The rainy season has started, and it has been rather tricky to plan a trip.
So when we found out last Saturday that the weather forecast was positive for the next few days, we quickly decided to take off for a little getaway.
We picked Hua Hin Beach because it was only three-hour drive from Bangkok, and Grab car service was available.
We picked InterContinental to stay for two nights.
The building was a bit older than I had expected, but it was well maintained, and staff were wonderful.
They upgraded our room, and we got an ocean view instead of a city view.
The room was huge (and the bed was the largest I’ve ever seen!), clean, and well-maintained, and it had a traditional Thai decor.
Interestingly, the room we originally booked was in a different building and its modern decor was more appealing to us.
Maybe we should have kept the room.
But the ocean view was nice and being in the main building was convenient, close to the pool, the dining room, the lobby etc.
Because of the off-season, the hotel was very quiet, and we loved it.
We got there on Saturday, and there were some kids in the pool that afternoon, but other than that I saw only a few adults in the pool during the rest of our stay.
We spent most of our day on Sunday lounging around the pool, reading and swimming alternately.
We don’t usually spend this much time at the pool or on the beach.
But it was just a perfect day (some sun, but mostly cloudy, perfect pool water temperature, quiet, no kids running around), and I loved every minute of it.
The beach was also very quiet.
We took a walk several times during our stay.
I don’t need to live near the beach, but I do love slow walks on the beach (when it’s not too sunny) and the sound of the waves.
Horseback riding is probably one of the popular attractions during the busy season.
I consider breakfast one of the highlights of my vacations.
The hotel’s breakfast buffet was pretty good.
They had nice fresh vegetable and fruit sections, and I really liked their large selection of nuts and seeds.
Cooked vegetable options were limited mostly to roasted potatoes and mushrooms.
Plate 1.
Plate 2.
By the way, I had almost exactly the same things the next morning (lol).
The restaurants at the hotel had zero item on the menu that was clearly marked as vegan, unfortunately, except for this dessert, “Vegan Avocado Chocolate Mousse”.
Of course we had to try it.
It was good, but strangely lighter than I had expected.
For dinner we went outside the hotel.
On the first night we went to Hua Hin Vegan Cafe & Wine.
It was clean, spacious, and the decor was cute.
We got a nice big table right by a window.
The staff was friendly, and the menu looked promising.
Unfortunately, however, things went downhill from there..
A couple came in right after we sat down, and one of them was coughing nonstop.
They were a few tables away from us, but we could hear the cough.
We didn’t want to leave, but we were too uncomfortable to stay, so we asked to have our food to be packed to go and went outside to wait.
We ordered a few things.
Mango spring rolls were fresh and delicious (no photos, because they didn’t look great in a to-go container), but sadly, the whole dining experience was tainted by that incident…
On the other hand, our second night’s dinner turned out to be wonderful!
I was in a mood for falafel, and we found this place called Ogen.
The reviews looked very positive, and my expectation was high.
There were many vegan dishes available, and they were clearly marked.
A set of complimentary salad was served first.
A great start!
We were initially planning to order hummus, but when I saw this on the menu, I got intrigued.
It was listed as Muhammara; Roasted Red Peppers & Walnut Dip.
It came with pita bread, and the dip and the bread were both delicious!
Arabic salad was fresh and tasty.
It was a generous portion too.
Their falafel was one of the best I’ve ever had!
If this restaurant was in Bangkok, I would go every week (lol).
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