Circa 1922 our luxurious romp into another time!

Gardens, now I have seen a few in our travels around the world!

My favourite is The Butchart Gardens which offers 22ha (55 acres) of wonderful floral display located in Greater Victoria on Vancouver. www.butchartgardens.com It's got my #1 vote.

But yesterday Chris and I took a THB150 taxi ride to this heaven. To be more exact, topiary heaven at Sofitel Centara Grand Resort on Damnoenkasem Rd, Hua Hin. May not have even found it! We had asked our driver if he had any special sights to see in Hau Hin and he said no, not really, night markets....dtok-long = OK, but thankfully we said no, just drop us outside that lovely old building.

We would still be there if my artist friend didn't have to work! The hotel was built in 1922, reminded us of the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego circa 1888 in the USA, but here it was standing amongst all of the newer resorts hanging along Hau Hin's coastline, with pride and grandeur. But the real magic of the place is their immaculate gardens with topiary which create a calm, green on green, colonial air but not just a few topiary hedges. But unbelievably huge elephants, several flights of geese, small groups of the sweetest little deer (no not pigs), a maze, did you see me in it? To top it all off, an enormous butterfly and all this leading off into the hotel's romantic shaded verandas and it's many bars all filled with wicker armchairs and tall glasses of Long Island Iced Tea, we sat we enjoyed the ambience and thought about the many exciting times people have had and, as my artist husband would say ' and are still having' at this wonderful hotel.

Then we wondered into an adjoining village which looked like it was attached to the Sofitel, turned out it was the Centara Hua Hin Village, it was magnificent....we could live there. It's a group of smallish white on white luxurious private bungalows by the seaside. Afternoon tea being served by the pool, white wicker furniture and rocking chairs.....a little bit colonial America or the would not be out of place in the Seychelles. We stayed for happy hour in the Elephant Bar where they serve Wine Flights....I hadn't seen them before, what a wonderful way to enjoy wine in a country where wine is expensive and not always of the best selection, had two servings, sang along with the excellent Philippino band who played ABBA and Elvis and nothing else.
How long has this been going on, as my dad used to say!!!