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Published: October 23rd 2010
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David here...
We got to Sukhothai very easily, though we did have a 2 hour wait at Ayutthaya bus station, which was in the middle of no where, which we took in our stride. We arrived after a 6 hour bus journey, some of which was disturbed by a baby crying right behind us, which didn't help Suzanne who was still feeling ill. We got to the TR Guesthouse at around 19:00 and got settled into the the room quickly. It is pleasant enough. Clean with a hot water shower and a fan for 250BHT (about £5). As it was already late on we ate in the guesthouse which had a restaurant area and served drinks. The food was unexpectedly good, especially the Masaman curry with chicken. Suzanne was still struggling with her throat so I had the bulk of the food and the beer which we also had. We had a fairly early night.
The next morning, Suzanne was still feeling the affects of here tonsillitis so we stayed in the new town and just wandered round. Nothing special, just your typical Thai town really. We did find a place that was willing to take us to see
the Bats in one of the nearby national parks but at 800BHT (about £16 each) we felt it was too expensive and we would find it cheaper elsewhere in Northern Thailand. That evening we wandered to the night market and had some food there. Nothing special really, in fact we preferred the guesthouse food. As we were walking back we walked round another market that we had gone round earlier in the day when it was quiet. That night however there was some sort of celebration going on and they had lots of stalls selling food and lots of games being played, much like a mini goose fair. There was also a court set-up where 2 local teams were playing Sepak Takraw, a Thai version of Volleyball but you can only use your feet and head. It really was quite exciting and spectacular watching the players perform arial kicks to put the ball over the net. We wandered round some more and I had a go on the rifle range (didn't win a toy, even though I hit one 3 times) and then Suzanne had some coconut milk, straight from the nut itself and I had a sugary doughnut. We
then ended up back at the guesthouse, drinking beer, using the Travel Scrabble for the first time.
Our final day in Sukhoithai was spent in the old historical area, about 10km outside of town. We wandered round the ancient capitals ruined temples for about 5 hours and got some brilliant pictures. The whole area is massive but we opted to walk and were rewarded with a very peaceful and tranquil day there. We spotted lots of wildlife, including small frogs and terrapins, thought I'm a little disappointed not to have come across any snakes yet. There is still plenty of time however. It is hard to put into words exactly what made this part of the trip so special. It was just more temples and ruins however as it was in essentially a large garden with lots of green spaces and trees, it just made the area lovely and you couldn't help but relax.
That night we opted to eat at the guesthouse again. We normally refuse to eat at the places we stay but seeing as the food was so much better at exactly the same cost as the night market, we felt this would be the
better option for us. We are still drinking far too much Chang beer, but at the low cost and great taste it would be rude not to really.
I am pleased to report that Suzanne is starting to feel better now and it is looking like she is nearly over her bout of tonsillitis at last. I think the last couple of days where we haven't done too much has helped no end. We ended up staying an extra night in Sukhothai to help Suzanne get over her illness, and to be honest, it was a lovely stay and we ended up feeling like we could have had another night here, however with an entry date on our visa into Vietnam and 2 countries to go through before then, we need to try and keep to our plan as much as possible.
Our next stop is Chiang Mai.
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