After debating between Bangkok and, well everywhere else, my group decided on Hua Hin. It is a nice beach town about 2 hours south of Bangkok. For us, it was pretty easy to get to, as long as we caught the right vans. We were lucky enough to have Monday and Tuesday off of school so we went for a nice long, relaxed, alcohol filled weekend.
We stayed at a super cute hostel that is above a cafe. It was around a 10-15 minute walk from the main beach, so pretty much perfect. Because of school we got to the hostel on New Year's Eve, but nice and early. Got there and situated early enough we ended up hitting the beach, having a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant (this weekend would have as little Thai food as possible), hitting up the 711 for some booze and then back.
Ok, if you live in Singburi you know there isn't much to do. You don't normally try too hard with make up or hair because you'll just get sweaty, and let's be honest, who are you trying to impress? So, being New Years, we went all out. Cutest or sexiest outfits we had, and definitely some contouring going on with that makeup. Needless to say... we looked fabulous.
Two of my girlfriends had met another teacher when in Phuket and she was in town and came out with us that night. Earlier, before dinner, we had wandered around the streets and found the one that looked like it had the most bars and was the place to go. We headed back that way and got our drink and dance on. Classic, basic, fantastic new years celebrating. A few other new friends came out that night, and apparently we became best friends with a nice Thai couple at the bar. After making some new friends we ended the night on the beach post Burger King. It was a really great night, and I am so glad I got to ring in the new year with these amazing ladies.
The next day consisted of beach lounging, Coffee Club indulging and hangover battling. Besides some of us being eaten alive by mosquitos or sand fleas, I think most of us did pretty damn well. That night we checked out the Cicada market. It had amazing food stalls and as always, plenty of shopping!
The following day we met some other English teachers that were staying in our hostel and we all ended up heading off to find a well known temple inside the Phrayanakhon Cave. After about a 40 minute drive we then had to do a decent hike. Luckily it was a beautiful, albeit hot, day. This hike took place overlooking the ocean and beach below, so not a terrible view. There ended up being two decent climbs and being the amazing asthmatic that I am I took a little longer than would have liked.
Regardless we got to the caves and to the temple while there was still sunlight and it was really quite a sight. Let's be honest, its just not where you would expect to find a temple.
We managed to climb back down the mountain, grab a bite at a restaurant on the beach and then climb up and down the second half. From there we headed back to Hua Hin and crashed back on the beach for a bit. It was decided to end the evening with amazing Indian food.
Before dragging ourselves back to the vans to travel back to Singburi that following morning, we indulged ourselves with one more breakfast from Coffee Club. It was totally overpriced, and totally worth it. Then we made a bit of a mad dash back to the hostel to get our stuff, and try to catch the correct van. Luckily, we split up and even though I picked the wrong van, it was sorted out just in time to switch! And off to Singburi we went!