Hua Hin - Chumphon

[Tom420]

I have lived in HH now for a little over 5 years and even in that short space of time I have seen how it is expanding on a large scale (not something I am a fan of). I have been to Chumphon once and only for 2 days, I must admit the beaches were lovely and the people seemed genuinely nice so I am considering moving there. I can speak fluent Thai and I hear that it has few farang which is a plus for me to be honest. I am not into the bar scene anymore and just prefer a quite meal or a quiet drink. The only issues I have are as follows:

>I remember it being quite a large town/city and the beaches being about 15km out of town, are there monthly rentals at around 5k a month out of town?
>I need diazepam daily for various reasons and it is cheaper to simply buy OTC, is this possible there?
>Can anybody suggest a good guesthouse from the train station to stay for a few nights so I can scope the place out from there? And furthermore what areas out of town would be ideal to rent long term monthly that are relatively quiet?

Thanks in advance.

[Rooo]

Trollish posts & replies quoting them removed.

[4evermaat]

- can rent cheaply outside the town. Around the Thung Wua Laen beach, the rule of thumb is Seabeach Bungalo side is cheaper and the Cabina side is more expensive. You should be able to get bungalo without air for 5-6k baht. Albatross, Miao guesthouse can be cheaper without air....3.5-4k baht month. There are also shop houses and other places that are between 3-10k/mo. If you want to go further into Pathio near the airport, there are beaches and what appeared to be foreigner-friendly bungalos nearby. It looked dead though and the beaches were unspoiled. I was a little nervous when I do not see locals going into the water that is so accessible to them (Thung Wua laen beach the locals frequent the beach.

I'm not too familiar with the 'other side': Chumphon Prak nam (or Pak nam....Novatel Resort, pier, etc), but I was talking with a visa runner who lives down that way and you should be able to find something nearby. Not sure I would swim in the beach on that side though; YMMV.

- Not sure about specific medicines, but you have the Chumphon gov't hospital, two private hospitals (one near HomePro) and several pharmacy shops throughout the area (usually near or on a street near/adjacent to the hospital/mall). I've only ever needed Ventolin inhaler. I have tried to source DHEA without much success recently. I order essential oils from a bangkok shop. Hint: the pharmacy shops outside the malls are usually cheaper than the ones inside the mall

- In town, there are a couple of places. Fame or Farang Bar are likely stops. Rooms from 200-350 baht a day. Both are nearby the train station (Farang Bar; is near OTOP household items and there is a daily market there also; Fame is on the block adjacent to Ocean Mall. Lots of backpackers take the train and are usually going to Koh Tao at some point. Rent a motorbike and drive around.

Trollish posts & replies quoting them removed.

You forgot to link to this thread, which would likely have answered a lot of the OP's questions: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/509800-maats-guide-to-living-near-chumphon-town/

I guess Chumphon is the new getaway-from-the-tourist-spot. It's very accessible and a lot of buildings popping up on the main roads; although whether all of them are getting enough business is questionable. It seems to be one of those 'build it, then sit and wait' type of things.

edit: there may be a ton more options if you look around since you speak fluent thai. renting that motorbike and looking for 'for rent' signs near shophouses and apartments is good idea.

Edited May 3, 2014 by 4evermaat

[spidermike007]

You may want to have a look at Prachuap Khiri Khan. Only 90 km. south of HH, but really nice. Gorgeous beaches, good services, exquisite mountain areas, a lot of national parks, great transportation. Also fantastic seafood, and it is still quite reasonable for most services, food, rents, etc. Some fareng polupation but still small. Very popular area amongst Thai tourists, and weekenders. Very nice local people. Worth a look. I am considering that area too. I find Chumporn city to be completely devoid of charm. Also, I prefer being closer to BKK, the airports, etc. Am I missing something?

[bluebluewater]

I am torn as to what to do about living in Hua Hin as well. Even now in high season and holidays it's getting very tough to get around and with the BIG new mall they are building, the new water park on the south end of town, and the tons of apt/condos being built between Cha Am and HH in another year or two it will be complete gridlock and possibly unlivable. At least for me . . .

I have considered a move further south but there are very few golf courses and I do enjoy getting out 2 or 3 times a week. I'll cross that bridge when I it gets in front of me I guess (or at least try but the traffic may be too bad) but I'm all ready thinking about it.

[Thaijack2014]

Why are you looking places so far from Hua Hin? I live near Pranburi and about 15 km south of Hua Hin. We live very quiet here and if we need "citylife"... on our motorbike it is easy to go into Hua Hin. If I need to be on the other side of HH without traffic on Pethkasem Road, I go up to floating market and drive around... same distance, far less traffic. Only the road to floating market is at the end more or less gravel...

But for shopping, we live near Pranburi, there is a Tesco and if we want to go to the beach, there is Pak Nam Pran and Sam Roi Yot.... easy to get there...

[ableguy]

I too have this problem of Hua Hin. Thousands of condos being built between Cha Am and Hua Hin, one development has six thousand units, I have lived here five years and loved it at first, now the town is so ugly with huge hoardings covering every building advertising these bloody condos,beaches charging 50 baht for a deck chair, the local market down town double pricing for a white face ( farang ) and grid lock traffic every weekend, god knows how bad it will get when the new mall opens. Now I hate it here. We are moving to Korat ASAP , not the issan hinterlands but still have reasonable prices for housing , Hua Hin is a perfect example of how to ruin a town by greed, but who gives a shit money rules. For the people who wil poo poo this , Hua Hin is now the second most expensive town in Thailand and it offers nothing. Come visit see for yourself.

[Gerryasia]

My only fears about moving to Chumpon when I lived in both Phuket and Hua Hin was the constant flooding problems at the convergence of the rivers. The beaches were beautiful and the people were great..,but there are serious floods almost every year. '_'

[deepcell]

Chumphon is nice to visit not to live there, Chumphon is also known as "bedroom town", since so many travellers goes to Chumphon to reach Koh Tao from there. I stayed there with my family for almost one week in Thun Ma kham beach at the MT Resort beside the boat station (Koh Tao Route).

I confess to you, the place is wonderfull, beautiful in nature, desert beaches, beautiful Islands, but I can not live there for more than a month, there are nothing to do there, if you need something you must drive 30km out to get in the city. I paid 500 THB per day for a bungalow with A/C, but for sure there are something cheaper around there. If you do not have your own car or motorbike, then you are in trouble there. Pickup service from there is around 500THB (oneway), I did pay 800THB to go to the Pharmacy (round trip)! That is so crazy!

I went to Tambon Hat Sai Ri, it is a small fisher village, noting else, the place look morbid, only one temple (closed or under construction, I really do not know), no 7/eleven or any kind of convenience store.

Do you want an advice? Do not go to live in Chumphon, if you do not like the crowd, just move a little away of Hua hin (Cha Am for instance), or if you really like Chumphon, then live in the city and not in the beach (30km away).

You have better places to live than Chumphon.

[deepcell]

I too have this problem of Hua Hin. Thousands of condos being built between Cha Am and Hua Hin, one development has six thousand units, I have lived here five years and loved it at first, now the town is so ugly with huge hoardings covering every building advertising these bloody condos,beaches charging 50 baht for a deck chair, the local market down town double pricing for a white face ( farang ) and grid lock traffic every weekend, god knows how bad it will get when the new mall opens. Now I hate it here. We are moving to Korat ASAP , not the issan hinterlands but still have reasonable prices for housing , Hua Hin is a perfect example of how to ruin a town by greed, but who gives a shit money rules. For the people who wil poo poo this , Hua Hin is now the second most expensive town in Thailand and it offers nothing. Come visit see for yourself.

I need to agree with you. "bloody condos"!

I was planing to move there in october this year, but now I'm not so sure about. Maybe country side is better and some times take a holiday to the beach!

[Tom420]

Hua Hin has a massive traffic problem on the central roads, mainly Phetkasem and the soi along side the railway tracks, I think aptly named soi lotfai.Rush hour, weekends, public holidays, good luck to you if you have a car is all I can say. It is a large town but most things are central and the place literally cannot handle the amount of people anymore.

Anyway thanks for the advice everyone. When I was in Chumphon I stayed in a large guesthouse which I forget the name of and got a tuktuk to Thung Wua Laen Beach and that was probably one of the most beautiful and well kept beaches I have ever been to. Also I was shocked to see it deserted.

I have been to Prachuap a few times, mostly at night though and I agree it is a beautiful place, very few farang and enough to do for me at least, like I said I don't need much to keep me content. It is closer as well to Hua Hin and BKK, and also khao sam roi yot national park which someone mentioned. I have been there once and was in awe, a great place and so massive. The exercise climbing up and down those hilltops is rewarding as well.

I guess I will give it some more thought but I think evac Hua Hin is in order soon for sure, as much as I love it here, it is changing too much almost out of control. Again thanks for the advice everyone.

[ajarnmarc]

I lived in Hua HIn seven years ago, and stayed in the quiet town for eight years,

before getting bored of it all.

Now it has been so over developed,

I'm glad I left before it became as crazy as it is already.