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Published: January 10th 2010
Tuk-tuk Phitsanoluk-Style
The mini cart 5 of us squeezed into for our hour-long ride from Phitsanoluk to Sukhothai! Waking up early in hopes to get the first train tickets to Phitsanoluk (the closest train station to Sukhothai), we arrived at the Bangkok train station at 8:15am, but all tickets for the early trains had already sold out, so we got on the 10:30am train. Packs in tow, we hung out at the Bangkok Hualampong Station for a couple hours, reading, writing, and of course, drinking Thai iced teas. When we finally boarded the very full train, we were relieved to know that our second class car had air condition, but disappointed to see that all the windows were covered in years of dirt, hardwater stains, and other layers of cloudy material that rendered the windows nearly opaque. As part of the motivation to ride a train was to see the scenic route north, we were a little upset that we would stare at nothing but the creaky seat in front of us for the next five hours, but alas, nothing left to do but to try to sleep or read. It was a bit of a perk that the trains serve food and drinks on board, much like an airplane, but overall, I was underimpressed by the train
Luxury!
We were surprisingly greeted by an adorable boutique guesthouse in Sukhothai system in Thailand, at least this particular train. I had heard that the sleeper cars are fun, but we did not get to experience those. I was happier with the buses and other modes of transportation. The trains are also notorious for being extremely slow and behind schedule, so often, buses get you more direct routes using both less time and money.
One thing I did find humorous, and it may not be a positive point but at least it was interesting, was the bathroom on board. At the end of the five-hour ride, I simply could not hold it any longer and had to use the bathroom. I went inside the airplane-size bathroom and was amused to find that the “toilet” is the standard squatter found across Asia, which I had expected, but the hole was simply that— a hole, emptying onto the tracks and grounds rushing past below you as the train moved. A young child would have to be careful not to fall through and end up under the train! Laughing, I realized that all the train tracks of Thailand must have trails of human urine (and other waste) all along them...
Upon
Wat Mahthat
Starting to explore the main temple of the Sukhothai Historical Park arriving in Phitsanoluk, we had to find our way to Sukhothai. We had planned to take a bus, which we had heard was easy to catch, but when we arrived at nearly 4:30pm, a few fellow Czech travelers told us that they heard the buses stopped running at 5pm. They were not sure that we would get to the bus station in time to catch it, so, not wanting to be stuck in Phitsanoluk for the night, they were looking to get a tuk-tuk taxi for the hour-long ride to Sukhothai. As the distance is far, this tuk-tuk ride was quite pricey, but split between five people it was not that bad. So, Michael and I joined the Czechs, and we spent the next hour crammed into a small open-air cart cruising down central Thailand’s highways toward Sukhothai, the motor roaring loudly behind us so that any semblance of conversation was quite difficult. Tuk-tuks up here are not quite as small as the ones in Bangkok—they have two benches facing each other and resemble the
songtaew buses in Chiang Mai, but smaller. So, this Phitsanoluk tuk-tuk was a mix between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, which was fitting because we were
Michael the Buddhist
Michael in deep meditation right in between the two cities (see picture).
We arrived in Sukhothai’s New City, where we were all staying, without any problems and found ourselves in a beautiful little boutique guesthouse that I had booked online weeks ago, the Ruen Thai. It turned out to be a beautiful little charm of old Thai architecture and rooms, with excellent service and delicious breakfast.
The New City of Sukhothai is not much to speak of— there is a cool food market that lines the otherwise cluttered streets, and there are a lot of nondescript stores that sell lots of tchotchke. However, people do not go to Sukhothai for the New City— you go for the ruins of the Old City, in Sukhothai Historical Park. We got up early the next morning and made our way over there, immediately renting bicycles for the day to explore the vast grounds.
Sukhothai was the first capital of Thailand in the 13th and 14th centuries before it moved to Ayutthaya and then to Bangkok. As such, it has extensive temple ruins, not all of which are fully restored, which almost gives the area a much-desired authentic feel (while we didn’t
Giant Buddha
This Buddha was the largest one within the old city walls, part of Wat Mahathat make it to Ayutthaya this time, we have read that the ruins of Ayutthaya are much more restored and therefore resemble the more modern temples in Bangkok). It was a thriving community, and while none of the wooden parts of the temples or other buildings exist today, many of the stone and brick work still do. The cool part is that as you visit each site, a pamphlet and placards show you picture depictions of how they believe the full build-out of the buildings once were, so you can envision in your mind all the ruins around you in their prime.
The ruins are also situated within a large beautiful park of many lakes and tree-lined walkways with large patches of green grass and beautiful flora, all surrounded by an encompassing old city wall. One thing I enjoyed observing was the similarity between the general flora of Thailand and that of what we know well in Hawai'i. There are ti plants, hau trees, haleconias, gingers, rhapis palms, sealing wax palms, plumeria trees, and even awapuhis everywhere we went in Thailand, making us feel very at home! Anyway, Sukhothai was a welcome oasis of outdoor greenery and park, and
Picture Perfect
With the lotuses blooming so vibrantly in the pond and the scenery of the ruins behind us so beautiful, we couldn't resist this cheesy photo :) best of all, it was not crowded at all! It seems that most visitors go directly from Bangkok straight up to Chiang Mai, and skip over Sukhothai; or, many choose Ayutthaya over Sukhothai, as it is much closer to Bangkok and can be visited in a day’s trip. Whatever the reason, we were left to enjoy these very awesome ruins almost by ourselves at times, which took us back in time and really allowed us to fully immerse in the old stone temples.
We took our time there, biking from one wat and chedi to another, stopping for pictures and flowers. The most significant site was Wat Mahathat (of the same name as the one we saw in Bangkok), which was the center of the old city and the biggest. This was the King’s temple, featuring one of the largest Buddhas around. Many of the stone columns, altars, and lotus and elephant details still exist, and being right in the middle of this past pillar of glory was simply humbling. Another very aesthetically-pleasing feature of the old city was that many wats are located on small islands within large lakes or surrounded by moats, so that there are
delightful little bridges and beautiful temple reflections in the waters. We also biked farther out of the city center and made our way to some of the spectacular wats outside of the old city walls, including Wat Chang Lum, Wat Si Chum, and Wat Phra Phai Luang. And we visited a modern-day temple, Wat Tra Phang Thong, where monks today go to continue to learn and pray.
Again, I will let the pictures do most of the talking, but we regard our pleasant day of biking through the sunshine of Sukhothai’s charming and spiritual ruins as one of the highlights of our entire Thailand trip! Even all the stray cats and dogs I came upon seemed deeply at peace, and were all extremely friendly! I actually found the cutest little puppy in a hole in one of foundations of the temple ruins, and had to be dragged away before I took him home with me.
As the day ended, our original plan was to take the overnight train up to Chiang Mai. But again, the train station was back in Phitsanoluk and buses stop running between Sukhothai and Phitsanoluk early. We could take a private taxi
Pillars of Time
Michael walks along the pillars that used to hold up the viharn back there, but it was expensive and the train ride was sure to be long, over seven hours. We had purchased these overnight train tickets in advance, knowing that many train tickets would be sold out when we arrived, which indeed they were because it was peak travel season. However, we learned that there was a bus directly from Phitsanoluk to Chiang Mai, which was not sold out and which would arrive that same night. It was also very inexpensive (less than it would’ve cost us to have to go back to the train station to catch our train). So, we made the decision to just forego our overnight train tickets and take the bus instead, arriving in Chiang Mai about seven hours earlier so that we could still get a bed. So, on the packed overnight train from Phitsanoluk to Chiang Mai, I hope two lucky third-class-seaters got to sneak up to our empty seats in second-class and at least enjoy the air conditioning.
The bus ride from Phitsanoluk to Chiang Mai was just fine—dark and uneventful other than me about to burst into pieces if we did not arrive at the Lampung Bus Station bathroom when
we did— I have to learn to curb those Thai iced teas when I know I am about to get on long train or bus rides...
(Note there are two pages of photos here...)
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