If you are flying Thai Airways in April, take a look at my feature in Sawasdee in-flight magazine about Khomapastr textiles.

Here’s a few images from the cutting room floor that didn’t make it into the article.

The Khomapastr screen printing workshop and retail outlet is in Hua Hin. There’s also another shop in Bangkok.

The workshop is a big – and very hot – shed with lovely light.

Khomapastr also has an interesting history which you can discover in Sawasdee magazine.

Visit Khomapastr here. They also have a Facebook page here.

An hour further south of Hua Hin is Pranburi. If you are looking for a more secluded and relaxed escape, it’s a great destination. Although there are several resorts in the area, you can pretty much have the beach to yourself. I stayed at X2 Kui Buri, a chic beachfront resort comprised of luxurious private pool villas.

Friends Chris and Angela from the blog website Tieland to Thailand were also staying at the X2. During an outstanding dinner at the resort’s restaurant, 4K, and after showing little restraint where the freely flowing beers were concerned, I told them I was intending to be on the beach at 5.15 to photograph the sunrise if they would like to join me. And hats off to them, they did just that.

Fortunately, all we had to do was step outside our villas, set up tripods, fiddle with our settings and wait. Sunrise however, like sunset, is a hit and miss affair ranging from a non-event to spectacular. In this case it was definitely at the lower end of the scale but good or bad, all you can do is try and make the most of quickly changing available light.

I make no apologies if the following images bring on a craving for Thai seafood. If they do, the answer is to head down the coast to Hua Hin this weekend.

Thai seafood restaurants in the royal resort town of Hua Hin are located on the wooden piers along the seafront.

I first dined here more than 15 years ago when it was almost a completely Thai scene. The few westerners there were usually expats from Bangkok and introduced to the string of outstanding seafood restaurants by Thai friends.

Change, of course, was inevitable. Over the past few years, Hua Hin has experience a boom and now attracts large numbers of foreign holidaymakers and resident retirees from Europe.

What was also inevitable, alas, (and the two things are inextricably linked) has been the decline in the quality of the food.

Fortunately there is still Saeng Thai, the last restaurant at the top end of the road.This great alfresco venue has a well-deserved reputation among Thai as the best seafood restaurant on the seafront strip. It’s certainly the one place I always head to when in town. From mid-morning till late at night you can enjoy a feast of superb dishes and take in the ocean view.

Tomorrow, I’ll take you further down the coast to Pranburi.

The growth of Hua Hin and its popularity is closely associated with the railway.

In 1911 the then Royal State Railway of Siam opened a line to Hua Hin to allow ease of access for the Thai royal family. A beautiful railway station was also built and to this day remains one of the oldest and most well-preserved in Thailand. The design has much in common similar with Maruekhathaiyawan Palace which was constructed at the same time.

In 1922 Railway Hotel was built (currently part of Centara Grand Resort & Villas) and the also Royal Hua Hin Golf Course opened.  The advent of the railway and the building of the Railway Hotel were closely followed in 1926 by the construction of Klai Kangwon Palace.

Today, most visitors to the popular resort town arrive by car or shuttle bus but travel by rail is still the most relaxed option.

Trains leave Bangkok’s Hua Lampong station on a regular basis but it is advisable to book a seat in advance. The journey takes around four hours and is an excellent way to get a glimpse rural Thailand.

The carriages offer comfortable reclining seats, air-con and fans. Once seated, a hostess serves passengers a cold drink and a snack. And of course the journey ends at the historic Hua Hin railway station.

Last week I was invited on a three day media trip to Hua Hin and Pranburi. The first stop on the agenda was Maruekhathaiyawan Palace.

The former royal Thai residence is known as “the palace of love and hope” and claims to be the longest teak palace in the world, although I suspect there are few other contenders for the prize. It’s an impressive structure with three long covered walkways leading down to the beach. Unfortunately, although visitors are allowed up to the first floor pavilions, access to the walkways is denied.

According to historical records, Maruekhathaiyawan Palace was built in 1923 by royal command of King Rama VI. The teakwood used in the construction came from the demolished Hat Chao Samran Palace in nearby Phetchaburi.

Maruekhathaiyawan Palace is within the grounds of the Phra Ram IV Military Camp, midway between Cha Am and Hua Hin. It is open daily from 8.30 – 4.00 pm.

I’ll be posting more images from the trip over the weekend.

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.

At the recent Hua Hin Jazz Festival I had the chance to sit down and chat with Lee Ritenour. I last interviewed him three years ago so it was great to find out what he’s been up to. This year, Lee Ritenour marks his 50^th year playing the guitar but he is still sounding as fresh as ever. The full interview will appear in print but here’s a snippet to accompany a few shots of Lee at rehearsal and on stage.

Lee Ritenour’s discography reads like the Who’s Who of Rock and Roll. At a young age this prodigious jazz guitarist established a solid reputation as a one of L.A.’s most sought-after session men. From Sonny Rollins to Steely Dan, Pink Floyd to Aretha Franklin, Ritenour’s fluid and distinctive sound has appeared on over 3,000 recordings, the first of which was with the Mamas and Papas at the tender age of 16.

 ‘I knew very early on exactly what I wanted to do,’ asserts Ritenour. ‘I started studying guitar when I was eight years old. By the time I was 12 I was very serious about it and knew I wanted to be a professional musician.’

Recognising the youngster’s talent and his fondness for Wes Montgomery, Ritenour’s father was supportive of his ambition and ensured that he had excellent teachers.

‘I grew up in L.A. It may not be the best jazz town, San Francisco and New York are both much better but it is great for teachers. It is also hard to beat simply for the amount of musicians who live there,’ he says.

The laid-back and affable West Coast musician honed his craft as a session man during the seventies but it is his early years which he cites as being the most influential period for the development as Ritenour as a musician.

‘I think the most valuable time was from about 13 until into my early twenties. I probably formulated everything that I have worked on since then during these years,’ explains Ritenour.

Check out Rit’s new album, Six String Theory with a host of guest guitarists including BB King, Taj Mahal, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, Mike Stern, and more.

Hua Hin, a beach resort town 200 kilometres south of Bangkok, recently held its ninth annual jazz festival. In the past, I have been extremely critical of the festival due to poor organisation and lacklustre line-ups. You could certainly be forgiven for believing that most live jazz performed in Thailand is in the Kenny G mould of non-jazz as promoted by the appalling radio station, Smooth FM. Either that or it tends to sound like a gaggle of geese being worried by a sheepdog. Although the Hua Hin Jazz Festival has a long way to go if it wants to get serious, things are looking up.

This year, thousands gathered on Hua Hin’s beach to enjoy a line-up that featured virtuoso guitarist Lee Ritenour who gave a stellar performance. The superb Korean guitarist Jack Lee performed his own set and played a few numbers with Ritenour as well as inviting fellow Korean and vocal artist Hye Mi onto the stage. Other highlights included sax man Eric Marienthal with the outstanding Jeff Lorber on keyboards, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and drummer Joel Taylor.

The Hua Hin Jazz Festival has the potential to be a truly great event on the music calendar. Next year marks the tenth anniversary of the festival so hopefully the organizers will pull out all the stops and turn into in an event of international standing.

Here’re a couple of shots from Friday and Saturday night. You can see more in the Music Gallery.

Jeff Lorber on keyboards accompanied Eric Marienthal and also played some of his own compositions.

Renowned Korean jazz fusion guitarist Jack Lee in action at the Hua Hin Jazz Festival.