We checked into Millennium Hilton Bangkok after our drive back from Khao Yai which took awhile understandably given the traffic in Bangkok city. Thankfully by then our rooms were already ready for us so we got to deposit our luggages before heading out to explore

But first, room tour

The rooms were averagely sized and we had an overlooking view of Chao Phraya river

The bathroom was also quite sizeable

We chose this hotel cos I had a Hilton voucher to redeem and given I wanted to venture Icon Siam and have dinner at 80/20 which wasn’t that far away from hotel so I thought the location of this place was ideal

We then went to Icon Siam nearby to take a walk and explore its underground food market. I decided to call grab early since Bangkok traffic was quite bad. But peak hours was a whole different level. The grab took 50 mins to arrive as opposed to the estimate wait time of 15 mins. Oh gosh, Bangkok traffic was insane 

Thankfully we were not that late for dinner at 80/20

You can read more about it here

After dinner, we headed back to hotel cos it had been a tiring evening for us

Breakfast next morning was at Tuang Dim Sum cos I wanted to bring the parents to try some local breakfast. Tuang Dim Sum helmed by Chef Yip had his experience at Shangri La’s Shang Palace and the food at Tuang was quite well-raved

It had a very inconspicuous stall front and you really wouldn’t pay much attention to it

The shop wasn’t big and thankfully it wasn’t crowded. But I could see they were busy preparing for takeaways and it was order after order

Menu

Some of the food we ordered – Steamed Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao/Siew Mai), Steamed Carrot Cake, Deep Fried Sesame Ball (Custard), Steamed Chicken Feet, Steamed Seaweed with Shrimp Roll, Custard Bun

Shrimp Rice Flour Roll

This rice roll was really good. So thin and silky and it soaked up the sauce evenly 

The siew mai was so good we had another portion of it

I thought the dim sum was not bad, though selection not extensive and they seemed to serve more steamed dishes. However the parents didn’t seem very impressed. Maybe they preferred dim sum in a hotel setting instead. Or they would rather just eat hotel breakfast

We headed over to Ron Ron Slow Bar which was just a 5 minutes walk away for our daily coffee fix. The cafe was quite well-hidden. If it didn’t appear as a random search on google maps, I probably would not know of its existence

It’s an interesting place, exhibiting strong European vibes with its interior

Their drink selection was quite interesting too. Not something you will encounter often in a cafe

Vice Versa ฿140

The dad decided to try something different. I was amused. Well. It tasted like mocha 

Rum Raisin Latte ฿180

I was blown away by this rum raisin latte. The taste of the rum raisin was so strong but yet you could still taste the caffeine in it. It was pretty delicious 

And then with drinks finished, we made our way back to hotel for our journey down South to Hua Hin. We had booked my 2-way transfer via KKday and the driver was there at the lobby to pick us promptly 

3 hours later.. hello Hyatt Regency Hua Hin! I really liked the first impression this hotel gave. It was breezy, huge and just felt like a comfortable stay here

Welcome drink while I was busy with check-in

It was quite a walk to our rooms but I was pretty impressed with how big the rooms were. 2 huge beds and lots of walking space

An outdoor balcony which was quite nice to chill at

The vanity area which you can pull the doors out for some privacy when you shower 

The mini bar area

Amenities provided

In all, the room did feel pretty new to me

We decided to take a grab to explore the nearby shopping malls, did some grocery shopping before heading back to our hotel for some grab dinner 

Cos why not right?

And it was a simple yet sumptuous seafood dinner, alongside the wine we brought from Khao Yai. The live band was playing at the restaurant too so we could hear the faint accompaniment that lasted us for a few hours

And with that, we ended our day 1 in Hua Hin

We woke up early the next morning, well, early enough to catch the sunrise. That wasn’t the point though. We had wanted to go out for breakfast but the view caught our attention so we spent some time taking photos with the light cos it was a pity to give it a miss

cos so nice right?

It’s definitely a quiet morning at the resort

No one at the pool either

We walked past the main dining at Figs and the dad was very disappointed we were not having hotel breakfast. lol. Sorry, I prefer to try what locals eat when travelling

And so we made our way to Jek Piek coffeeshop which was so well-known the grab drive told us ‘very very famous’ 😀

To me, it felt like roadside stalls coming under one roof with all the vendors and their specialties

Spy that chicken. Yes, that’s chicken rice

They have a different menu from dinner. So breakfast might be a little limited

Mixed Pork Porridge with Double Egg

We loved the silky texture of the porridge and thought the pork was fresh and tender. Definitely a good bowl to warm the stomach and one bowl not enough

Stewed Pork Knuckle

Tender, fatty, flavourful

Fishball Noodles

The noodles here tasted a little different, like made using fish meat. It was quite an interesting bowl of noodles

Braised Duck Meat

Because I was still feeling unsatisfied from breakfast and I was also eyeing the duck meat, I decided to order it in the end. The duck meat was good too, though a little fatty with the skin

After breakfast, we decided to walk a little to Hua Hin railway station which was known to be one of Thailand’s oldest and prettiest railway station

And it was rather empty

There were also no passengers in sight

We were wondering if we would be able to catch sight of the train

But one look at the schedule – I concluded we would not be

We didn’t stay for long cos the railway station was that small and not like there were many things to do there so we decided to google for a cafe to chill. But it was so early not many cafes were opened yet. So we just stoned out for awhile

Before spotting the train models across the road

We finally found Row Hou8e cafe that was going to open soon and had good ratings online so we made our way there via grab

Such cute deco at the entrance

The cafe also had a rustic feel to it

Despite its small size, the menu was extensive. It covered coffee, breakfast, lunch and desserts. So we decided to grab some coffee and desserts

Coffee Ice Berge

Basically coffee in ice cubes and you had the milk over it. The dad loved this

While I had my pourover

And the mum had the Cocoa Dirty which was a combination of espresso and mocha

The coffee, in all were pretty good I must say. If you liked somewhere with good drinks, you could consider dropping by this place

We had the banana waffle as well cos we clearly felt like the breakfast wasn’t enough

Oh the waffle was really well made. Crisp on the outside, soft inside with a fluffy texture

Also, a portion of honey toast as well

It was a good random find and I concluded you could easily find good coffee anywhere in Thailand

We decided to head back to hotel to chill and have a swim cos we had time to spare before our massage at 1pm

On the while back to our rooms, we spotted fish-feeding that was part of the resort’s daily activities. It attracted alot of kids. lol

The resort also had other activities which I thought was a good initiative cos at least guests could be entertained

I didn’t stay very long at the pool cos the sun was really glaring and the water was too cold so it just wasn’t a good combination to swim. In the end we retreated to our cozy air-conditioned room instead. lol

After a hot shower and a good rest, we made our way to massage at The Barai Spa which was located within the same compound of the resort. I asked the front desk if it would be a long walk and they suggested we could take a buggy instead. We gladly obliged

And we arrived in less than 5 minutes. lol

When I stepped into this corridor, I immediately felt like I was being transported to another world

And then you stepped out again to this famed architecture that you would come across in pictures

So one for the memory

We were treated to a welcome drink at the guests’ welcome area and were asked a few simple questions, before being brought to walk some more

This whole place was like a maze I swear. If nobody guided us, we would be easily lost

And so we finally reached the changing room. Yeps, changing room

There was a lounge area inside the changing room and this was only for females

The refreshment area, in case you were feeling hungry

The steam room / sauna area

which we clearly didn’t use

Storage / dressing area

Well, the whole place was empty

So after changing, we were finally brought back out to the treatment rooms which we passed through a few more doors

And it was door after door. lol

I suggest you could play hide & seek here

Jokes aside, the massage was good. I went for the traditional Thai massage and definitely felt relaxed after the treatment. Though abit pricey, but it’s definitely worth considering

And then we were brought out through another exit so that it was a shorter walk back to the rooms. I’m amazed at how huge this place was

It was big enough you could choose different locations for your photoshoot here. lol

We took another route back to the room and came across this pet-friendly area. I guess pets also need a massage on their holiday. I was amused

We were a little hungry post-massage so we decided to feast on the takeaways we had purchased from Row Hou8e earlier, which on hindsight was a good decision

Plain & Almond Croffle

Crab Salad which was really yummy!

And then we stoned out for a good one hour before making our way to dinner which was at Sundance Dayclub. I wanted to check out how beachclubs in Hua Hin were like and this place seemed pretty popular

We were given a choice to decide if we want to be seated at Dining or Poolside cos you would not be given access to the pool area if you chose dining. Deposit for Dining was at ฿500/pax while deposit for Poolside was at ฿800/pax and the deposit could be used to offset your total bill. To be honest, I didn’t understand the concept of deposit since I was a walk-in customer. You could just tell me upfront there’s a minimum spending instead. Right..?

Anyway, I chose Dining only to be led to a table that wasn’t ideal so we went for Poolside in the end

The view that greeted us at Poolside was woah.. #noregrets

The different shades of blue

Just so pretty

So if we had chosen Dining, we would not be able to take this shot cos #noaccess

And shortly after I taken this shot, a group of kids ran in.. 😦

The Dining area behind in the shade

We kickstarted the evening with some drinks:

Midsummer: White Rum, Malibu, Pandan Syrup, Fresh Lime, Pineapple Juice, Midori

A Plum Job: Gin, Plum Juice, Lemon, Tonic

Life’s A Beach: Vodka-infused Lemongrass & Kaffir Lime Leaves, Fresh Galanga, Fresh Lime, Lime Cordial

The pineapple was really cute so it made a good excuse as a prop to my photo 😀

And for the food!

was so excited to see the servers walking out with the food to our table cos we wanted to order ours before the table next to us

Yellow Curry w Crab w Rice Noodles & Fried Fish Cake ฿650

Black Squid Ink Sauce w Steamed Squid, Lemon ฿380

Crab Omelette w Salted Egg Sauce ฿650

Deep Fried Seabass w Spicy Mango Salad ฿480

When this fish came, the table next to us all turned and looked at the dish and decided to order one as well. lol. We were almost done eating and they had not even ordered

Grilled Pork Neck w Longan ฿290

To be honest, the food was great. We really enjoyed each and every dish though prices were on the steeper side. But this was also one of the better meals we had for our trip

And ending with another cocktail for the night as the sky got darker, cos why not?

We were glad we reached before sunset so at least pictures looked good. Else what’s the point of dining by the poolside if you were going to dine in the dark

So after a filling dinner, I asked the folks if they would like to visit Hua Hin night market or Cicada market and they chose the latter

You must be thinking – why not both? Cos I was tired and my phone was running out of battery, feeling as tired as me. lol

So there we were, which was very conveniently located outside our hotel. Yay

It had a huge Happy New Year sign but they were 7 days early. lol

It was quite a modern night market with stalls selling food on one end and shops on the other

There were some performances going on as well

Well, we skipped the food and the folks bought some stuffs though they were lamenting this night market was small and had nothing much to see. Well, sometimes I really wondered what they wanted to buy

And that wrapped up our rather relaxing day at Hua Hin

Rise & Shine the next morning, which was also our last day here

I chose breakfast at Mcfarland house which was located inside Hyatt so that we could wake up abit later

And it was pretty empty

A hot latte (฿130) and Detox Juice (฿160)for me

I took a long time to decide on the menu cos the western selection didn’t seem to interest me very much but it was too early to have Thai local favourites (aka carbs) in the morning. I know #dilemma

But this was what I ended up with

MFH Big Breakfast ฿480

Sunny Side Up, Hash Browns, Chipolata Sausages, Sloans Bacon, Avocado, Mushroom, Roasted Tomato, Pickled Chilli w Sourdough Bread

Charlies Scrambled Eggs ฿280

Three Eggs, Chipolata Sausage, Grilled Corn, Red Onion, Potato, Basil, Chilli, Sriracha Sauce w Whole-wheat bread

which honestly looked abit sad

French Toast Sticks w Berries, Citrus Cream ฿260

which looked even sadder

Well, if I could sum it up, breakfast was average. Maybe we should have had buffet breakfast at Figs instead

We took some photos around the compound before proceeding up to our room to pack and check out and yes, that pretty much summed up how I felt the entire trip

IYKYK

Read here about Travelogue: Khao Yai – A Surprise Destination but Once is Enough