Hua Hin Then and Now Comparison

[Big Boy]

I’ve been reminiscing about Hua Hin of old, and what it is now. I realise, when I say, “Old,” I am talking of circa 2000, and many of you stalwarts will have been around much longer. Also, when I give the situation back then, it is as I saw it, which might not have been the truth i.e. I may have been viewing through ‘holiday glasses’. I just thought it might be good to share our own versions of how Hua Hin has changed.

I first came to Hua Hin around 2000 to visit a friend who had relocated here a year or two previously and had bought his own bar complex. Until then, I had visited primarily Pattaya, Bangkok and Ban Nong Seng, with other mini breaks in other places such as Chiang Mai, Roi Et and Khon Kaen. The first thing my friend said when he knew we were coming was Hua Hin is very expensive compared with other places I had visited in Thailand. He was very correct – compared with Pattaya, Hotels in Hua Hin were over 50% more for a hotel which could only be classed as a downgrade. He didn’t put us off, we came, and we loved it. Hua Hin then became our primary holiday location in Thailand.

The Bar Scene – we were told there were just 40 bars in the whole of Hua Hin, primarily located around Soi Binthabat. The price of beer in a bar back then was 45 to 50฿ for a small bottle of Singha. Other Thai beers were unknown to me at that time, although I had sampled the evil Chang up in Roi Et, which was our stop before Hua Hin. Other beers on my radar at that time were Carlsberg and Heineken, but they were more expensive, so generally avoided.

It now seems that every other building in Hua Hin sells beer. I live just off Soi 94, and the nightlife mecca is located at the end of my road. I would hate to even guess how many bars there are in Hua Hin now, but I’d estimate it must be around the 500 mark. Does anybody have a more accurate figure?

As for the price of beer 20 odd years later, you can regularly buy a large bottle of Chang for 100฿ in bars – often less. Of course, you can pay an awful lot more if you can afford it.

Fast Food – Having a 10 year old son, who loved fast food, one of my early enquiries was how many fast food joints were there in Hua Hin. We were quite shocked when the answer was 0. The nearest thing to fast food was Swensens on Petchkasem Road, which we did take advantage of several time on our first visit. I don’t think 7-11 had arrived in Hua Hin at that point either – certainly, if it had, it wasn’t on our radar.

These days, I think every fast food in the world must be available from multiple outlets in Hua Hin.

Supermarkets – I’m not sure when the supermarket in Hua Hin Shopping Mall arrived, but I remember our friend driving us past Big C in Petchaburi on our way to Hua Hin, and saying they drive up there twice a month to get their shopping. AFAIK there was nothing similar in Hua Hin in 2000. Just Ma & Pa shops and the markets.

I remember on one holiday here (about 2005), my daughter hailing a tuk tuk and taking us out to the new G Supermarket by the crazy railway crossing. It was amazing to have so much food in one place. Of course, we now have a plethora of supermarkets in Hua Hin.

7-11 – I’ve already mentioned there were no 7-11s when I first came to Hua Hin. I’ll never forget my first holiday following the advent of 7-11s. I’d just been for an early morning walk on the beach, and came off the beach near the overhead crossing near Salesian School. I remember it as if it were yesterday. They were still building Market Village, and I remember thinking, “I wonder when they’ll finish that dome.” i.e. the one currently above Kasikorn Bank. Anyway, I digress. I came down the other side of the overhead bridge, and remember standing there, staring. The kids were in the school playground (a car park these days), and there wasn’t a skinny kid amongst them. In well over a decade of coming to Thailand, I’d never seen a fat kid. It had to be more than coincidence that 7-11 had arrived in Hua Hin and I was looking at a playground full of mini-me.

City Growth – 3 things come to mind. I’ve told you that when we first came here, it was to visit friends. Those friends lived behind Hua Hin Hospital, which was out of the city. One day we got a tuk tuk out to their house. We paid the tuk tuk, only to find our friends were out. We were basically stranded. We crossed the dual carriageway in front of the hospital, and eventually Mrs BB managed to flag a car down, who agreed to drive us back into Hua Hin.

Next thing, whilst on holiday (I’d guess about 2008) we heard about a restaurant called Khun Oy on Soi 94. We got a tuk tuk out to the restaurant. Boy, we got past Soi 88, and I thought we were in bandit country. No streetlights, and if it wasn’t for Market Village in the distance, I could have been mistaken that I was in the jungle. These days the road is lined with bars restaurants and even a brand new nightclub. Khun Oy was on the site where Wonderland now sits.

Finally, I remember a bar owner friend of ours buying a house on Soi 102 (I’d guess in the area where Baan Suk Sabai1 is). We went to visit them one day. We drove up a very rough road with nothing but fields either side of us for what seemed miles. I know they used to be afraid to go home after the bar closed, and they used to talk about hold-ups at night. However, that could have been an over-active imagination, because AFAIK they were never robbed on the way home. These days, Soi 102 is almost town centre.

General Shopping – For clothes and things we were restricted to markets and very small shops. Furniture choice was very poor – I vaguely remember a Big Kiang somewhere around where the Intercontinental is. Choice was very poor. Buying things such as furniture are not high on the priority list when on holiday. However, we used rent houses, and they were always furnished with flimsy Thai furniture, which, as a big lad, I was afraid to sit on, so early on in my visits to Hua Hin I sought out something very strong to sit on. I still have that seat now, 20+ years on. It used to reside at my daughter’s house between visits.

Thankfully, shopping these days has become a lot easier. Furniture shops a plenty, and shops such as Home Pro, Global House, Thai Watsadu, Boonthavorn, Index, etc. mean we can find most things locally. What we can’t find locally, we have the likes of Lazada and Shopee to fill those gaps.

Internet – When I moved here in 2012, I thought I was the man having speeds of 8Mbps. Last year I downgraded my service to 500Mbps. Although everybody used to moan about the Internet here, I am well satisfied.

The above are just some of the changes that I’ve noticed in almost a quarter of a century. I’m sure there are many more. What are your memories, and how do they compare with today?

[Dannie Boy]

I’m certainly not going to try and write anything like as much as you’ve written BB - I think my first visit to HH was in 2001/2 having spent my first few years visits to Koh Samui and Phuket - these were our escape destinations when I was working in Pakistan in 97/98!!

The first memory of getting to HH was the road - very little of it was dual carriageway so it was a fairly slow and in some respects more dangerous journey, but maybe that was a false hope?

Like you, my visits to the bar scene was very much restricted to Soi Bintabaht and the surrounding roads - in those days all of the bars seemed to be busy and you could take your pick of whatever took your fancy. One that we often frequented was the Rainbow Bar where the owner Toby (such a nice guy) was killed in a family feud. Another frequent haunt was Johnnie Walkers bar where you could have a relaxing drink without the fear of being pestered!!

I can also admit to having a few late nights at the Hilton Disco after the bars closed.

We used to spend many a few hours during the daytime down at the beach at the end of Soi 61 (Damnoenkasem) sipping sprite with lime juice and some stir fried rice.

Hotels in those days were pretty much cheap and cheerful (well the ones I stayed at) with prices typically B1000 a night including guest fees!!

Food wise I would eat at a variety of places around HH, but was always happy at one of the many Night Market places.

I’ll scratch my head to try to remember some of the more obscure things I got up to!!

[Gregjam]

First moved to Hua Hin in 1991 and rented a house in what was then known as Soi Rai Noon, now Sarawat or 88. We were on the back soi and just the one restaurant on the main Soi. One of our neighbours was Frank and his wife who own(ed) Hua Hin Golf tours.
The longest bar in Hua Hin was at Bernie’s in Bintabaht, I also remember Eddie’s in the area next to what was the Amelia now Hilton.
At the junction of Chomsin and Naebkahard on the SE corner was Kiwi Duncan’s place. Another character who has since passed.
No Starbucks, no fast food and Time Optic was the optician next to the Complex which was the shopping centre. The only other supermarket was Thansamai up near the palace on Phetkasem.
There has been massive expansion since then which is both good and bad. I remember trips to Big C in Phetchaburi to as it was the only big supermarket and having to bring things from abroad as you could not get them here.
Part of me misses the old, quiet and remote Hua Hin but after going down to PKK for a couple of days it reminds me how much we don’t realise how the changes are of benefit

[Big Boy]

Dannie Boy, were the roads from Bangkok or Koh Samui/Phuket? Our friend picked us up from Don Mueng, and unless I slept most of the way, I don't remember bad roads. OK, they've improved since, but they didn't seem too bad to me.

Yes, we too used to frequent the Rainbow Bar in our friend's mini-complex.

I'm surprised you found hotels to be cheap and cheerful. Compared with Pattaya, they were very expensive, and you didn't get as much for you money. Maybe Phuket and Samui were expensive as well. Friends who have just visited Pattaya reported back that Pattaya is no longer the cheap holiday it used to be.

Gregjam,

You most certainly pre-date me, and I always find it interesting to hear of an even earlier Hua Hin, so thank you.

We too stayed on that Soi a few times. Used to be known as Soi Hot Pot when we stayed there due to the restaurant on the corner .

Do I prefer the old or the new? Most of the time, I'm fairly neutral, but weeks like last week, which started my reminiscing, give me old Hua Hin every day of the week. The people and traffic last week made me want to hibernate.

[Dannie Boy]

Dannie Boy, were the roads from Bangkok or Koh Samui/Phuket? Our friend picked us up from Don Mueng, and unless I slept most of the way, I don't remember bad roads. OK, they've improved since, but they didn't seem too bad to me.

Yes, we too used to frequent the Rainbow Bar in our friend's mini-complex.

I'm surprised you found hotels to be cheap and cheerful. Compared with Pattaya, they were very expensive, and you didn't get as much for you money. Maybe Phuket and Samui were expensive as well. Friends who have just visited Pattaya reported back that Pattaya is no longer the cheap holiday it used to be.

Gregjam,

You most certainly pre-date me, and I always find it interesting to hear of an even earlier Hua Hin, so thank you.

We too stayed on that Soi a few times. Used to be known as Soi Hot Pot when we stayed there due to the restaurant on the corner .

Do I prefer the old or the new? Most of the time, I'm fairly neutral, but weeks like last week, which started my reminiscing, give me old Hua Hin every day of the week. The people and traffic last week made me want to hibernate.

I wasn’t meaning that the roads were bad, but they definitely weren’t 3 lane dual carriageways as they are now, so even though traffic was probably lighter back then, I’m sure the journey time was longer.

As for hotel prices, I’ve never sampled the delights of Pattaya, but HH was definitely cheaper than Koh Samui and Phuket and let’s not forget that we were getting anything between 60 and sometimes 80 Baht to the £1, so 1,000 baht went a long way!!

[Big Boy]

let’s not forget that we were getting anything between 60 and sometimes 80 Baht to the £1, so 1,000 baht went a long way!!

Oh yes, the good old days

[buksida]

First arrived in 1997 and settled in Hua Hin the following year until around the late 2000s when we moved south. I definitely prefer the old version, but I was a lot younger then!

Nightlife
It was only really Soi Bintabaht, but a few were springing up in the side sois. A couple of faves were Billy's Bar, King Bar, and Hogs Breath. The bars could open 24/7 back then and there were no police shakedowns, raids, or alcohol restrictions. A beer was about 35-40 baht and you could get three large ones for 100 in the mom n' pop stores. There were a couple of nightclubs such as the Paradise on the klong road that we used to frequent.

Fast Food
None. No 7-Elevens either. We lived off street food where a good-sized Pad Krapow with a Kai Dao was 20 baht. Gee Restaurant on Soi 61 was also a regular all-night eatery.

Supermarkets/Shopping
The old "chopping maw" was the only supermarket in HH at the time and their selection was severely limited. You had to go to Bangkok for anything "exotic".

Internet
There was one internet cafe between the lights on Naebkehardt road, and that was the only way to get online. If you wanted to make a call you could 'rent' a phone from one of the little tables that girls would set up with a few old Nokias on them. I remember setting up dial-up modem connections for people that bought desktop computers back then - 56.6 kbps was 'fast'! There was also only one ATM which rarely worked!

Accommodation
You could get a basic 500 baht room in the center of town still. However, the swanky places were starting to move in to compete with the Melia (now the Hilton).

City Growth
There was pretty much nothing outside of the center, going south was a dark single-lane road all the way to Sport Villa. Khao Takiab was a fishing village. Sois 88, 94, etc were dirt roads beyond the railway, and certainly no farang housing estates. Needless to say there was no traffic, even at weekends. It took more than 4 hours to travel from Bangkok though (but I guess it still does at the weekend).

Expat Life
There was a small close nit group of expats in the late 90s and everyone knew everyone else, I lived in Soi Kanjanomai.

However, things changed when immigration moved here and at around the same time, a massive influx of avaricious police arrived due to the palace and 'other earning opportunities'. There was a real estate boom following the tsunami which attracted all manner of undesirable farangs and dodgy developers and agents. The govt started its regime of crackdowns on 'sanuk' with the Thaksin administration, the freedoms we had were eroded and it was no longer the same place. I moved away around 2008/9 for somewhere quieter with fewer hassles (of course, living in the boonies has its own pros and cons!)

This is how I view modern Hua Hin:

Pros: Shopping options/convenience, live music venues/entertainment, transport options, airport, plenty of good accommodation, global cuisine

Cons: Horrendous traffic, parking, Bangkok takeover every weekend, police state, pollution/noise/concrete jungle, high costs/Hua Hin premium (exchange rates were much better back then), general attitudes/greed (city people in tourist traps are different to rural folk)

[HHTel]

I arrived here in the 90's when traffic was negligible. You could park your car anywhere in town day and night. Now it's often difficult to park a bike!!
I remember Soi 80 (Soi Hotpot) with only one bar. Richard Walker (JW's dad) who used to own The Jungle Juice moved to Soi 80 to become the 2nd bar in the Soi. (Dick's Office). I remember him saying that he wasn't hoping to make money but with 3 or 4 rooms upstairs, it was cheaper than renting a house.
7/11 only arrived in Thailand in 1989 (Patpong) so not surprising that there were no 7/11's in HH. Now there's around 12,000 of them!
There was no sign of Market Village. The open space was used for various festivals and displays.
As mentioned, any serious food shopping meant a trip to Big C in Petchaburi.
We spent the first couple of years in Kao Takieb opposite the first temple. What is now a bar which was called 'Sunset Boulevard'. (We paid 5,000 baht a month for 3 bedrooms, large kitchen and parking at the rear!!)
No McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza's etc.
Fuel from memory was around 10 baht a litre or less.

Despite the advantages today, I still preferred it back then.

[Big Boy]

buksida,

Internet cafes - that's a blast from the past. They came from nowhere, and seem to have vanished just as quickly. However, I remember using them quite extensively whilst on holiday, although being in there checking e-mails and the like made me feel an oddball, when every other customer seemed to be playing video games.

Phone calls - this actually pre-dates my first visit to Hua Hin, but I remember hearing that a good friend's wife had passed away unexpectedly (yes, bad news carried fast, even to Pattaya in the 90s). I phoned him from Pattaya, and was delighted to be only paying 49฿/minute for the service. What a difference these days with most overseas calls, with video costing zilch.

I don't think I disagree with your cons, especially over the last 10 days.

HHTel,

Your "No sign of Market Village" comment reminded me of something I was going to include in the OP, but forgot.

I moved here in 2012, and there were a lot of gaps between the buildings that were still rural (my house still has jungle front and back, which I love). Just walking from my house down Soi 94 to Petchkasem, there were several undeveloped plots where animals used to graze. The first plot was at the corner of my Soi. Its a massive double party house now, which blocks out visibility of traffic approaching from the right.

Next up is where Initial is now. That was a huge piece of wasteland where there was often a horse or two tethered.

Carrying on down 94, there was a large piece of land on the right. To this day I'd estimate 60% of the plot is still hidden behind bill boards. First to come was a rather large house, where, in the beginning, nobody seemed to want to live (not sure about now). Next to that they've built Nicos Cafe.

Carrying on down, there was the large corner plot, which became Goodview Hotel, 94 Restaurant and a 7-11.

Cross the railway track and the left hand side corner plot with Petchkasem, you have the massive G Complex with it's hotel, associated bars and restaurants.

That is quite a lot of development in a short period of time.

Going back further to about 2010, I remember we'd heard good reports about Big Mamas Restaurant on Soi 94. We approached on foot from Soi 88 direction joining Soi 94 where Initial is now. Everything on our left from where the 7-11 is opposite Hua Hin Wittayacomp School was just fields. There was nothing on our left apart from a couple of makeshift tin shack bars until we got to Big Mamas,

So much change in such a short period.

[deepee]

First visit 1975, came via train from BKK heading to Malaysia for a visa run.
Stayed a couple days at a not too fancy Chinese hotel near the main markets which were the main focus of the village then.
All around people were drying fish and squid on bamboo racks so things got a bit smelly at times.
Only saw a few other adventurous foreigners in town.
No night time action to speak of, lights went out out pretty much early evening as most townsfolk were fisher people.
But, there was a big deal of free entertainment on the foreshore one night. The Coca-Cola movie truck was in town.
They set up a canvass screen which flopped around in the evening breeze and a crappy sound system which was volumed up well above distortion levels, but typically of Thais no one seemed to notice.They showed a couple of western movies
The good crowd was treated to lots of sweet treats sold around the ground, yum.

Beers.... Singha and the cheaper Koster , think it was B30 king brown size.

Food... nothing too special , bunch of beach side basic eateries turning out typical cooked up curries and the like.

Was a few years later we came back to visit friends and the mrs deepee's outlaws before the madness of development started to take off. Each six months or so saw new major developments pop up and we wondered if the place was headed for ruin.So far it hasn't reached that point for us.
While not permanents here we do enjoy the place heaps and tend to hang out away from the bright lights tho.

[Big Boy]

Wow!!! Respect deepee - 48 years ago. How I'd have loved to have experienced that for a day or two.

Mind you, such places do still exist all over Thailand, and I usually find myself complaining that everything except 7-11 is closed by 8pm.

[buksida]

Mind you, such places do still exist all over Thailand, and I usually find myself complaining that everything except 7-11 is closed by 8pm.

A few of the towns in Cambodia were like that (but without the 7-Elevens)! If Hua Hin is the benchmark, its best to enjoy them while you can!

[STEVE G]

One advantage with all the development is that there is more going on outside the city centre now.
We bought the plot of land where we live now about 16 years ago and at that time there was nothing to do around there in Hin Lek Fai but now there are a selection of small bars, restaurants of many types and standards and you can buy most stuff locally.
On my last visit I never bothered going in to the city at night at all and had a pleasant time near home.
I think the city itself must have developed a lot in the nineties because I first visited almost exactly twenty years ago and it was already pretty lively with Bintabaht area, the Hilton and City Beach clubs and the Karaoke bars open all night, it certainly wasn't a sleepy fishing village by any means. ( I wouldn't have stayed for so long if it had been! )

[Big Boy]

Yes. I drive past your house twice a week, and it's amazing how it has developed. When we were all in search of red bricks a couple of weeks ago, I went from Wijitra Village (where friends used to live) to the red bricks on Google street view. In many cases the imagery was 2019. It was incredible how much development has gone on in that small area in the last 4 years. Of course, you live in a very popular area at the moment. I too have also been noticing all of the little bars and restaurants popping up in the area.

As I've already said, my first visit was about 2000, and yes, the basic Binthablock infrastructure was there then. Temple restaurants hadn't arrived, because my daughter had a small pitch there selling Isaan food. She was kicked off when the restaurants came. Quite amazing they've been and gone again

[Dannie Boy]

Yes. I drive past your house twice a week, and it's amazing how it has developed. When we were all in search of red bricks a couple of weeks ago, I went from Wijitra Village (where friends used to live) to the red bricks on Google street view. In many cases the imagery was 2019. It was incredible how much development has gone on in that small area in the last 4 years. Of course, you live in a very popular area at the moment. I too have also been noticing all of the little bars and restaurants popping up in the area.

As I've already said, my first visit was about 2000, and yes, the basic Binthablock infrastructure was there then. Temple restaurants hadn't arrived, because my daughter had a small pitch there selling Isaan food. She was kicked off when the restaurants came. Quite amazing they've been and gone again

Those temple restaurants were one of the highlights from the mid 2000’s and I would eat in one or other of them 2-3 times a week during my holiday visits.