The road to Aleenta.

After our night in Pai and making it back (and safely) down the mountain we were on to the next step in our journey together. We got dropped at the train station where we were going to take the overnight sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then switch trains to go from Bangkok to Hua Hin and on to our next accommodation, Aleenta Boutique Resort & Spa, Hua Hin, Pranburi. I was really looking forward to a change of scenery, getting out of the city and the jungle and dipping my feet finally in the gulf of Thailand. After 6 weeks I still hadn't seen the beaches! We had been treated to a luxury villa on the beach by a friend of ours who wasn't able to make it to Thailand after a last minute conflict and were going to be living in style, on the ocean, for the next 5 days.

The sleeper train was actually much nicer then I was expecting. I was only able to book us in first class, the double bed cars were already gone when I bought the tickets. It was quite a bit more money wise but not ridiculous, we each had our own room but were connected by a door so we could still be together. All in all the tickets cost $60 each for a 14 hour train trip. Each room had an adjustable bed that you could sit up to look outside, a sink, a small tv (that only played VHS) and a little table/desk. Not bad at all! We left at 4:30pm and had a couple of hours to look out at the countryside, at the passing towns and small train stations. A man came around to take our dinner and breakfast order. We told him what we wanted for dinner and then asked "What time is breakfast served?" and were a little confused when he said "7am" since the train we were on was scheduled to arrive at 6. Our tickets to Hua Hin were for 8:05am. We asked him "what time is the train getting to Bangkok??" and he replied "About 7:30, 8:00, train always late." When we asked well what about our connecting train he again said, "train always late" and just smiled. Uh oh. Yet another interesting conflict in our travels! He kept telling us something about getting off the train 2 stops before Bangkok but we couldn't quite understand what he was trying to tell us. Ah well, what can you do! We enjoyed our dinner, even got some pad thai that a lady at one of the train stations was selling and went to bed early, hoping we could figure something out in the morning. 

View out the train window. 

Comfy and enjoying the train. 

Looking out at the world passing by.

My bed all made up for sleeping. Pretty comfy!

After a decent nights sleep, we get up and try and figure out what we are going to do. After conversations with several people we finally figured out that all of the trains coming in to Bangkok, also come OUT of Bangkok. So if we get off the train we are on 2 stops before, we can catch the train on its way out, on the way to Hua Hin. Which is exactly what the first guy was trying to explain to us that we couldn't understand. There's no way we would have been able to transfer to our second train in time. Thankfully the conductor told us exactly when to get off and where to go to catch our next train and everything worked out in the end. I hadn't had any breakfast when someone came around selling food I grabbed a container. I could barely get any of it down it was so spicy! Byrd was howling as I just mouthed that I was breathing fire. It hurt! I downed as much water as I could and managed to put it out as best I could. Oh boy...  

A gecko hanging out on my bench while I waited for the train.

The train to Hua Hin takes about 4 hours and we arrived around 11:30 with most of the day ahead of us. We were picked up by the hotel and greeted with cold menthol towels and ice cold water for the 30 minute drive to Aleenta. It's a bit outside the main city on a secluded beach, just perfect for a week of relaxation. Turns out this area is like the Hamptons of Thailand, where all the rich and elite go to vacation in the summer and on the weekends. It's a favourite because its close to Bangkok and easy to get to if you are only going for a couple of days. And very laid back and beautiful! We got checked in and were taken to our beachfront villa that wasn't exactly what we were originally expecting, but in the end it was actually an upgrade. After a bit of confusion with the booking we settled in. There was music playing when we arrived (jazz even, my favourite!) and a bottle of champagne chilling with a note from my Mother and Grandma, a gift on our arrival for my graduation. A very nice touch! 

Such a cute surprise!

Our master bed, with top of the line linens. 

Hammock out on our deck.

Outdoor/indoor shower. 

The outside of the beachfront pool villa. 

Lounge chairs ready with towels. 

Such a lovely bed all set up!

Looking out from inside the bathroom.

As you can see, this place really is a little bit of paradise! I couldn't be happier with it, what a treat. After all this hard work and being in a fairly big city, Aleenta was a dream come true and a place for a much needed break and relaxation with my love. The villa is round and all of the doors open out onto the ocean so you can hear and feel the wind and waves practically at your door. You can't get much closer then this! I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to stay in a place like this again on my own, so I tried to enjoy every luxurious moment... We went for a walk to pick up some snacks and drinks and get our bearings and some dinner. On the way we stopped at a nail place by the side of the road that was an open hut and had mani-pedis. They did a great job, the woman working on my husbands nails really went for it, I've never seen his nails look so neat and clean! I had a great time chatting with the woman doing my nails who seemed to know how to do almost every kind of massage and spa treatment out there. She had spent time on cruise ships and had been trained by one of the top spas in Thailand. We decided we would be coming back to see them both before the week was over! I slept so well listening to the waves, curling in to the soft sheets and letting all my stresses go. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day and we had so much more to look forward to.