Warm rain

October is the wettest month in Hua Hin with an average of 200mm rain falling over the 31 days. By contrast, app 75mm of rain falls in London over the same period. But at least here it’s warm rain with the daily temperature rarely falling below 30c. And often the rain falls in the late afternoon or overnight so there’s still quite a bit of sunshine around as well. Nevertheless, it’s the low season so the locals who rely on tourists have a lean time.

Even the beach horses look depressed!

Daytime on the beaches is very quiet. But it’s all change after sunset, especially at the weekends where, once again, the Thais’ obsession with food becomes apparent. I’ve been to many night markets during my travels where probably 90% of the space is usually devoted to selling product and 10% to food. In Thailand, though, it’s the other way round. The Cicada and Tamarind night markets in Hua Hin are totally dominated by food stalls with literally thousands of Thais (plus a few foreigners) munching their way

through all kinds of local provender with, naturally, a strong emphasis on sea food. These marinated squid were astonishing

and the crushed and flattened variety tasted a lot better than I expected.

And when you’ve had your fill of such delicious snacks, there’s always a coconut based dessert to round things off.

If ever you get tired of eating then there are a few product stalls to entice you, hardly any selling the sort of tat that we’ve come to expect in similar environments in the west. This guy was totally absorbed making his little glass ornaments whilst his wife seemingly preferred watching a Thai game show!

Almost next door, this artist was close to completing a splendid artwork destined for T shirts

whilst the local school band provided some musical entertainment.

In short, a great evening’s entertainment both for humans and even some animals although quite why a little dog was being pushed around in a buggy was quite beyond me!