It was like driving in reverse, but forwards

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Another Project comes to a sad end

So Thursday was the last day to spend with these amazing creatures and boy did myself and Jane make the most of it. Our first daily walk was the longest we had taken in the two weeks and by the end the heat was beating down through the forest. So washing the Elephants today became more of a shower for both them and us, in fact l do believe l did drench Jane a few times with the hose pipe. Even feeding these guys today was fun as they began to let us feed them bananas into their mouths by getting them to lift their trunks up and placing them on their tongues. So it had become time to say goodbye to the mahouts and to Mr Boon the owner of the elephants and the hotel resort.

Friday was a overnight trip to Sukhothai and the Historical Park so we left the camp and myself, Jane and our guide Kim caught the bus into Phitsanulok and then another bus to Sukhothai, l like the buses in Thailand as you even get to watch a film on the way, ok it was the Hulk and in Thai with the occasional English translation but was fun. Once at the Hotel we had lunch and then off to see the Historical Park.

In 6 months l have used many forms of transport, but this was different

Have you ever been on a taxi with the driver sitting in the back, well come to Thailand and use a motorbike taxi. As you can see by one of the pictures that l took there is nothing in front of you as the driver is sitting on his bike with a sitting cage attached at the front which can sit up to 4 people. The journey from our hotel to the Park took about 30 minutes and in the Thai heat l was glad to arrive and down a fresh bottle of ice cold water (water guys and not beer). Sukhothai Historical Park is the main attraction in Sukothai Province. Located 12 kilometres from Sukothai town on the Sukhothai-Tak Highway, the Historical Park is a place of ruins and temples although certainly part of Thailand’s heritage, it also regarded as a World Heritage site under the auspices of UNESCO and the Thai Fine Arts Department. The capital of Thailand’s first Kingdom (founded in 1238), Sukothai has considerable historical significance and is a pleasure to visit. There the original city was surrounded by walls with 4 city gates. Today the walls house a number of sites worthy to visit. These include:

• The Royal Palace
• Wat Mahathat,
• The Ramkhamhaeng National Museum
• The Ramkhamhaeng Monument
• Wat Si Sawai
• Wat Traphang Ngoen
• Wat Traphang Thong
• Wat Chana Songkhram,
• Wat Sa Si
• Wat Mai
• San Ta Pha Daeng (the Deity Shrine)

Not on a bike for years then twice in a couple of weeks

The best way to see these sites is by bike so Kim went and arranged bike hire for us and we spent our time taking a gentle cycle around, it just makes me laugh that no brakes are ever working on these bikes and did laugh when l asked Jane’s to pose for a picture on her bike then 2 seconds later she falls off because she couldn't brake.

A characteristic feature of Sukhothai temple architecture is the lotus-bud chedi. It features a conical spire finial on a square-sided structure on top of a three-tiered base. However at Sukhothai also Sri Lankan and Srivijaya type monuments are present. Most of the temple structures in Sukhothai Historical Park were of course constructed during the Kingdom of Sukhothai era (from around 1235-1438 A.D.)

Inside the old city walls, Wat Mahathat occupies the largest section. It is a monastery about 200 meters square in size. Many original Buddha images are still present among the ruins. The compound contains no less than 198 chedis. The temple structures are described on the famous Sukhothai Stone Inscriptions.

The Ramkhamhaeng National Museum is located within walking distance of Wat Mahathat. It is a good starting point for an exploration of the ruins. A replica of the famous Ramkhamhaeng inscription is kept here among a good collection of Sukhothai artifacts. You can see different Buddha images with different styles and origins. For linguists, there is a very nice section showing the evolution in time of Thai, Khmer, Mon scripts. King Ramkhamhaeng is credited with originating the original Thai written language.

The importance of Sukhothai in Thai history cannot be understated. While the kingdom did not last that long in time, at the height of its power, its influence covered an area actually larger than present day Thailand. To the west its influence reached Pegu and Martaban. To the south, to present day Nakhon Si Thammarat. To the north, to Luang Prabang (present day Laos). This influence was not only gained by battle field conquests, but in large part by diplomacy, intermarriage in a pattern of political relationships based on vassals and overlords. Sukhothai however was not a state in the present day meaning of the word. Many parts of the kingdom retained important local power, while submitting themselves to Sukhothai.

After about 4 hours of cycling it was time to make our way back to the hotel on the motorbike taxi and get ready for dinner.

Time to relax (Again) on another beach

We both arrived back at the Camp on the Saturday morning after doing the reverse journey from the day before and after a quick lunch it was time to pack up our rooms that were home for the past 2 weeks and make the 3 hour jeep ride back to the rest of the group, we plan to stay on night at the main camp before a mini bus drive back south to Ragong to take the ferry across to the island of Koh Samet for 6 nights of sea and sun

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Comments

[angela k]

Well Geoff, loving the photos I expect that your days of fun are going well they can only be so much better than here. There is so much snow and soooo many people moaning , you have had courage to do what so many people only dream of. Enjoy love Angela