Sukhothai – An intriguing glimpse into Thailand’s magnificent past

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After waking & leaving late from the Sawadee Guesthouse after breakfast, the last thing we needed was an idle taxi driver to get us through the busy morning traffic of Bangkok - especially as the train we needed to get, only ran once a day. Now accustomed to the crazy driving of the tuk tuk & taxi drivers; weaving in & out of alleyways & driving up the wrong side of the road, we braced ourselves for a speedy journey to the train station. However, not this time, instead, our ‘crazy’ & toothless taxi driver was asleep at the wheel in the middle of a busy cross-junction, with on coming traffic heading towards us. Whether it was the yell to move, or the firm shaking that woke him, he slowly came about & realised where he was & what he was supposed to be doing i.e. driving a taxi, & after shooting me a gummy grin, he slowly started to get underway. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t make the train, although there was a frantic last dash to the ticket counter, but any hopes of making it were quickly ruled out by the 5 & 10 deep queue either side of us. The only other option was to head to Bangkok’s main bus terminal where we could get the 13:20 bus to Sukhothai, which would take 7 hours, more-or-less the same time it would take on the train. Bags slung over our backs, we quickly walked back out to the front of the station & jumped into another metered taxi; heading for the main terminal. Not long after getting on to the high way, we gradually slowed down until we came to a complete stop, pulling up in front of a stern looking police officer who had ridden ahead of a convoy to stop the traffic - “it must be someone important, like from the royal family” announced the taxi driver. When you’re in a rush, 5 minutes seems like 5 hours, but on the 6th minute the royal convoy sped passed. On the 8th minute & once the convoy was out of sight, the stern looking police officer jumped back onto his bike & sped off, & in the process of doing so waved on the traffic to continue. Thankfully we weren’t too far away from the bus station so it wasn’t long before we had pulled up, walked over to the bus to Sukhothai, purchased our tickets, loaded the back-packs into the under carriage, chose & sat down in our seats.

The 7-hour journey wasn’t too bad & saw us arrive into Sukhothai bus station at 08:20 pm. The usual sea of tuk tuk drivers was more like a stream in dry season - only a few were knocking about. We had a few names of places we wanted to head to out of the Lonely Planet. However, we soon changed our minds after speaking with a representative from JJays Resort. He offered us a clean & comfortable room with wifi & the use of a swimming pool at the back of the resort for 400 Baht per night, & being as we planned to stay for just 2 nights, it suited us fine. JJays wasn’t far from the bus station, so after checking in & dumping the bags, we had enough time to order food & a Chang before the restaurant closed at 09:00 pm. We ate the food, although it wasn’t that decent, & before leaving for bed, surveyed the maps of Sukhothai Historical Park in preparation for the following day.

The following morning we woke early, ready for a busy day ahead of us. After breakfast, we spoke to the informative & friendly staff about the best ruins & temples to see, bought a map & hired a motor bike, which could be used to drive around the historical park. After a short petrol stop, we headed north of JJays, arriving at the first temple, Wat Trapang (The Temple of the Golden Pond). Wat Trapang Tong is a Sri Lankan style bell shaped Chedi & a Mondop that houses a famous Buddha footprint; it is still an active centre of worship & religious activity with Monks who still reside in the temple & surrounding grounds.

After a short ride down to the main entrance of Sukhothai Historical Park, we paid 200 Baht entrance fee & started our tour of the once great city in the following order:

Wat Phra Sri Mahathat: (The Temple of the Great Relic)
Wat Phra Sri Mahathat is situated in the centre of the ancient city of Sukhothai, thought to be the Royal Temple.

Wat Si Sawai: (The Temple of the Mangos)
Wat Si Sawai has 3 13th century Prasats with Khmer Bayon period architecture.

Wat Trapang Ngoen:
Wat Trapang Ngoen is the main Chedi built in the shape of a Lotus Bud. The 4 niches of standing & walking Buddha images, & the recesses of the body of the Chedi, make it different to the others.

Wat Sra Sri: (The Temple of the Four Ponds)
Wat Sra Sri temple is thought to have been constructed in the centre of 4 ponds; each situated at a corner of the compound.

King Ram Khamhaeng Monument:
The King Ram Khamhaeng Monument is a memorial statue, dedicated to King Ram Khamhaeng who is regarded as one of Thailand’s finest warriors, responsible for the powerful & extensive kingdom of Sukhothai.

On the way to Wat Sri Chum, we stopped off to see the ‘Diamond Eyed Buddha’, which was housed in a small temple. We parked up & walked through a very small passageway into the temple that was filled with many Buddha’s, some brass, some gold & some emerald in colour. As we entered the low lit room, we noticed 4 people sat to the side of the entrance, all on their knees with their feet pointing behind them, all transfixed on the Monk who was conducting a blessing of good luck & well being. As Sam & I quietly manoeuvred around the small temple, studying the many Buddha’s, we finally reached the ‘Diamond Eyed Buddha’, stood tall in the middle staring back at us with the replicated jewels set in place of it’s eyes. Continuing to make our way around to the right, towards the exit & where the four people were sat kneeling, we were ready to leave before being signaled by the Monk to sit & wait for him to finish the blessing. As instructed we knelt at the back, quietly, waiting for the blessing to finish. After 3 or 4 uncomfortable minutes, well for me anyway, the Monk was finished. All that was required to complete the transaction was payment. Sam & I knelt there in pure disbelief. The Monk demanded 100 Baht each from the 2 couples & then proceeded to open one of the women’s handbags. He grabbed an additional 100 Baht that was sat at the top of her purse, pointing at a charity box, as if signalling that it was for charity before slipping it into his orange material, custom made utility waste coat, covered in zip-up pockets. Turning to the next couple, he grinned at them whilst they fidgeted about in their pockets, digging about for loose change, anything other than the notes that the Monk had taken off the other 2. Whilst the Monk was preoccupied, Sam & I seized the opportunity to up & leave & scarpered out the front the door, jumped on the bike & shot off round to Wat Sri Chum.

Wat Sri Chum: (The Temple of the Assembled Hermits)
Wat Sri Chum is the only temple that is situated north of Sukhothai to hold a large Buddha image called Phra Ajana. The temple also bares particular importance, as during the Ayuthaya era, the King Naresuan of Ayuthaya & his army housed at the temple before attacking Si Satchanalai.

Wat Phra Phai Luang: (The Temple of the Great Wind)
Wat Phra Phai Luang is considered the most important religious shrine that is situated outside the old city walls. The shrine surrounded by a moat called Lam Nam Choan, existed before the Sukhothai era, around the middle of the 13th century - it is the only one in the north that still remains.

After a busy day of sight seeing, we left Sukhothai Historical Park & headed back to JJays. On the way back we passed a certain fried chicken fast food establishment. I knew Sam was totally over her food poising as she made me double back to go & get a KFC. Stuffed to the brim, we left KFC with 2 pieces of chicken wrapped in tissue for the bitch we passed at the entrance who was gaunt, & had saggy tits, so had obviously recently had a litter of pups. We got back to JJays with enough time to enjoy an hour relaxing around the small pool, before going back to the room & packing up for our next destination, Chiang Mai, where we would meet up with the rest of the gang. Later on the night, still full from lunch, we had a couple of Chang, settled the bill for our room & motor bike hire for the day & arranged for an early morning pick up to catch the 7:30 am bus to Chiang Mai.

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Comments

[Hannah and Will]

alreet maeeete.
Really refreshing to here about your travels guys, i'm guessin your probably in Cambodia now? Pictures are unreal, your almost as good as us, keep practicing! hope you've both got iron stomachs now after your bouts of food poisoning - but if you keep eating KFC they'll have to roll you back on to the plane! ahahahahahahaahahahahahaha. All is well here, we're fresh back from a long weekend in Prague, we'll send you some of our pics, we saw tigers but not as many as that, although they did let us ride them through the snow. try and catch you guys on skype sometime soon. Take care and have fun! Love Hannah and Will. xxx