Thailand’s Beaches: Hua Hin or Cha-Am
Thailand has been steadily rising in popularity as a tourist destination, particularly over the last 30 years. Most international flights connect at Bangkok, which is a great city to enjoy a stop-over for a couple of days, before heading for the quieter coastal resorts. Hua Hin is within easy driving distance of Bangkok, a journey of around 190km.
Situated on the Gulf of Thailand, this once-sleepy fishing village was awakened to the real world with the laying of a railway line direct to Bangkok in the 1920s. Hua Hin soon became a popular resort destination, favored by the Thai royal family. The fishing village charm has long been lost beneath the modern development along the lovely white-sand coastline, but the town still has a relaxed local flavor. For those seeking something a little quieter, its near neighbor Cha-am may be the perfect idyllic seaside resort for you.
Ch-Am’s main claim to fame is that it has Thailand’s longest beach. Although weekend visitors flock to the beach here, during the week it is fairly quiet. There are a few local attractions but the main reason to come to Cha-Am is to chill out in your own space on the gorgeous white sandy beach. There is however a local Jack Nicklaus designed golf course for the more actively inclined. Most resorts are surrounded by landscaped gardens which offer pleasant, shady and colorful places to stroll amidst the tropical flora. There are a few local shops in Cha-Am selling the obligatory jewelry, and the tailor’s shops are excellent. Choose your fabric and style from the many samples, and you can have a hand-made, bespoke suit (male or female) within a couple of days.
Restaurants in Doha Qatar, Perspective of an American Family
This is one of the harder articles to write although one of the most important ones for those planning to visit Qatar. I am not an expert on restaurants, I am just merely giving our family’s experience. If I sound like I am advertising for a restaurant, I am not, we just must have just really liked it. To be frank, food is probably the most we enjoyed in Qatar.
Qatar offers a very wide variety of food choices with a wide range of cost. The first restaurant I visited in Doha was Turkey Central on Al Mirqab street, few hours after arriving in Doha. It was not very fancy looking, but I was hungry enough and not that sure about future meals, since I did not have a car at that time. The menu was mostly grilled meats and a mix of middle-eastern salads. My host, Mohammed Alsayed, an engineer at Qatar University proposed a mix of chicken and beef Kabobs and a set of mixed salads including Taboli, Hummus, green salads, yogurt salad and eggplant. The prices were very reasonable less than $6 per person. The aroma of the food as it was being delivered was amazingly delicious. The food itself looked and tasted great.
This simple, low cost restaurant became our favorite restaurant during our Fulbright visit to Qatar. We especially enjoyed their chicken kofta sandwiches which consisted of chicken kofta rolled in a pita bread with tomato sauce. Both these were served hot and sizzling, and were extremely appetizing with their savory flavor. There were multiple restaurants that have a much better atmosphere, service and a similar menu, but somehow Turkey central remained the favorite when it comes to taste. So we learned to just order for take away. Across the street was another restaurant, Al Bukhari, we visited once. They are very famous for lintel soup and it is worth the try.