No, the heading’s not the title of a long lost album by the late great Theolonius…

I was recently in Hua Hin doing a few reviews for the Bangkok Post and while there managed to snap a few shots of monks collecting alms on the beach.

In recent years, the once sleepy royal resort town of Hua Hin has awoken. As the location of the King of Thailand’s summer palace, the town has always courted favour with wealthy Bangkok Thais but today, it’s not just city types slipping away for a weekend of clean air and fresh seafood. The town is squarely on the map as an international holiday destination.

Just 200 kilometres south of Bangkok on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Hua Hin is easily accessible by road, rail and air. Although the boom in business, hotels and housing has meant that the town has inevitably lost it sleepy feel, Hua Hin has managed to retain its charm and is free of the sleaze that plagues many of Thailand’s other beach resorts.

The majority of the five star resorts are pushed up agaimst the beach. Rise at day break and you’ll see monks returning to temples further down the seafront, stopping to collect alms as they do so from locals and tourists. It’s a photographic opportunity too good to miss.