Our choice of location in no particular order was , it should be close enough to get to, affordable and borderline boring .
Few clicks on the AirAsia website got us geared up for Hua Hin.Only one flight a day in the late morning , worked out for us ,since we had kids in tow .So no unearthly hour ride to the airport .
Since we gained an hour , we managed to reach our resort by 12:30 pm and headed out to lunch to a nearby restaurant while we waited for check-in at 2 pm.
We stayed at Putahracsa Resort , about 800m to the famous Hua Hin Night Market .The principal reason we booked this place , was for easy access to street food . ( But never made it , coz we were smitten by Cicada Market food court )
We basically lounged at the resort , swam in one of the 4 pools , strolled by the beach , collected sea shells and napped all day ( well , just me) till dinner .Oh and, enjoyed the drinks .
The beach – wasn’t the cleanest , neither was it the clearest ………but we loved it anyways.
Waiting to collect sea shells.
The lobby
View from our room
Our room
Resort’s beachside bar
Rooms- outside looking in.
Dinner –Cicada Market .Food was amazing !!!!!!!!!! Street food at touristy prices but it was so good .So good. We were too hungry , we forgot to take photos. Sorry!
We surrendered to bed early , as the kids were tired and so were we.
Woke up to gloomy weather ,and signs of a thunderstorm headed our way. But we risked it and made our way to Hutsadin Elephant Foundation .
This IS the main reason anybody should visit Hua Hin.
We were give an option to ride the elephants ( apparently it’s not painful if done bare back , but we skipped it anyways)
Instead we took the option of walking with the elephants , and giving them a wash down after .
Facts about Hutsadin
-Run entirely by contributions from public .No government funding.
-Care for hurt /injured/orphaned elephants.
– In the evening , they are left to roam wild in the acres of land at the back , that they are hoping to buy once they have enough funds.
-You can volunteer at the sanctuary (Wish I could do this , the way Robin was volunteering at Hutsadin)
Back to my story.
We were introduced to Bumi, the oldest rescued elephant that was ” tortured” in the wild .He was a majestic looking 76 year old , weighing 4000 kg, and the only male at the conservation centre .Robin also mentioned back in 2014 , at the foundation itself, he was drugged one night , and his tusks were cut . (heartbreaking)
Bumi was not on a leash , the mahout had a long branch / stick that apparently was enough to keep us safe. We took Bumi for a walk , feeding him throughout the journey .It felt a little overwhelming at first , expecting Bumi to stomp and trample all over us . But we eventually warmed up to the giant walking with us , who seemed like a happy camper , waiting for the next banana to be placed in his trunk at constant intervals .Robin was our volunteer who accompanied us , feeding us facts about the elephants . explaining to us the efforts being done by the foundation and was happy to answer all our questions.
Our experience cost us 800 Baht /adult, and 400 Baht for kids . Our experience lasted about 45 minutes , but we were welcomed to stay longer to walk around the property. In view of the rain, we left .
In complete awe
We fed him nearly 100 bananas ,in that half an hour. Lucky him , 4000 kg , is not considered fat in his world.
Isn’t Bumi just… so….. magical?
More bananas.
Camera ready with a ear flap
Quick shower before we said goodbye
Songkran , the most lovable one who was saved at age 2.
Bumi and us
Ended our day at Ba Ba Beach Club once the weather cleared up at 5 pm. It was an effort to get there considering nobody knew where it was. Few calls and help with google maps got us there 45 minutes later.
Chillin
As much as we are against animal cruelty……we gave in to the “can we go , can we go”
They had kid activities too
Views at night
Our birthday girl
Also, who do you think wore it better?