Advertisement
Published: February 27th 2007
Edit Blog Post
So I came back to Bangkok with Scott, the Californian, (who had a voice and something in his accent that reminded me of my house mate Elliotte and made me feel comfortable with him). Unfortunately, he was on his way back to the States so after we had shared a taxi from the bus station back to the backbacker area our ways departed. I was left to find a place for the night. This was exactly something I wanted to save myself from with careful planning - arriving late to a big city without a hotel reservation - and already, after a week, failed to do. I tried some seven hotels which all were fully booked and started to get worried. It's not exactly fun to go from one place to another carrying an 18 kg backpack on the back and 5 kg daypack in hands. The rescue came in a form of a taxi driver who was sitting in the lobby of one of the hotels (under the sign TAXI so assumed i could trust he was what he said). He confirmed that all the hotels in the area were full, but he knows one a bit further away, and
More ruins...
There were all together some 30 old temples and palaces. This is called Wat Maha That. could take me there with 60 baht i.e. 1.3 euros. He described where it was exactly, and as it was not that far away, I decided to take the chance. He obviously was comissioned to take clients to the hotel, and on the way he was also trying to convince me to meet a tailor and travel organiser he knows... That really is annoying here - somone is constantly trying to sell you something. Anyway, the hotel was overpriced and had seen better days, but at least I had roof over my head.
Following morning I started my slow journey towards north's trekking regions. I had planned two stops on the way, in Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, both former capitals of Siam with remarkable ruins of old cities. The first one was Ayutthaya, more recent of the ancient capitals, less than 100 kilometers from Bangkok. Ayutthaya was ruled by 33 kings and repelled 23 Burmese invasions, between 14th and 18th century, before the Burmese finally succeeded in razing it to the ground. By all reports Ayutthaya was stunning and rivalled most European capitals of the time. But the Burmese obliterated almost everything - even melting Buddha images for their gold.
It was still quite fascinating to wonder around the ruins and try to imagine how it all has looked at the time. And after Bangkok mad rush it was also lovely to avoid the crowds and just be (quite) alone. The solitude might have been due to the fact that I had chosen the hottest part of the day to go round the central ruins (they are spread all over the city and you need a bicycle to see them all - I hired one on the following morning to see the rest). I was sweating like a pig and drunk two litres of water in two hours. Surprising i didn't get a sunstroke.
I managed to get a cheap and lovely guest house room from the place that was recommeded by Lonely Planet and Travelfish, a website concentrating on Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, that I often use. The hostess couldn't have been friendlier, and after all that Bangkok pushiness, it felt very nice. I went to see a night market in the evening, and then crashed to the bed. Funny thing was, even if i was totally knackered of all walking, I couldn't sleep. I slept
In Sukhothai Historical Park
These ruins were slightly better preserved than the ones I saw day before. like a baby in Doha through all four am prayers even if the mosque was right next door, as i slept in the Bangkok noise. But here, in the countryside, barking dogs and crowing cocks kept me awake most of the night.
On Tueday I continued to Sukhothai, to see even earlier ruins, set in a 45-square kilometre Unesco World Heritage-listed historical park. Sukhothai was founded in the 13th century and became Siam's kingdom's first capital, overseeing a period seen as a golden age. Gradual decline began in 1365, and the city eventually lost the capital status to Ayutthaya.
This time I was wiser and rented a bike as a first thing. These ruins were even more interesting, and not so widely spread out (well, seeing the more central ones was quite enough as in the end they did not differ that much from each other). I had stayed the night in the best guest house so far: a fantastically clean, spacious room with teak floors, walls and ceiling. The bed was huge and comfortable, and I had an own bathroom. I know most of you take these things for granted, but please bear in mind I'm a
Lotus village
My favourite guest house so far budget traveller and need to find a joy from simple things 😊
Advertisement
Tot: 0.102s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 13; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0616s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jaana
non-member comment
Voin aivan nähdä...
Moikka taas! Voi että on mahtavaa lukea noita selostuksia. Toivottavasti jaksat kirjoitella jatkossakin yhtä ahkerasti! Noi rauniot kuulosti vaikuttavilta... Sä oot tehny kovasti töitä, kun olet selvitelly tota historiaa... Se kai se hauskuus onkin. Kateudesta ja onnesta mykkyrällä toivottelen edelleen enkeleitä matkalle ja odottelen seuraavaa raporttia.... Jaana