Bucket List: Hua Hin Night Market
Thailand, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Hua Hin
This article was first published on thus blog in August 2024.
I visited Hua Hin for the first time whilst on a backpacking train journey from Bangkok to Singapore.
I had always thought of Hua Hin as a place where upscale resorts abound. But the Hua Hin I visited was unlike what I had imagined. Maybe it was because I was on a backpacking trip. But my short sojourn in Hua Hin was one where I blended in seamlessly with the friendly locals at the local night market, eating what the locals eat, walking around in my flip flops, enjoyed myself at the beach despite the scorching heat of the day, had a great chat with a wonderful gentleman from the Netherlands who now stays in Hua Hin and of course, simply enjoying myself as a backpacking traveler would! For me, this is a real Bucket List experience.
This article focuses mainly on my night market experience in Hua Hin.
I had so often heard about Hua Hin but had never visited until during my Train Journey from Bangkok to Singapore when I had a one-night stopover in this town in Thailand's Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
Sine this was only a stopover, I had less than 24-hours to explore Hua Hin, less after taking into acocunt my sleeping time and time spent alighting and boarding trains between destinations.
It was already dusk when I arrived at Hua Hin from Bangkok on a train ride that lasted more than 3 hours. Walking towards my accommodation for the night, my route cut across the night market. The place was a bustle of activities with many stalls selling stuffs from food to art to souvenirs. There are also shops fronting the night market from all sides, including 24-hour convenience shops.
After checking to my accommodation, a quick shower and a change of clothes, I was out exploring the night market. I had dinner and supper, filmed videos for my Travel YouTube Channel, browsed the many stalls selling souvenirs and had a very relaxing one-hour Thai massage that helped to soothe my tiredness accrued from moving between cities as part of my train journey.
Around 11pm onward, many of the stalls started to close. That was when I realized that the stalls were ad-hoc setups. As quickly as they appeared for business, they disappeared, leaving only roads and car parks. What a transformation!
Although it was only for a couple of hours, I really enjoyed my experience at this night market. One of the joys of travel is to mingle with the crowds, both local and tourists, enjoy local food, experience local vibes and to simply take in the sights and sounds of the locale.
If you have the chance to visit Hua Hin, do plan some time in your evening itinerary for the night market. It will be an experience to savor. 🌏
A visual experience of my visit to Hua Hin's Night Market is available on my Travel YouTube Channel...
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