I absolutely love traveling.  Like Benjamin Disraeli has once said,

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”  My most recent holiday to somewhere completely new was end of January.  I went to Thailand for a cousins wedding & an engagement ceremony!  In between all the parties and functions there was a gap of 3 days.  I finally got quality time with my family (since now we live continents away – Sydney and London often seem like different planets to be honest)!  We all have been to Thailand many times as my mom used to live there in her childhood and we have family there.  My dad decided to take my family to Hua Hin Sheraton Resort. We hired a minivan and off we went!

It was simply beautiful.  Reflecting on it,  there’s definitely more to it than I remember.  It’s tricky how memories are so elusive.  Thankfully, photos capture our memories quite accurately 🙂

We went there to simply soak in the atmosphere.  Very different from my usual holidays- which you will see in my future Travel Thursday posts.  I usually maximize my time in any country with the desire to cover every inch of it – with no regret!  Yet this time, we were so happy to be with each other, that we just wanted to be.

Our typical two days were :  wake up and make it in time for the buffet breakfast.  A fantastic spread of cold, hot and anything in between!  Asian 5 star hotel breakfast spread puts Europe to shame, sadly.  There were hot pancakes, waffles, potatoes, sausages, hash browns, a table of assorted freshly baked breads, mouth watering exotic Asian fruits such as logans and rambutans, freshly squeezed juices, sandwiches, rice, etc etc.  I was in love.

After being so exhausted from eating, we sat and absorbed our surroundings, till it was time for our second meal.  We basically ate, sat, and got massaged. It was heaven.  Definitely how I picture it.

The best massage I ever had in life – was on the beach. The picture above is of my feet that are about to indulge in a wonderful massage in the perfect atmosphere where I hear the calming effects of the swash and backwash of the waves.  It was peaceful.  Except for my sister who would keep interrupting the beautiful silence. 🙂  It was still perfect.

The hotel overlooked the beach, so we didn’t really have to leave the hotel at all. There were little canopies where you could sit and relax.

It was so easy to do nothing.  Something that is not as easy in a city-based life which we were all used to.  We loved it. Before we knew it, it was time to eat again (yaey to food!)  I absolutely loved the pineapple fried rice.  An authentic Thai dish which was served in a pineapple!  I was in awe.  I had never seen a dish served in a fruit. The flavor exceeded my expectation and it is definitely a dish I would recommend to all.  I had it all three days. 🙂  We ordered new dishes everyday – but one pineapple fried rice was a must.

In addition to that, I loved coconut ice-cream, which was also served in a coconut!  I was so pleased with these refreshing creative ideas of serving food, that I was being the typical foodie tourist.  Taking out a picture of my food before eating it!  It was delish!!  Coconut ice-cream topped up with Thai sticky rice and peanuts.  To top it off, a drizzle of coconut milk was poured over.  You might think that’s a coconut overload, but frankly it was very pleasing to the palette! All the food we had was simply divine.

My mom can speak very fluent Thai, so we didn’t experience any difficulty while ordering.  Otherwise, if I were the one ordering I cannot imagine the consequences of me having to play charades with the waiters!  (I have had an experience like that in Shanghai – while trying to ask the salesgirl if a jacket was waterproof.  Let’s just say it was very comical and I think I might stick to drawing instead of playing charades)

So here we have it! My first entry of Travel Thursdays! Hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed blogging about it.  I would definitely recommend Hua Hin Sheraton Resort as a place to unwind from the city life of Bangkok if you are holidaying in that region.

xx

B