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Published: April 6th 2011
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What a bizarre little city this is. I can't make my mind up how I feel about the place.
It was the first capital city of Thailand and not too many tourist/travellers make a stop here. Although at least for the experience (if not the incredible ruins), they should.
Last night, I took a walk into the old city and it became obvious just how few people actually do stop in Sukhothai. Everyone and I mean everyone was staring at me. Kind of like how I would expect people to look at aliens like the District 9 type walking down Oxford street in London (actually, would anyone even bother turning their heads?)People were laughing and pointing and one boy found me so amusing that he ran in to grab his mum so that they could both have a little chuckle at me. Strange.
I ate at a rather eccentric restaurant called the dream cafe which played opera and was filled with the owner's collection of Thai antiques and nude portraits.
On the way back to my guest house, I took a wrong turn and a guy who spoke a bit of English pointed me in the right
Rain Rain Go Away
The ground looks like it's about to turn into a pond (also, check out the 12 metre Buddha in the background). direction. Or so I thought.
He then drove up to me on his scooter and said he'd drive me back. No thanks! And so I kept walking until he drove up again. 'I tell you wrong direction. Sorry! I drunk.' Pretty glad I didn't get on his scooter then! He points me in the actual direction and I made my way back safely.
The next morning, I was awoken by the sound of rain. Heavy rain. But I'm over rain so got up and caught the bus to the old city.
The Old City is a UNESCO world heritage site and is breathtaking. I entered the historical site and was surround by Wats, temples and many, many Buddhas.
I walked around for hours in the rain finding lots of hidden Buddhas, some as tall as 12 metres which you can't see from after because they're sheltered by bricks.
My favourite part of the sculptures were the hands. So much details goes into them, right down to the gold nail varnish.
At one point, I turned and noticed a monk standing with his back to me. What's he up to? Turns out, he was taking
a photo of a Buddha on his camera phone. Not sure why I found that so amusing, but it was.
As the evening was almost upon me, I was all templed out and decided to head back. On the bus, I was lucky enough to meet two lovely girls, Mya and Julia who had been living in Australia for the last two years and, like me, were making their way home via South East Asia. They also happened to be staying at my guesthouse and so I spent the evening, eating and chatting with them.
I think, if you're passing through the area or want something to break the Bangkok-Chiangmai journey, I would definitely recommend visiting the old city, just don't be surprised if people point and laugh at you!
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