and when she's done with the garden , we spend our time on the beach and by the pool and of course shopping !

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Cuti cuti Hua Hin - The Sea Cret

The taxi ride took about 15 mins from the airport to our hotel . Traffic was good on Hua Hin road Road. This is the road if you just follow thru , it will take you to Cha Am , another beach vacation destination popular amongst the Thai people . And drive for another 2 hours and you will arrive in Bangkok . Ada jugak feeling feeling , to do a road trip to Bangkok , but Sol was not so convinced . Agree, that we will need to take longer leave and perhaps when Kaseh is slightly older :).

On Petchakasem Road, Hua Hin

I viewed so many hotels in Hua Hin on the internet thru Agoda, Asia Web Direct, Late Stay and even vent thru the reviews of Hua Hin Hotels on tripadvisor.com . They were useful but it got me stressed and confused . I wanted a hotel that is walking distance to every where , with a 2 year old with us , it s important that the beach is near , eating places are within reach and semestinya hotel kena child friendly.

What i mean by child friendly ialah - clean , no rowdy party goers, drunken mat salleh buat kacau , no party 18 SX, have enough to keep them occupied - ada playground lagi bagus. Dulu when i holiday berdua jea , (before the arrival of Kaseh) , i wasn t that fussy . But it is important that the hotel is clean and value for money .

I was also looking at smaller scale hotels as compared to the bigger chain hotels like Ibis, Best Western, Hilton,Hyatt and you get what i mean lah , i prefer boutique hotels cause they have character and most have lovely decors . Most Thai boutique hotels won 't dissapoint you, we ve stayed at Sugar Palm in Phuket , the Metropolitan in Bangkok , and other boutique hotels in Samui, Koh Phangan and Krabi and they all are very charming and nicely decorated .

After reading and surfing for hotels in Hua Hin , i decided on The Sea Cret. I didn't want to splurge cause , it s only starting of 2013 and we needed to keep our budget in tact due to a few commintments already set in the year , plus it's good to berjimat cermat right ? So my budget is around RM 300 per night . That s why Intercontinental Hotel was out of the way , even though i read so many good reviews on it . Well with almost RM1000 semalam , it better have good reviews right ?

Prior to booking this hotel on Agoda , i contemplated to book :
1. The Lapa - winner of 2012 tripadvisor award , thank god i didn't because you need to cross a big busy main road to get to the beach .
2. Verandah Lodge - it had smaller room , only 25 sqm. But faces the beach.
3. Devasom Hotel - nicely decorated and fit in all my requirements but it s slightly further to the city centre.

Plus Hua Hin is such a new destination that, it s no one i knew have been there , so my only source of reference is online .

Tada , it s like bercinta di alam maya . Seen and read about this place online and finally hari ni kita berjumpa :). Sceptical at first but felt in love at first sight .

And finally when i got here , i was satisfied . The room was spacious 40sqm with a private jacuzzi on the balcony. Yes, great for honey mooners but in our case , Kaseh officiated the jacuzzi .

I am glad that all the room in this hotel are king size bed. Think our i a super king . Normally i will bring extra thin mattresses along for trips, this is because we end up sleeping on the floor . Kaseh felt off the bed one day and i never wanted to take any risks ever since, but with this super king bed everyone can sleep together gether !

The decor of the hotel is really charming and sweet . The hotel have 2 koi ponds which was a delight to Kaseh and a clean concept pool, a sprawling garden , i love garens , i wish i have space in my house to have a garden like these ,

I read somewhere that this hotel is very popular for pre wedding photography.

The view from our room .

After we checked in we head on to the beach which is about 100 metres from the hotel . To surprise the beach is really clean and there s so much going on . Kiteboarding is a popular sport here , horse riding , massage and of course tourists and localsl taking a stroll along he beach . Unlike Phuket , local Thais enjoy coming here for a weekend getaway .

Ok , we ll probably stay in tonight , after the long journey today . Tommorow we are planning to explore #huahin and do some shopping . Let s see if we manage to find any interesting buy. Will blog bout it soon !

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