Hua Hin Railway Station, Thailand

When we got down at the Hua Hin Railway Station our guide Joey told us, “you have 15 minutes to spend here. I replied, “you give me an hour at a place where I wish to spend 15 minutes and now you are giving me 15 minutes where I would wish to spend an hour!” He said, “OK let us bargain, you can have 25 minutes!” Such is life! Here I was at a quaint and beautiful place and yet I had only 25 minutes to spend there! Hua Hin Railway Station is a major tourist attraction. It has the feel of the small stations we have on Kalka Shimla Railway Line.

The railway line to Hua Hin was built in 1920s. Around the same time King Rama VI built his summer palace in Hua Hin. It was named Klai Kang Won which means ‘far from worries’. Hua Hin is a functional railway station, you can easily catch a train to Bangkok. Or if you fancy going the other way, the trains would take you to Sungai Kolok on Thailand-Malaysia border. Unfortunately, I could catch no trains from this beautiful station. The structure on the left hand side is the Royal Waiting Room. I am not sure if the royals visit it anymore but it looks royal indeed.

Even tough I could not catch a train, I saw a train arriving on the station which I was told was Bangkok bound. Trains used to hold such a fascination in our childhood. My elder nephew wanted to be an engine driver when he was young, it is another matter that he became an engineer when he grew up! Maybe it was a small part of that childhood fascination that made me run to the front of the train so that I could click the entire train!

I liked the train all the more because it was not packed, it actually looked inviting with so many empty seats, but then I had 25 minutes in all to spend at the station! I would have loved to hop in and get down at the next station, at least!

The waiting area was clean and once again quite empty after the train left. It exactly looked like a place where I would love to sit down with a novel and wait for the next train! I remember seeing a cafe at the station as well, but once again that 25 minute deadline was still there and I was already on its last minutes.

I was quite fascinated with the station bell as there was a picture of it in my hotel room. The picture in my room was quite beautiful. So I had to click it myself. Now of course my picture is no where as beautiful as the one that was there in the hotel room but still I kind of like it.

By the time I was clicking this picture I could see Joey hanging in the far horizon. I thought it to be prudent to make a move so that he would not have to come to the near horizon to drag me away from the scene!

PS. I was invited to Thailand by TAT New Delhi