Hua Hin has an interesting history. The holiday resort’s expansion phase started already in the 19th century, but it was not until the first half of the 20th century that it began to receive widespread attention. As King Rama VII had the opportunity to experience the city, he got very impressed and hence decided to build a summer palace there. Today, Hua Hin is still the residence city of the Thai monarch, much-beloved King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. In the last couple of yours, Hua Hin has also become a popular destination for short- as well as longer-term Western holidaymakers.
Hua Hin, whose name actually means “stone head”, has been a popular tourist destination in Thailand ever since the 1920s. However, it was much earlier — already during the 1830s — that people started to retreat in the city. It all began with a severe drought in the Petchaburi Province, north of Hua Hin. A number of farmers make the crucial decision to travel south in order to find new land to cultivate. They found a village with a white beach and numerous rocks. The settlers named the village after the rocks as they started to refer to it as “Samore Riang” (which roughly means “rows of rocks”). At the end of the 1860s, King Mongkut (Rama IV) embarked on a trip to an area called Khao Sam Roi Yot (today a famous National Park), just south of Hua Hin, in order to experience a solar eclipse. The King brought a couple of European guests along and, as far as the story tells, all of them were amazed by the fantastic landscape.
Nevertheless, it was much later — at the end of the First World War — that the holiday resort of Hua Hin gained its widespread breakthrough. Many Thais had become more and more eager to explore their own country, Siam, by traveling which is way the construction of a railway network commenced. The presence of the railway facilitated a general increase of activities in the Hua Hin area. Today, the Railway Station is one of Hua Hin’s most well-known buildings. Not only is it one of the oldest train stations in Thailand, it is also considered one of the most beautiful due to its unique architecture. The station was built during the reign of King Rama VI.
The rise of the resort increased yet further as Prince Purachatra, Director of the State Railway of Thailand, took the initiative to the Railway Hotel (today’s Sofitel Centara). The building was very exclusive, characterised by expensive decorations and first class interior. Moreover, the hotel had a lush and beautiful garden environment to offer the guests — which still of today has a unique status within the city. It did not take long until golf started to become a popular activity among the royal and noble people. As can be read about in our Golf Guide, Thailand’s first golf course — Royal Hua Hin — opened already during the 1920s. The Bangkokians were frequent hotel guests in the beginning, but as time passed by many of them chose to build their own private residences directly adjacent to the beach.
As King Prajadhipok (Rama VII), got the opportunity to explore Hua Hin, he became charmed to the extent that he decided to build a summer palace there. The palace was given the name Wang Klai Kang Won, which roughly means “palace far from worries”. Still of today, Hua hin is a popular destination for the Royal Family—as a matter of fact being the residence city of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.
As Pattaya, on the other side of the Gulf of Thailand, began to prosper in the 1970s, Hua Hin lost its role as Thailand’s most popular beach and holiday resort. However, in the 1980s the interest for Hua Hin started to pick up again. In between came Phuket. Today, Hua Hin is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Thailand among Westerners — which is especially true for Scandinavian and British people. The reasons are quite obvious: the area provides beautiful white, sandy beaches, a wide variety of day-trip destinations, perfect conditions for activities like golfing and kite-surfing, great restaurants and last — but not least — a tranquility hard to find elsewhere in Thailand.
