Word: beach
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...TRAVEL Hua Hin: The Next Beach Thing...
...defined not so much by what it is, but what it isn't: overdeveloped and overrun. It remains a quiet seaside community with an authentic, provincial flavor?street-side Thai eateries instead of Pizza Huts. But it's no bush-league backwater. In fact, no beach in Asia can claim quite the bloodline. Dotted with palaces, steeped in history, Hua Hin celebrates the grandeur of old Siam. You feel it with every creak of the teak floorboards at the old Railway Hotel, built at the Queen's command as a guesthouse for royal parties. Nowadays, it's been reborn...
...billboards depicting the Queen and King. His image is everywhere: on posters by the market, holding his camera in front of the photo shop, promoting swimming safety with an inflatable life belt. These are not only signs of local admiration, but firm reminders that this is the King's beach, unblemished, as a consequence, by the blight of jet skis and girlie bars. The King couldn't save the skyline, marred by a scattering of concrete towers?the detritus of a short-lived condo boom derailed by the Asian financial crisis. But Hua Hin's golden beachfront is lined...
...Already, Chiva-Som's splash on the international spa scene is sending ripples of change through the sleepy getaway. Hyatt Regency recently became the newest resort to stake a claim upon Hua Hin's regal beach. Up and down the sand, hotels are being re-branded as fashionable spas. But there are no beach parties, no raves. And don't expect any soon, since the King has taken up permanent residence in his town palace Klai Kangwon. The name means "far from worries." That has long been Hua Hin's mantra, more than ever now that royalty is back...
...TRAVEL Hua Hin: The Next Beach Thing...