Bars and Temples in Hua Hin

On December 30, 2024, I traveled from Battambang in Cambodia with two friends, Christoph from Bern and Michel from Freiburg (Switzerland), in a minibus to the Baan Pakkad Border Checkpoint. There, we crossed the border into Thailand without significant delay and took another taxi to Pattaya. In Pattaya, we celebrated New Year's Eve and traveled on January 1, 2025, via Bangkok to Hua Hin, a five-hour journey in an electric SUV of the MG brand,

Is a small digression allowed? In the 1980s, I lived temporarily in London and witnessed the decline of British industry. MG is an impressive example: The company was founded in 1924 in Oxford and was known for sporty, albeit not very reliable, roadsters for decades. After the bankruptcy of MG Rover in 2005, Chinese buyers acquired the brand rights and production facilities, and since 2007, MG has belonged to SAIC Motor in Shanghai, one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, and has developed into a global provider of electric vehicles.

Pool Billiards in the Bar

Back to Thailand: In the resort town of Hua Hin, 200 km southwest of Bangkok, Suthima runs a bar. It belongs to her older sister, a friend of Christoph's. We frequented Suthima's “Airborne” bar daily for a few gin and tonics and some rounds of pool billiards, which I play with enthusiasm and strictly limited talent.

I regularly lost to Suthima and also to Rita, the quiet trans woman (referred to as “Ladyboy” in Thailand). It already amazed me decades ago how unpretentious people in Thailand (and, less obviously, also in Laos and Cambodia) are about gender identities. While there was far less fuss about gender issues in our parts, trans women in Thailand were an integrated part of society (not just in the sex industry, where most tourists might know them from).

Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage at the beginning of the year. According to surveys, the development is supported by about four-fifths of the population. At the same time, Thailand is strongly influenced by religion: According to polls, 94% of the population identifies as religious; 19 out of 20 Thais are Buddhists.

Elephants and a Miracle Monk

Suthima is not only welcome as a sparring partner in billiards. She can also use her sister's Nissan Juke, and together we made several excursions, including to a nature reserve, the Pranburi Forest Park. There, one can navigate through water channels in a boat, flanked by lush forest on both sides, and a kilometer-long wooden boardwalk leads right through nature.

Above all, we visited several temples. Unlike the cult sites from the height of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia and other territories governed from Angkor, most temples in Thailand are much younger or even new, which testifies to the deep roots of religion.

The Huay Mongkol Temple, for example, started as a modest monk's lodging 60 years ago and later developed into a significant complex. A notable feature is a black statue of a seated monk created in 2004, revered for his miraculous deeds, alongside an almost equally mighty wooden elephant.

Also built at the beginning of the century is the so-called Elephant Temple Doi Chap Thang, which you ascend via a shallow staircase flanked by golden Buddha statues and protected by a giant snake. The pagoda is decorated with countless elephants. “For us, the elephant represents luck and wealth, but also wisdom and strength,” explains a monk clad in orange robes.

The first of the various buildings of the Khao Tao Temple were built about 300 years ago and are located directly by the sea; waves crash against the walls. From the temple, one can observe life in a fishing village that nestles in a quiet cove connected to the sea.

Here, Suthima wishes to pray. She buys incense sticks, an oil lamp with a wick, and a bottle of oil and becomes engrossed for a while. “I pray for myself and for my family,” she responds to my question. “For health – and for wealth.” She laughs.