Hua Hin/Prachuap Khiri Khan

i just spent the weekend at two different beach towns just south of Bangkok. on Thursday morning (at 7:30!!!), we went to a city called Hua Hin and stayed in a 5-star hotel called The Dusit....it was filled with old european tourists and us ;) we went to this hotel with the other BBA exchange students and ate and played games and lounged at the pool and beach all day...we napped in the afternoon and got to hang out on the beach all night. the beaches here are soooo amazing and at night time, the tide goes out so far that we can walk out for at least 200 meters. we also got to see stars for the first time since i arrived in thailand!
on friday morning, we had to wake up early...which was painful, since we didn't really sleep on thursday night...but once we were up, it was fine! we painted shirts, did fruit carving, and cooked thai food. then we went to visit the King's old summer palace! it was built by the chinese 100 years ago and sat right on the beach. it was extremely well-maintained and when we were there we saw some musicians who will be playing the same song for 3 months straight to remember the princess who just passed away a few weeks ago.
after we visited the temple, we went back to the hotel and caught a shuttle to the main city. it was mid-afternoon when we got the the city (luckily) because we did not know where our hostel was. we got dropped off at some random drop-off point and then walked to the beach and walked along the beach until we found our place. it was so funny, it looked like a scene from Lost, because there were 18 of us walking along the beach with our huge backpacks and clothes on. i was almost in shock when we got to our hostel because it was literally just a row of rooms along a dock. and it was sort of dark and covered, and the pier it was on was cracked a little, dogs everywhere, and the toilets did not flush...we had to use buckets of water to flush the toilets, and it took 18 of us about 2 hours to figure it out. lol. the rooms were locked with a padlock, and at one point, we were locked in the room because the latch can close from the outside or inside and one of our friends went outside and latched the door! luckily, we were sleeping, so it wasn't too big of a problem. once i got over the initial shock, it was fine, and the only complaint i had was that i got a bazillion mosquito bites, so my legs look like kankles now. it's unfortunate, but i'll live. the best part about this hostel was that we all got to stay there for $3, or 100 baht, each per night. it was amazing. then, we went to the beach and relaxed for a bit. after that, we ate dinner, then went to a bar, and then ended up drinking on the beach in front of the Hilton (which i later found out would have only cost $27/night to stay....)
the next day, we decided to rent mopeds and drive to a town called Prachuap Khiri Khan, about 90 km away. this should have taken us about 1-2 hours, but it ended up taking us 3 or 4 hours because we stopped so often. it was the most fun thing though, once we got used to driving on the opposite side of the road....but don't worry, knowing myself (and my driving record), i elected not to drive, and just rode on the back of brian's bike, since he has ridden lots of motor bikes before. we arrived in Khiri Khan just as the sun was setting and found our hostel pretty easily since there was only one main road that ran throughout the city. we checked in and this hostel was much much much better...even though Lonely Planet called it "somewhat charmless", i'm beginning to think i like the "charmless" hostels better than those that are "charmed" (i.e. the first hostel experience i had). here, i had the best shower of my life. it was the first one i had taken in days and i was covered in salt water, bug spray, sunscreen, gold bond and thailand dirt. so, a cold shower in a hostel became the best shower of my life.
the dinner we had in this city was amazing just because of the people we met there. the waitress was the cutest nicest thai girl ever. we made friends with her and her boyfriend of 12 years and they showed us around that night and took us to a bar where they sold pitchers of beer for 100 baht ($3), which was really cheap and good :) and we got to ride tuk-tuks to the bar, which are basically open taxi's built on mopeds...the best transportation in thailand!
in the morning, we woke up extremely early again so that we could see the monkey mountain. we got to the bottom of the hill at 7:30 and there were thousands of monkeys running around. it was so so so cool at first, but then we discovered that monkeys are mean and they like to steal things....like whole bags of peanuts, helmets, moped mirrors, moped keys, water bottles and bananas. so, we re-parked our bikes at the gas station and then hiked up 396 stairs to the top of the hill where there was a temple. from the top, we could see the whole city and for miles along the coast. our last khiri khan adventure was a "scoot" along the coast and a very short off-road adventure through some pineapple fields. the boys are obsessed with the mopeds and want to buy some to ride all over thailand. i think the girls have had enough scooting for a while ;)
we all loved the second city better than the first....the first one was more like a stereotypical thai city where old white men go to pick up thai prostitutes...and since everyone here thinks i am thai, it wasn't that great in hua hin. luckily, we always go placed with the boys so at least we are safe! sadly, we had to leave our vacation to come back to more vacation (and a little school) :), so i am back in bangkok now after a 2.5 hour bus ride.
i'm extremely happy, having the most amazing time, eating good food, exploring, and have no real complaints....i miss all of you who are reading this, and i'll talk to you soon. my number here is 0845302817, so call me on skype whenever you want, and email me too!!!

xoxo, mer