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Our first port of call in Thailand was the sleepy town of Nakhon Si Thammerat.It turned out to be a day and night of many first's.As we arrived we were greeted by our first of many song-taew's .The song-taew is Thailand's rural equivilent to a taxi or a minibus and can be best described as a 4x4 or yute with seats and a rain cover.Once on the song-taew we set out through the town to get to our hotel.Instantly we were struck by the friendliness of the locals.Cars were tooting at us, people on scooters were smiling and waving(whole families ride on one scooter and we've even seen dogs sat on the back, as well as a man carrying a massive set of ladders!).At a set of traffic lights we pulled up next to a school bus and the children were more than happy to see us.They were smiling and blowing kisses and then in unison they broke out into song , singing "hello, hello, hello" until we turned off down a separate street to them.We could not have asked for a better welcoming committee to Thailand!
Whilst in Nakhon Si Thammerat we visited a local Buddist temple.Here we were blessed for the first time by a Buddist monk who gave us both a cotton bracelet which we have both been to scared to take off!We also made a wish here by striking a gong with a baseball bat!
One thing Nakhon Si Thammerat is famous for is its master shadow puppeteer.Suchart Subsin made his name peforming for the royal family and anyone associated with the Thai royal family is held in great esteem.Before we arrived in Thailand I had heard very little about the King of Thailand but after a day you realise how much he and his wife are revered.Thoughout the streets and on highways there are numerous plaques displaying the King and Queen.It is also a prisonable offence to stand on a Thai bank note as it projects the King's image.Anyway back to the shadow puppeteer.We visited his museem and saw shadow puppets about 200 years old. We were then treated to one of his performances which was interesting (somehow I do not think he'll ever make the royal variety in the UK!).
To add to the list of firsts I had my first seafood pad-thai.Pad-thai is a dish that consists of prawns, nodles, stirfry vegetables, fried egg and crushed peanuts all fried together in a wok.It is a Thai speciality and is extremely cheap and extremely tasty.Mandy aquired a taste for another Thai speciality…banana pancake.With chocolate sauce as an added extra Mandy instantly fell in love with Thailand.
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