reading matter
There are a number of English-language publications, offering a variety of styles, as well as information and entertainment. Long time visitors to the town will have been familiar with the free monthly Hua Hin Observer magazine found around the town, but as of January 2010 this has become an online only publication (http://www.observergroup.net). Another monthly publication which you have to pay for is the Hua Hin Today newspaper which can be a little 'dry' for tourists, as it contains plenty of local government and local dignitaries news along with details of the latest infrastructure projects and housing developments. It also has an online presence (http://www.huahintoday.net/) but this is more of a portal for international news and selling property than a local site. More of interest to tourists is the widely available free weekly AWOL newspaper, which is a mixture of entertaining true and not so true stories, typical tabloid content such as a page 3 girl, sport coverage and major local news stories. AWOL also has a website (http://www.awolonline.net) which includes a discussion forum, free classifieds and all their back issues to download. The longest established local internet forum is Hua Hin After Dark (http://www.huahinafterdark.com) which is a valuable source of information for both tourists and expats alike, although its slightly cliquey attitude can be off putting and discussions can often turn into playground squabbles.There are a number of other printed publications and internet sites connected to Hua Hin, but they are mostly concerned with selling or renting property, or promoting another local business. There are also a couple of non-English language publications with a small distribution.
contact
Landline telephone, all mobile phone systems, high-speed internet ADSL, post offices and parcel services are available in Hua Hin. There is a city wide free wifi service as well, although speeds tend to be slow and a signal difficult to obtain outside the central area. Tourist information can be found from the corner of Petchkasem Road and Damnerkasem Road Soi 76, quite close to the railway station. There is also a tourist information centre near the clock tower in the centre of town, which is right next to a Starbucks for those of you requiring a caffeine fix. This is also where many of the big buses will stop to offload and pick up passengers, even though it is not the official bus station, and consequently is an easy place to find a motorcycle taxi or tuk tuk.