The Show Arrives In Town,

Kai had ordered some entertainment for the evening,

a group of troubadours who we found out were more than well known in these parts,

the sign says it all,

one of the lorries unloading stage equipment,

in the evening the show was ready to go,

but first we walked around the stalls that accompany the troupe,

lots of food stalls,

and a few shooting ranges,

 

they work on compressed air and a plastic cap placed over the end of the barrel,

 

and of course dart throwing, 7 darts for 20 baht, burst 7 balloons and win a prize,

 

we just had to have a go,

we did not win a thing, so onwards past a few food stalls,

to have another try at winning a prize,

but still no luck, so back to the shooting,

it looks so easy, worse still it is easy to hit a prize, but they were packed in so tightly they would not fall off the shelf,

there was a bouncy castle as well for the kids,

next back to the darts,

this time Steve had a try,

so I had to too,

but yet again no success,

 

by this stage it would have been cheaper to buy a prize!

the balloon seller was doing a good trade,

I then started humming the Spiderman tune,

food! this is a squid stall,

the squid are passed through these rollers I guess to tenderise it,

 

Noi was lucky winning a prize at darts,

 

they even had a remote control car track to play with,

by now the musicians were tuning up, it was going to be a mixture of live and recorded music,

the stage is set,

and with a crash of music the show begins, just mind the balloons,

first a dance group, in case you have not been to one of these travelling shows it works like this,

as the show progress members of the audience who like what they see or hear give the performers a small financial encouragement, here a 20 baht note, or a few coins,

the more the donations collected the longer the show goes on, we were then treated to a couple of singers,

 

who performed Thai chart hits,

and local ballads,

Diana just had to tip the handsome one!

a duet followed,

then another solo performance,

the costumes and headdresses were very nice indeed,

 

and where would we be without a boys band?

Kai gave them all a good tip,

as well as the lead singer, the balloons were everywhere,

then back to watch the rest of the performance,

 

a boys and girls troupe,

all beautifully made up,

the first of the comedy acts takes to the stage,

first a few jokes,

then into the audience,

as the jokes fly facial expressions are so important to emphasise the punch line,

 

the humour really started to heat up now,

if anyone in the audience moved it was brought to eveyones attention,

 

then the three comedians joined forces,

 

before going back to one of the singers,

as the show progressed more tips were given, the more the tips the longer the show lasts,

the comedians now joined the singer,

who sings another number,

followed by another one singing a local ballad,

 

the show started at 09.00 in the evening it finished at 05.30 in the morning, eight and a half hours long, the tips must have been good!

as the evening/morning show continued it became very cold indeed, most if not all of the audience were wearing thick jackets or blankets, when we came in it was towels for us as we had a warming drink or three, then to bed as the show finished, but our early morning call was at 07.30 when the music started playing again, I should say that for all of the show the music and commentary was ear splittingly loud and so it continued as we got ready to leave,

after saying our goodbyes we stopped about half way in the mountains just past Korat, Diana wanted some tamarinds and a few other snacks for when we returned home,

a couple of tins of coffee for me,

and a selection of Thai food for breakfast,

I had a quick look around at some of the plants,

 

I am not sure what these ones are, but I have seen them many times before,

 

the colours are so rich,

I just had to take another picture of something that happens everywhere over here, when is a truck overloaded, I mean when do you stop putting things on top? we had a good drive home, only being stopped twice and only once having to wish some one a Happy New Year, then shower shave and out for our evening meal.