Blogs from Sukhothai, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 11

The city of Sukhotai (meaning ‘Dawn of Happiness’) was, up until 1238, a part of the Angkorian (Khmer) Empire when two ambitious Thai princes, Phor Khun Pha Muang of Muang Rad and Phor Khun Bang Klang Thao of Muang Banyang, rallied together to oust them. Sukhotai became the capital and official start of the Thai nation and Phor Khun Bang Klang Thao, the first king. After changing hands a few times, the kingdom finally passed down to King Ramkhamhaeng, the Great. He, one of Thailand’s greatest warrior-kings, expanded Sukhotai far and wide even opening up direct political relations with China and visiting Emperor Kublai Khan, grandson of the (in)famous Genghis Khan. Ramkhamhaeng brought accomplished Chinese artisans back to Sukhotai to teach the locals the fine art of exquisite pottery making and he unified the various writing ... read more

Sukhothai Aha, I have it (I finally wrest the keyboard from Lisa's grasp to write a blog entry!). We left Kanchanaburi very early on Saturday and undertook the 2 hour journey to Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, Sai Tai Mai. Following a taxi ride to the Northern Terminal, Morchit we preceded on bus to the first Thai (Siam) capital, Sukhothai which took 6 hours. Arriving late in the day, we were looking forward to a revitalising hot shower in 'New Sukhothai'. Following a brief tuk tuk ride to J&J Guesthouse we were disappointed to find it full despite having reserved a room there (we even confirmed our reservation 3 days previously!). As Lisa and I were heading back to the other guesthouses, guess who popped out? Yes, Sian! Her tour group had arrived at our intended guesthouse ... read more

One of the recurring discussions we've been having lately is about the difference between being on holiday and "travelling". Travelling in the sense of it being a serious undertaking - more akin to a profession than a connected series of holidays in different countries. Everybody we see (and that includes us as well) consults the bible known as "Lonely Planet" and we end up reducing countries to some well known sights, historical and physical and treading the same well worn "off the beaten path" track. Recently we visited the ancient capital of Thailand called Sukothai - it's about six hours north of Bangkok by bus. It's a UNESCO world heritage site so no it's not something we found for ourselves. There were not too many of us there today as we are in the off season ... read more

On the way to Sukhothai, the bus passed through the "old city" where the Sukhothai Historical Park (and all the interesting ruins) is located. We debated getting off there but weren't really sure so we continued on to the "new city" bus station which is about 12 km away. We were greeted by the usual group of tuk-tuk drivers wanting our business and after hooking up with two other travelers we worked a deal with one of the drivers to take us all to the guesthouse area. After checking several of them, we got the impression that prices were being jacked up to compensate for our driver's commission, so we ditched the tuk tuk and found a place on our own from the very limited selection of guesthouses. It was super cheap and not bad for ... read more

The train from Ayuthaya to Sukhothai was poorly air-conditioned and we were all sweating despite the cool air that would cycle on and off over the course of the 5hour ride. Every time the door to the train car opened, it let in a whoosh of stifling hot air that had nowhere to go but linger on our skin and seats while we slowly made our way through the Thai countryside en route to the ancient city that preceded Ayuthaya as the place where the Thai nation began to flourish. The train takes you to Phisanulok where you catch a bus for the 60km ride to new Sukhothai. Rising Happiness Old Sukhothai was originally surrounded by ramparts, two moats and four gateways (north, east, west, south). There are 91 historical sites that have been preserved, both ... read more