Thailand: Fishing boat at Takiab Beach with Khao Takiab (Chopstick Hill) in the background, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

In 1868 King Mongkut began a tradition of royal association with Hua Hin - at the time a tiny fishing village - when he travelled there to observe a total eclipse of the sun. In 1910 Prince Chula Chakrabongse, a brother of King Rama VI, visited Hua Hin on a hunting trip, and was so delighted with the location that he built a holiday villa there. In the early 1920s he was followed by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) himself, who ordered the construction of a teakwood palace called 'Deer Park'. Finally, in the late 1920s, King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) set the final royal seal of approval on the place, when he built a palace called Klai Kangwon, or 'Far from Worries', where he could escape from the travails of life in the capital.<br/><br/> In addition to the royal connection, Hua Hin was moulded by the arrival of the southern railway line in 1922. Prince Purachatra, then Director General of Siamese State Railways, ordered the construction of the splendid Hua Hin Railway Hotel, an elegant colonial-style structure with high ceilings, slowly-moving fans and sweeping teak stairways. Today this establishment, rejoicing in the less-than-alluring name of Sofitel Central Hua Hin, retains a place amongst the best hotels in town. The Hua Hin Railway Hotel was used as a substitute for Phnom Penh's Hotel Le Phnom in the film 'The Killing Fields'.