Take Your Best Shot

Allow me to reintroduce myself. I worked at Budget Travel for about two years, two years ago. And after a detour into the land of luxury travel magazines, I'm thrilled to be back with the savviest travelers out there. You don't need me to tell you that Budget Travel is a special place. And the magazine's mission—making travel accessible to all—simply couldn't be more relevant right now. When the daily headlines blare bad news, finding a way to get out into the world and recharge is just plain vital. After a hectic summer of our own, my husband and I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I've done the route countless times, but Highway 1 still wows me. Unlike a recent vacation we took to Vietnam, this adventure didn't require visas, immunizations, or phrase books—just a rental car and a couple hotel reservations. We tooled along, stopping for snacks, photo ops, and frequent bathroom breaks (yes, as you can tell in the photo, I'm pregnant). There was no rush; we just wanted to take in the beauty of the cliffs and the water—and eat at least two tacos a day. While Budget Travel will continue to point you toward just these kinds of sure-thing trips, we're also making some changes. But don't worry! We'll be keeping those sections you love, including your off-the-wall True Stories, your handy 20 Tips, and those useful 40 Best Deals. Starting in this issue, we're doing away with the This Just In columns in the front of the magazine. The fact is, our blog on BudgetTravel.com, also called This Just In, beats us to the punch, just as it should. One of the things I missed most about Budget Travel was the dialogue between you, the reader, and us, the editors. So please don't be shy; I can't wait to hear what you think!

Train ticket $11 Service from Bangkok's Hua Lamphong Railway Station to Hua Hin costs about 382 baht ($11) for a plush, air-conditioned car (011-66/2222-0175, railway.co.th). The four-hour ride passes rice paddies and ornate yellow-and-red Buddhist temples before dropping you off at Hua Hin's 1920s art deco train station. Beach hotel $21 The four-story Patchara House is only a minute's walk from the surf, at the end of a quiet, residential lane. The larger rooms on the top floor—up a very narrow staircase—have panoramic views of the town, and the in-room kitchenettes are stocked with complimentary coconut juice (011-66/3251-1787). Horse tour $7 Jet Skis and speedboats aren't a common sight in the calm waters around Hua Hin, but you'll see plenty of horses on the three-mile-long beach. You can hire a horse and a guide at the entrance to the beach for $7 per half hour; more experienced riders can ask to be taken on a gallop in the surf. Spicy fish $7 Around lunchtime, stroll to the end of the pier and watch the fishermen unload the day's catch and deliver it by creaky cart to Hua Hin's dockside restaurants. Ketsarin serves a delicious fillet of grouper cooked in a fiery sauce of chili, lemongrass, and galanga, a pungent Asian ginger (011-66/3251-1339). Beach free The ultrafine, cream-colored sand feels like powdered sugar. Even the waves are pretty sweet, rarely exceeding two feet, which is perfect for bodysurfing. But be careful of the boulders (hin means "rock") that jut out of the water just off shore. Tuk-tuk ride $6 Hail a tuk-tuk, a rickshaw with a plastic roof, to take you to Khao Takiap (Chopstick Hill) at the southern tip of the beach. The Wat Khao Takiap temple, also known as Monkey Mountain, has views of the coast and a resident group of wily macaques that hang out along the paths. Vendors sell bags of chunk pineapple and mango, which the monkeys love to snatch from tourists. Satay stick 7¢ Hua Hin's night market, a two-block stretch of food stalls and purveyors of various Thai handicrafts, opens around dusk and closes at midnight. You can buy fresh grilled fish, satay skewers, and pad thai with a made-to-order level of spiciness.

$24 Necklace The shell of the local abalone, paua, is swirled with dark opalescent bands. This pendant's fishhook shape pays homage to the strong ties that the indigenous Maori have to the sea. Jade Factory, 22 Beach St., 011-64/3-442-8688. $17 Socks There's plenty of fine merino wool produced in the country, but a less expected luxury fiber comes from the brushtail possum. Kiwi South Knitwear sells socks, hats, and gloves made from the brushtail's downy fur. 38 The Mall, 011-64/3-442-7887. $3 Fishing lure Queenstown sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, which is fed by glacial rivers and teeming with trout and salmon. The vibrant, metallic spinners in stock at Outside Sports are popular with local anglers. 36-38 Shotover St., 011-64/3-441-0074, outsidesports.co.nz. $20 Wine Henry van Asch, who cofounded the Kiwi sport of bungee jumping, also owns Freefall Wine Company. One of his vineyards overlooks Kawarau Gorge, where thousands take the plunge each year. 011-64/3-442-7310, freefallwines.com. $6 Skin cream Fact: Sheep farmers have soft hands. The secret is the nourishing lanolin in the sheep's wool—a key ingredient in the High Country Lanolin Intensive Cream sold at Mary's Sheep. 27 Beach St., 011-64/3-441-2989. $6 Lollipops Bees that buzz around native manuka plants make honey with antibacterial benefits. These lollipops have a UMF (unique manuka factor) of 10, so they work wonders for a sore throat. Queenstown Health & Sport Nutrition, 18 Camp St., 011-64/3-409-2974. $7 Salad tongs For the Maori, the hei-tiki is a symbol of good luck, and objects bearing the glyph are traditionally carved from vibrant greenstone. In the Pink sells kitschy plastic salad servers adorned with the motif. 31 Camp St., 011-64/3-441-1525, inthepink.co.nz.

ShopSCAD Atlanta; Lacoste, France; Savannah When the Savannah College of Art and Design opened its store in 2003, no one expected it to be so successful that the school would introduce satellite shops at its campuses in Atlanta and Lacoste, France. It certainly keeps director Amy Zurcher busy. "I meet with artists five days a week," she says, "so we always have new things in stock." Some of her best sellers are made by alumni, including Gogo Borgerding's colorful cuff bracelets ($155) and the functional-yet-fun carpet bags that Claire Sanchez sews from vintage fabrics ($65). 340 Bull St., Savannah, 912/525-5180, shopscadonline.com. GSA Shop Glasgow, Scotland Art nouveau master Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Glasgow School of Art's most famous alum, would have been proud of the new shop housed in his 1896 building. The space looks like an intimate loft, with the same clean lines that were a benchmark of Mackintosh's work. "It really allows the products we sell to speak for themselves," says assistant manager Annie Murphy. Among her favorites: geometric necklaces crafted from leather and acrylic beads by textile-design graduate Caitlin Urquhart ($105) and fanciful cards embroidered with bright letters and hearts by alumni Betty Fraser Myerscough ($10). 11 Dalhousie St., Glasgow, 011-44/141-353-4526, gsa.ac.uk. RISD/works Providence With graduates like glass artist Dale Chihuly and former faculty such as Cuisinart creator Marc Harrison, the Rhode Island School of Design has a reputation for innovation. And now, it's got an avant-garde store that does it equal justice: Pritzker Prize–winning architect José Rafael Moneo designed the new Chace Center building using an eclectic mix of acid-etched glass, aluminum, and red brick. "The ultramodern space is a perfect venue for our funky products," says shop director Matthew Johnson. The wares include toys and tees by Family Guy cartoonist Seth MacFarlane (from $32), a RISD grad, and fun kitchen gadgets such as a chopper that dices onions into tiny squares, by former student Sascha Kaposi ($18). 20 N. Main St., Providence, 401/277-4949, risdworks.com.