Hua Hin Hills Vineyard

For our company outing, we went to the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, about an hour drive from the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas. I will not expect to have a vineyard in this kinda scorching weather. Will those grapes able to grow??
Anyway, the vineyard is located on the hill and there's a parking area near the restaurant, overlooking the vineyard. Trust me, the weather is really scorching hot. And the umbrella I'm holding seriously can't block much sun. But for the Caucasians, they're definitely love this so-called beautiful weather.
They led us to the restaurant, which was called The Sala Wine Bar and Bistro. The heat is still a bit unbearable there. It's totally open-air, so no need to wish for air conditioner here. I was wishing for the Almighty One to blow some heavy wind in this restaurant and I really felt stuffy and humid here.
But I do my best not to let this inconvenience to ruin my mood. Then, my colleague wants me to accompany her for the elephant ride. I was like - look at the sky - look at the elephant - then look at my colleague. Are you kidding me?! But, my colleague really want to ride and hoped that I will join her, so with a heavy-heart I said yes and I end up in the jeep with her that took us to the shelter where the elephant ride is. Honestly, it's not really something I'm looking forward to. But it amused me that, here I am holding this cute, lacy-edge umbrella, riding an elephant with my colleague, it make me feel like it's the Victorian era, just that we're not riding on the horse carriage but on the big elephant instead. LOL. After that elephant ride, I can't wait to go back to the restaurant. At least it's slightly more cooling there.
I had a nice wine tasting session, I tried 3 types of wine; red, white and rose. All tasted good. I'm starting to enjoy this. LOL. Then, after the wine tasting, I settled for the white wine as it tasted nicer especially with my 3 course meal. Too bad my friend don't drink wine, so good for me, I have extra 2 glasses of wine from her. LOL. Things seem to get better. Then, lunch is served. First, I had Caesar Salad with pork bacon for appetizer, followed by a delicious and succulent pork chop with sweet sauce for main course and lastly grape ice cream for dessert. Oh, the pork chop is so delicious. And my colleagues thought I can't finish them. Too bad, I prove them wrong as I even scooped the remaining sauce on the plate. So no bits left, except for the bone, though.

After our hearty lunch, we were given a bag of souvenirs. In the bag, it consists of a t-shirt, 2 bottles of grape juice, 1 bottle of concentrated grape essence and 1 bottle of grape jam. Then, we headed back to the resort. Surprisingly, after 5 glasses of wine, especially under this scorching weather, I'm not drunk. Woo hoo! Way to go, girl. I wish they can sponsor me a bottle of wine :P

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin

It's the time of the year; my company's annual convention-cum-holiday trip.
This time we went to Hua Hin town, about 3.5 hours from the Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi Airport (yes, a really long ride, indeed -.-!)
Anyway, the moment we reached the resort, I was really blown away with the architecture and the serenity of the resort. Who would have know a small town as Hua Hin actually has a nice and expensive resort in the middle of the town. The whole thing has a very colonial and a tinge of an old-school charm.
This is a really lovely resort, but of course it comes with a hefty price (I heard from my colleague, it's about 6000 baht and above -.-) There's a beach connected to the resort as well. I only went to 2 swimming pools, and lazing by the pool on the deck chairs is just so bliss. There's a few restaurants there, but I only went to 2; Railway Restaurant for buffet breakfast (good food) and Palm Terrace for company buffet dinner (also very good) I just love and admire the topiaries around the garden. Very interesting and beautiful. 
Now, for the room. I stayed in the superior room with my colleague. And my room overlooked the pool area, however, the trees are blocking my view, which is pretty unfortunate. The room also has a small walk-in closet and the bathroom comes with a separate shower and bathroom, the shower is equipped with a rain shower. The shower, well, the water pressure is a bit low and the bathtub is leaking, too. I filled up the tub and laid in there with my eyes close and when I open my eyes, half the water is gone. And I've checked the plug is secured in the hole so I don't know why or how the water can seep away, so I was pretty disappointed on that. The room is pretty dimly lit, too, which made me felt a bit uncomfortable and difficult to read my book even with that reading lamp (it's white fluorescent bulb, so its too bright) switched on, which was attached to the bed. 
Overall, the resort is OK, with some things that need a little improvement, otherwise its a really lovely place to stay and relax.

 
 
 
 
 
We don't just stay in the resort. During the evening, my colleagues and I did explored the little Hua Hin town. We went to the nearest Night Market, called Chatchai Market. We had a nice and hearty seafood cuisine for dinner and bought some nice snacks along the way, but I have no intention of doing any shopping there, so after our dinner we headed back to the resort, as all of us are pretty exhausted after a long day.
If you have money to spare and really enjoy soaking under the sun, this will be a nice place to stay. A good place for family and retired parents.