Hua Hin,
Thailand - Thai beach resorts are not renowned for their cultural attractions. There's Pattaya, with probably the world's most strip clubs on one beach; Phuket, where wealthy people go for some sea, sand, sun, spas and maybe a little hanky-panky; and Samui, a cheaper version of Phuket.
Then there's Hua Hin (130 kilometres south-west of Bangkok as the crow flies), Thailand's oldest beach resort and surprisingly, one of its fastest-growing ones.
Hua Hin has been the favourite beachside getaway for Bangkok's elite since 1911, when the then Royal Siam Railways first opened a line to the district, famed for its rocks (hin) along the coastline.
Hua Hin's tourism renaissance started in the wake of the
tsunami of December 26, 2004, which claimed more than 5,000 lives (half of them foreign tourists) in resorts along Thailand's Andaman Sea coast.
Laid-back Hua Hin on the placid Gulf of Thailand drew thousands of tourists escaping the ruins of the tsunami in early 2005 and thereafter established itself as a quiet, safe alternative to Thailand's more striking resorts on the deep-blue Andaman.
"After the tsunami, Hua Hin hotels were full for two years," said Pinnat Charoenphol, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) Hua Hin office.
The tourist influx sparked a mini
construction boom of posh, boutique hotels, catering primarily to an upmarket crowd. Of Hua Hin's 260 hotels (120 were built over the past three years) some 70 per cent are in either the four or five-star class.
Hua Hin municipal authorities have tried to put a lid on a similar proliferation of strip clubs, partly out of deference to Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej who keeps a summer palace on the city's northern outskirts, winning Hua Hin the accolade of "the royal resort."
"Local authorities try to enforce good morals because they say this is the city of the king," Pinnat said.
That said, they have not been able to prevent a pretty vibrant "night entertainment" scene from blossoming in the back alleys near the Hilton Hotel.
What is unique about Hua Hin, however, is that the resort has tried hard to promote itself as a historical and cultural hub.
Since 2001, Hua Hin tourism authorities and hoteliers have staged an international Jazz
festival every June, in honour of King Bhumibol, 82, who was a well-known jazz player and enthusiast in his younger days.
Hua Hin also stages an antique car festival every December, adding considerably to the resort's already notorious weekend traffic.
And now it has the Vic Hua Hin theatre, officially opened on January 22, by Thailand's well-known doyenne of the performing arts, Patravadi Mejudhon.
Patravadi, 62, founder of the Patravadi Theatre in Bangkok, has shifted the hub of her theatrical activities from the capital to Hua Hin. The move was partly for family reasons - her daughter and sister run resorts in Hua Hin which means she was spending lots of time in the resort - and partly personal.
"I have stopped going out socially," Patravadi said. "So it's nice, now when people ask me to come to some function I can say, 'sorry, I'm in Hua Hin.'"
Patravadi's mother, a Khunying (a royally bestowed title) who was schooled in the palace of King Rama VI, spent many summers in Hua Hin, as did Patravadi in her youth (as did most of the offspring of Bangkok's so-called 'hi-so,' or high-society.)
But Patravadi's mother did not spend all her time swimming and socializing. A sharp businesswoman, she purchased numerous plots of land in Hua Hin including the one on which Patravadi has constructed her Vic Hua Hin theatre and the Patravadi High School Hua Hin, situated about two kilometres south of Hua Hin town.
Patravadi will open her high
school in May, aimed at attracting students interested in the performing arts and willing to work weekends in her Vic Hua Hin theatre.
"The school will have to look after the theatre because there's no way the theatre can make a profit," Patravadi said.
Shows, featuring either Thai artists (including diva Patravadi) and foreign troupes or solo performers, will be open to the public every Friday and Saturday, adding a new cultural attraction to Hua Hin, which is at its busiest over the weekends.
"In Bangkok if you go to the theatre you spend two hours in traffic," Patravadi said. "It takes the same time to come to Hua Hin and here you can rest."
And unlike Bangkok, Patravadi has won a warm welcome from Hua Hin's more culture-minded tourism industry.
"In Bangkok I never got any sort of support," she said. "The Bangkok hotels would throw away our brochures but here the hotels even send people to get our brochures."
