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.