Sukhothai: Sampling the Sukhothai Historical Park

We arrived in Sukhothai after a chilled-out bus journey, and were picked up by someone from the Sila Resort, where we would be staying. It was a lovely, quirky out-of-town place with free bikes available, so we could easily get in and out of town. We quickly took advantage of this and enjoyed a pleasant bike ride along the river into town, which was actually busier than we expected! We had an early dinner at the S&N coffee shop, but this was quite disappointing (a very poor pizza). Ideally, we'd planned to go to the Dream Café, but as we were still sensitive about food we couldn't quite face traditional fare (a mistake, as I think the pizza made us feel worse). There was a pub we could have tried, but it looked rough and our glasses were dirty, so we backed away from there quickly... At least the S&N coffee shop offered a decent coffee and a clean cup! (After all the places of variable cleanliness we've eaten/stayed, I think the food poisoning incident has left me preparing for the relative cleanliness of New Zealand.) We cycled back before the sun set, and relaxed over tea (which has been getting better!) and blogging in the peaceful dining area at the Sila Resort.

Outside the Sila Resort

Path Along River into Town

The next day we headed out to Sukhothai Historical Park to explore the main attractions, the ruins of the Sukhothai capital (before Ayuthaya took over 150 years later). It was a blisteringly hot day, so the hats and linen trousers came out (my 'white' trousers were looking decidedly dirty these days after the red dust of Cambodia, so please forgive the state of these in the photos!). We took the bus to the park and hired bikes to cycle around the temple ruins. The site is huge, and a bike allows easy access to the more remote areas of the park.  

The central zone of the historical park contains several temples, including Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Sawai and Wat Sa Si. The complex is filled with ponds, moats and lakes, all coated in lotus flowers. Wat Mahathat has a 9m-high standing Buddha, and there were also a couple of large seated Buddha's in pretty good shape. We were lucky that the place wasn't heaving with people – fortunately, the place is so large that you can easily explore in relative quiet, allowing you the chance to appreciate its peacefulness.

To the east of the central zone was an impressive temple, Wat Chang Lom, which had 36 elephants supporting the bell-shaped stupa. We found this and a few other remote sites spread around a network of quiet lanes, which were lovely to cycle along.

Wat Chang Lom

Heading north, we found Wat Si Chum, a short ride away from the central zone. The key feature here was the massive seated Buddha, secreted away in an open-topped enclosure. You could see into this from a distance through the triangular entrance, but up close it was almost claustrophobic to be confronted by, especially when a few people started to crowd in.

Wat Si Chum

The final sight for the day was a little bit of a trek west of the central zone (about 3km, so a few minutes biking to get there). Wat Saphaan Hin was situated on a hill overlooking Sukhothai, and consisted of a 12.5m standing Buddha serenely observing the historic city. After clambering up the rocky path to reach the Buddha, we enjoyed our picnic lunch in the heat, checking out the Buddha's view as we ate. We managed to get some great photos of the surrounding countryside from this vantage point, though the heat must have got to Bradley's sunglasses as they broke while we were trying to get a shot using the camera timer! Cleaved in two by the sun, they made for a funny photo when we checked it out!

Sunglasses explosion!

Since we were wilting in the heat, we headed back to the hostel to do some more blogging, and enjoy some amazing coffee (I've never seen such intricate coffee decoration).

Sukhothai was fantastic, like a miniature Angkor. Having the freedom to cycle around independently was also a bonus (though trying to do the same around the temples of Angkor might have been quite difficult due to its size!). 

Thailand had been great so far, and it was all so different to the parts of Thailand we'd visited previously (Bangkok mainly, plus I'd visited a few of the islands). It felt as if we were rushing through these amazing sights though, with only fifteen days on the overland visa

– it would have been so lovely to have had more time in Thailand rather than just a couple of nights in each place. We'd also already forgone the chance to visit Chiang Rai, Pai, and Lampang because of such limited time, so we will of course have to come back one day to finish the trip!

Tomorrow we'd be jumping on yet another bus, this time to Khao Yai National Park. It promised to be a long day as it was a huge distance to cover, with a fiddly bus changeover, so we had an early night in preparation. At least we were feeling more or less back to full strength after the Luang Prabang experience... 

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