Hua Hin

Hua Hin began as a farming and fishing settlement named Samore Riang, "rows of rocks", after families moved down the coast when a severe drought struck Phetchaburi in the 1830s. The beach was given the name Hua Hin later in the century by Prince Krom Phra Naresworarit, the first member of the royal family to build here. Its transformation came with the railway: the southern line reached the town in November 1911, the state railway's director Prince Purachatra put up the Railway Hotel near the beach in 1921, and Bangkok society followed the train south for the sea air.

The court made it fashionable. Prince Purachatra, who ran the railways, promoted the resort; King Vajiravudh built the teak palace of Mrigadayavan on the shore to the north; and from 1926 King Prajadhipok built Klai Kangwon — "far from worries" — at the northern edge of the town, finished in 1933. He was the last absolute monarch, and the palace stayed in royal use after the revolution of 1932. Golf arrived with the railway too: the course opposite the station was laid out in 1922 and is among the oldest in the country.

The resort slipped from fashion after the Second World War as Thai and foreign travellers went to Pattaya and later Phuket, and for decades it was a quiet town of villas and fishing boats. King Bhumibol's long use of Klai Kangwon as a summer residence kept it in the public eye, and from the 1980s hotel groups, condominiums and golf courses returned. Growth since has been steady rather than explosive, and the town has kept more of its own life than most Thai resorts.

The town's identity is bound to the monarchy. Klai Kangwon was a working royal residence for decades, royal portraits hang in shops and offices, and the station's royal pavilion is treated as a monument rather than a curiosity. Visitors are expected to be careful in what they say and photograph near royal property, and Thai lese-majesty law is enforced.

Alongside that is the culture of a Thai resort town. Golf has been part of Hua Hin since the 1920s and there are now many courses inland; a jazz festival on the beach has run for years; and weekend markets, which mix crafts, food and live music, are a local institution. Bangkok families have kept seaside houses here for generations, and their presence gives the town a more domestic feel than the islands.

Hua Hin also has one of Thailand's larger communities of long-stay foreign residents, many of them Scandinavian, British and German retirees, which shows in bakeries, bars and estate agencies along the northern beachfront. The fishing village at the harbour and at Khao Takiap continues much as before, with boats going out at night and Buddhist and Chinese shrines at the water's edge. Local festivals follow the national calendar: Songkran in April, Loi Krathong in November, and temple fairs through the year.

Hua Hin district has about 66,000 registered residents at the last published count, and carries a large seasonal population of Thai weekenders and foreign long-stayers. It is the busiest town in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, though not its capital.

Tourism and property dominate the economy: hotels, resorts, condominium building, golf, restaurants and the services that support retired residents. Fishing continues from the pier and from Khao Takiap, supplying the seafood restaurants and markets, and the district inland grows pineapple, coconut and rubber, with limestone quarries and small factories along the highway. Public projects, including the rebuilt elevated railway through the town, have reshaped the centre in recent years.

The day starts early — markets before dawn, boats in with the catch, exercise on the beach — then slows through the heat before the evening brings people back to the sand and the night market. Local issues include coastal erosion, which has narrowed parts of the beach, water supply in dry years, traffic on the highway through town, and the pressure of condominium building on a shoreline that was until recently low-rise.

Seafood is the foundation. Boats land squid, mackerel, prawns, crab and sea bass, and the restaurants on stilts at the old harbour cook them simply — grilled over charcoal, steamed with lime, chilli and garlic, fried with pepper, or turned into tom yum thale, a sour seafood soup. Pla kapong, the sea bass, and hoi malaeng phu, green mussels, are local staples, and squid is dried in the sun on racks near the fishing village.

The night market is the town's best-known eating place, with charcoal grills, noodle stalls, curry trays and pancake carts, while Chatchai market sells breakfast food — khao tom rice soup, patongo doughnut sticks with warm soya milk, and curries ladled over rice. Inland lanes keep the cheaper local kitchens — boat noodles, khao man kai, som tam and grilled chicken brought down from Isan cooking.

The province's own produce appears everywhere: pineapples from the plantations around Pranburi, coconuts from the coast further south, and palm sugar from Phetchaburi to the north, which sweetens the custards and coconut puddings sold in the markets. Vineyards inland from the town make Thai wine, and the resorts and beach bars serve cocktails, fresh fruit shakes and cold beer along the sand.