Do Not Feed the Monkeys

One of the Hua Hin attractions is a small hill at the end of the beach called Khao Takiab (aka Monkey Mountain).  We decided to walk there on a lovely Saturday to go see what it was all about. 


As soon as we arrived at the base of the hill, we saw monkeys hanging around the rocks along the seashore, all along the paths and on stairways up the hill.  There are warnings all over the internet not to bring food here or the monkeys will attack and bite you for it, so we came completely empty-handed.  As you walk between them, some even approach to check you out, so it's immediately clear that they're not at all afraid of humans.  

Where this place gets its nickname became even more evident as we reached the top and encountered hordes of monkeys scurrying around.  The funny (or sad?) thing is that there's a huge sign that says "Do not feed the monkeys in this area" and about 10 paces later, there are locals selling food for tourists to buy to feed to the monkeys.  We happened to be there while other tourists bought food to feed them.. hence the gathering swarm.  It was pretty crazy to witness such a large number of monkeys all converging to one point, hissing, screeching, and jumping on each other to get food.  

After the feeding stopped, some dispersed, but many still blocked our path to the temple.  Walking through them felt like an eerie scene from The Birds.


We also saw the fattest chunky monkey of them all!  When we arrived, it was sitting with a real/live cat and petting it on the head like a human would!  The cat was loving it - pretty cute!


Kitesurfing at Surfspot

Since our condo was a bit further from the beach and we had done a LOT of kitesurfing for the past 3 months (ie. almost daily) in Mui Ne, kitesurfing in Hua Hin wasn't our main focus.  That being said, we were keen to try a new spot with flat water, so we did spend a couple of afternoons kiting :).  

We met up with Phu's friends, Fawn and Bobby from Surfspot, to rent a board and get some excellent local tips on the best restaurants, markets, and attractions to visit.


Hua Hin's beach is super long and unbelievably clean!  We spent several hours just strolling up and down the beach on our way to dinner or the market.


Just a bit of info for our kiting friends: the kitesurfing was really nice at this time of year (March) - South wind and mostly 9m to 12m kites, though we also saw people riding 7-8 meter kites in the late afternoon.  Compared to Mui Ne, it's far less busy on the beach, waves are super small and the water is warm and shallow.  Unfortunately there were jellyfish.. you can see them while you're riding!  Most of them are the big white ones, which we were told are not dangerous and only cause itching.  Occasionally you see some small brown jellyfish that we heard can cause painful stings. The chances of actually hitting one is probably quite small, but it was enough to make us feel a bit nervous to try any new tricks!

Hua Hin Food & Night Markets

After Bangkok, we went to a popular Thai holiday beach town called Hua Hin.  

We chose Hua Hin for a couple of reasons.. it was a very short journey from Bangkok, neither of us had been there before, they have kitesurfing, and because we managed to find a really great condo with a pool and gym just across the main street from the beach, for only $18USD/night!


Our condo had a little kitchen, but we didn't do much cooking.. why cook when you can visit the cute little markets and eat yummy Thai curry for less than 3$ each!

Cicada Market


Night Market


Random Restaurants


And let’s not forget our favourite... Roti with egg, banana, and condensed milk!!  Every night, a local came just outside our condo with his bike cooking platform, and we could order Rotis/Crepes for around 1$... sooooo good.

Wat Pho

On the weekend, we decided to spend a day walking through Chinatown and visiting the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, since Dom hadn't been there before and it was Jen's favourite Bangkok sight.

Wat Pho is a pretty big complex with several beautifully coloured temples and pagodas.  The area is really well maintained and it's really nice to walk around here to escape the busy streets of Bangkok.


There are so many great things to see here, from the giant guardian to the bonsai plants


..and of course, the main attraction that this temple is famous for - the immense reclining Buddha.


Shopping & Eating in Bangkok

After leaving Vietnam, we decided to hang out in Thailand for a month before heading home.  We hadn't been here in over 12 years, so it was quite a surprise to see how much Bangkok has changed!! 

Since we had already seen most of Bangkok's touristy sights, our main goals were to just work, wander, eat yummy Thai food, and (window) shop at the markets and crazy new malls... so that's exactly what we did for 6 days!  We enjoyed some really great food including "bulgogi" burgers with rice patties for the bun, pad thai in an egg wrap, tom yum soup, "vegetarian" pork curry, and pumpkin stir-fry, just to name a few :).


And to give our taste buds an even better food experience, we did a food tour with Bangkok Food Tours, through the historic district of Bangkrak.  Our favourite dishes were the Chicken Curry Noodles, and Beef Matabah from a place called "Muslim Restaurant".

Mui Ne Friends

We feel super lucky to be able to reunite with our friends at Surfpoint and to meet so many newcomers here each year.  Without them, our visit here just wouldn't be the same!  We were also fortunate to have Chris Miserva and his sisters fly in to join us for New Years.

When we leave, we always feel a bit sad.. but we take away so many great moments and memories... let's drink to that!

At the beach


Dinners at Sunset Restaurant, Pizza Bella, The Bar, Goat BBQ, Night Market, Ganesh, Love Sushi, etc.


Parties at Phong Phi Guest House :)


And we almost forgot... Merry X-Mas!


And Happy New Year!

Aiming High... (about 4.8m)

Every season we have some small goals in mind for kiting.  This year, Jen wanted to do transition jumps and a back roll, which she managed to accomplish, and Dom wanted to start jumping higher.  

Since we didn't bring a good camera this year and we tend to kite really far away (because it's a nice safe distance from the beach and crowds), we don't have many kiting photos this year... but, on 2 occasions, Dom borrowed a kitesurfing "Woo" device that you put on your board to measure the height of your jumps. 

After his first Woo session in light wind, he managed to jump 3.8 meters, and after his second session he reached 4.8 meters (more than 2.5 times his height)!  This probably sounds pretty crazy to non-kiters... but in the kiting community, it's actually not that crazy (..but it is still really cool!!).  As a comparison, our friend Phu won the KTA big-air competition in Phan Rang this year by jumping 13.9m!!    

Here are some of the few photos we have from this year, of Dom doing some "small" (2-3m) jumps.



Phan Rang

After spending 3 winter seasons only kitesurfing in Mui Ne, Vietnam, we finally decided to try out a new spot in Phan Rang since Phi built a new facility there.  It was well worth it - Phi's spot was great with plenty of seating, storage and bathroom facilities, and a restaurant that serves good food at really fair prices!  

Since the wind forecast in Mui Ne was low, Chris Miserva decided it would be best to join in on the 3-day trip, along with Gaston, Natasha, Felix, Phu and many other wind-seeking kiters.  We had great company, yummy BBQ, lots of fun, and great wind (albeit surprisingly light for Phan Rang where the wind is typically very strong).


One of the unique things about Phi's spot is the shallow flat water in the bay.  In order to go kiting, you have to wait until high tide which was around 13:00.  Dom was always anxious to get out asap and went a little too early one day resulting in a few scrapes and scratches on the bottom of our board (but hey, this is exactly why we decided to buy an old used board!).  Once the tide is high enough, you have 250 meters of super flat warm water until you reach the small kickers around the coral reef.  As you continue past the kickers you reach the shore break where you can have fun in the waves.  It's a really great spot since there is a little something fun for everyone... you just need to have patience waiting for the tide... :)


In February, Surfpoint also organized a big group trip out to Phi's spot for 2 days, with nearly all of the staff and friends of Surfpoint.


Dom did a beautiful, scenic downwinder with the Surfpoint crew. 


Thanks Phi and Surfpoint for all of the fun times!




Mui Ne to Phan Thiet Downwinder

This year, Jen decide to join the group on her first 14km downwinder from Mui Ne to Phan Thiet.


She was a bit nervous at the start and it took some time to get used to the smaller kite and board again!  But in the end, everyone made it in good time and everything went well.... except for one small incident at the end.  


As Jen headed in toward the beach, a local saw her and thought she needed help so he walked toward her in the water, yelling something in Vietnamese.  She tried to tell him she was fine, but since they couldn't understand each other, he continued walking toward her and then suddenly jumped up, grabbed one side of the kite bar and yanked it down.  The kite took a sharp turn and dove straight into the pavement of the nearby park, dragging Jen up onto the beach with it.  Luckily no one was hurt and our Swiss friends Yannis, Gabriel, and Jenny happened to be on the beach taking photos, so they were right there to help out and make sure everything was ok!  

Yannis took a nice photo of Jen after everything was ok and the shock of the incident started to wear off :)



Cooking Classes at Sunset

Jen and Iris spent an afternoon learning to cooking some Vietnamese recipes with our friend Xuan from Sunset Restaurant.  Xuan showed them how to make all of their favourite dishes - they had a really fun time, and of course, the food was delicious! :)


Pho Bo


Vegetable Curry


Deep Fried Bananas (with sweet milk, of course!)


Time to feast!  Yumm!!