What is your full name and age?
My full name is Einar Braathe and I am 62 years old. Einar is an old Norwegian Viking name deriving from the Old Norse language and means warrior or bold person.
What is your current Job Position?
For the last 6 years I have been the owner and Managing Director of Scandinavian Kitchen Studio Co. Ltd , which sell Kitchen-, bathroom- and wardrobe furniture from the Danish kitchen manufacturer KVIK.
How long have you lived in Hua Hin or been coming to Hua Hin?
My first trip to Hua Hin was back in 2005 or 2006. I came here to buy a summer house and ended up with a bungalow in Cha Am and a new job as a real-estate agent selling Hua Hin properties to Scandinavians.
What did you know about Hua Hin before you moved here?
I had already been to many places in Thailand before I discovered Hua Hin. I was told that Hua Hin was the city to go if you had a family and were interested in playing golf. From my first visit I never left…
What do you like most about your profession?
I have been doing marketing, sales and customer service for all of my professional life. I love to spend time talking to my customers and guide them in the process of buying their Dream Kitchen. The best sales presentations don’t feel like presentations. Working with people to achieve a common goal is an incredibly rewarding aspect of my work. When you succeed in doing this, you build long lasting relationships that very often build into true friendships.
What do you like least about your profession?
This is a difficult one. I don’t really think I can point at any specific part of my work I dislike. Off course there are days which are more challenging than others, but all in all I love what I am doing.
What do you like most about Hua Hin?
I love Hua Hin. There are no other cities in Thailand where I would rather stay. Hua Hin has a delightful mix of city and sea with a laid-back ambience, lively markets, great restaurants and sea food, lots of activities for children, good schools and it is located only a few hours away from Bangkok. For me as a golfer, Hua Hin is paradise. With 6 great golf courses within 20 minutes’ drive from my home, my only regret is that I don’t have time to play as much as I would like.
What is your favorite restaurant and why?
I must say, one of the reasons why I ended up in Thailand, is because of the Thai food. I love Thai food and the spicier the better. The «Tum Yum Talay» they serve in «Rua Rimtarn» in Khao Takiab, is just delicious.
I also love Indian food. Eating Indian food in “Take 5 Restaurant”, also in Khao Takiab, is like being in India.
I must also mention «Andreas». My absolutely favorite Italian.
What do you like to do in your free time and why?
With a Kvik kitchen shop to run, and a 7 year old active boy, there isn’t that much time left. But when time allows, I’ll bring my golf set and play golf with my wife or with some good friends.
What would you recommend to new-comers to do in Hua Hin and why?
Hua Hin is great, but the most beautiful places you find outside of the city. I always recommend visitors to go down to Dolphin Bay and Sam Rai Yot to see the Prayanakorn Cave or go to the Kui Buri National Park to watch wild elephants. The «Monsoon Valley Vineyard» is also a great place to visit – both for the spectacular view and for its wine.
Tell us a surprising fact that the public might not know about you?
What can that be? That I used to be a dedicated hunter? From I was a kid, my father took me out every season to hunt for elk, deer, hare and wood grouse. This is may be what I miss most living in Thailand – the great Scandinavian forests and its nature.
What is the most outlandish thing you have ever done and why?
That must be moving to Thailand. Starting a new life on the other side of the globe and starting a new job doing something I had never done before at the same time.