The 14th ASEAN summit… in Cha-Am?
Asian leaders arrived yesterday in Thailand for the 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cha-Am. I mean Hua Hin. Or is it “Cha-Am, Hua Hin” or “Hua Hin, Cha-Am”? The two cities and the two provinces are of course trying to take the credit. The summit is actually held in Cha-Am, at the Dusit Thani hotel, but it is very close to the boundary with Hua Hin and Prachuap Kirikhan province. As Hua Hin is ahead of Cha-Am in terms of popularity and development, and poor old Cha-Am is sort of lagging behind (which is why Cha-Amers love Cha-Am, of course), it’s not surprising to see that there is some competition going on.
I won’t take any pictures of the summit, as of course I wouldn’t be able to get close enough to take any interesting pictures (apart from the soldiers and the police who are everywhere, but I heard they’re not keen on modelling). I would have liked to take pictures of the big welcoming signs, though, and of the national flags flapping in the wind on the road leading to Cha-Am. But the thing is, my house was “visited” last Sunday before the wee hours of the morning, and the bastards stole my camera. I have very strong suspicions about who did the job, but I can’t prove it and I have to admit my level of security was pretty low (that was already changed radically).
