Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 795

their own private beaches; white-sand Freedom Beach
is a particularly lovely spot for snorkelling. The en-suite,
balconied bungalows are perched on the hillside - some
offering beautiful views - and are great value. Double B800

north, turn right along hanon Panyom
(past Khanom Jiin Muangkon , where you
can get a great lunch of rice noodles
topped with curry sauce), turn right again
onto hanon Si hammasok, then left
into Soi 3. Here, Suchart Subsin, one of
the south's leading exponents of shadow
puppet theatre, and his sons have opened
their workshop to the public and will
show you scenes from a shadow play, for
which you might want to leave a tip or
donation. You can also buy puppets here
and see them being made.

DIRECTORY
Health Mae Hat has a small government health centre
(halfway up the high street from the main pier, turn
right), plus several private clinics, pharmacies and diving
medicine clinics.
Police A 5min walk on the narrow coast path heading
north from Mae Hat ( T 077 456631).
Post o ce At the top of the road leading inland from the
Seatran pier (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-noon).

10

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
By plane The airport is around 20km northwest of
Nakhon, costing around B300 in a taxi. There are six flights
daily from Bangkok (1hr 10min) with Nok Air, four with
AirAsia; both airlines offer through-tickets to Ko Samui and
Ko Pha Ngan, via the nearby piers at Don Sak.
By bus Nakhon's bus terminal, southwest of the train
station on the other side of the river, is a cheap songthaew
or motorbike taxi ride from town. A/c minibuses leave
from at least half a dozen points around the town; hotels
and the TAT o ce can advise on the exact locations.
Destinations

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT , a seldom-
visited but bustling town, is the south's
religious capital. A major Buddhist
pilgrimage site, it is also well known for
its traditional handicrafts, shadow plays
and especially its festivals. he biggest of
these is Tamboon Deuan Sip every
September/October, which is marked by
a ten-day fair at hung Talaat park on the
north side of town, as well as processions,
shadow plays and other theatrical shows.

Bangkok (19 daily; 12hr); Krabi (7 daily;
4hr); Phuket (7 daily; 6hr); Ranong (1 daily; 7hr); Surat
Thani (21 daily; 2hr 30min).
By train Nakhon's train station is on the west side of
the town centre. There are two trains to Bangkok daily
(14-16hr).
Tourist information The very helpful TAT o ce is south
of the centre, just off Th Ratchadamnoen in Sanam Na
Muang park (daily 8.30am-4.30pm; T 075 346515-6,
E [e-mail]).

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he town runs 7km from north to south,
to either side of hanon Ratchadamnoen
(the third parallel street, east of the rail
line), which is served by frequent blue
share-songthaews. he south's most
important temple, Wat Mahathat , is on this
road, about 2km south of the town centre.
Its courtyard is dominated by the huge Sri
Lankan-style chedi enshrining relics of the
Buddha, around which are arrayed row
upon row of smaller chedis, an Aladdin's
cave of a temple museum, and local
handicraft stalls. A few minutes' walk south
of Wat Mahathat on the same road is the
National Museum (Wed-Sun 9am-noon &
1-4pm; B150), which houses a small but
diverse collection covering prehistoric
finds, Buddha images and ceramics.
For the best possible introduction to
southern hailand's shadow puppet
theatre , head for 110/18 Soi 3, h Si
hammasok ( T 075 346394), ten
minutes' walk and two blocks east of Wat
Mahathat - the easiest way is to walk

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
There's a busy, colourful night market on Th Chamroenwithi
near the Bue Loung Hotel .
Bue Loung (Bua Luang) Hotel 1487/19 Soi Luang
Muang, Th Chamroenwithi (the second parallel street,
east of the rail line) T 075 341518. Friendly and central,
about 200m south of the station, but reasonably quiet;
gets the thumbs-up from visiting sales reps, with a choice
of fan and cold water or a/c and hot water in basic double
or twin rooms with cable TV. Double B250
Hao Coffee In Bovorn Bazaar, a courtyard off the east
side of Th Ratchadamnoen, just south of Th Pak Nakorn.
Modelled on an old Chinese-style coffee shop and packed
full of antiques, Hao offers a wide selection of inexpensive
Thai dishes, Western breakfasts, cakes and Thai filter
coffee. Daily 7am-5pm.
★

Krua Thale Th Pak Nakhon, opposite the Nakorn
Garden Inn (no English sign - look for the Coke sign).