The Royal Pavilion
An ornate wooden waiting room.
SChirapant — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Suikotei — CC BY 4.0 · Suikotei — CC BY 4.0 · Suikotei — CC BY 4.0
One of Thailand's prettiest and most photographed railway stations: a small wooden station painted red and white, opened in the early twentieth century when the railway reached Hua Hin, turning it from a fishing village into the first seaside resort for the royal family and Bangkok's elite. Its highlight is the Royal Pavilion, a small wooden waiting room with an ornate pointed roof, once reserved for the royal family on their way to their summer palaces, moved here from an old palace. Visitors sit on its wooden benches and photograph the old trains standing by. The visit is free, and a larger modern station next door serves today's trains, while the old station remains a historic landmark. It is loveliest in the morning or late afternoon when the light softens. The station is in the town centre a few minutes from the night market, so make it a short stop on a town walk. A quarter to half an hour is enough.
An ornate wooden waiting room.
A painted early-1900s wooden station.
It turned the village into a royal resort.
Damnoen Kasem Road, town centre
Today's trains use the modern station next door; the old station and Royal Pavilion are a historic landmark open free.
