Blogs from Sukhothai, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 8

Sukhothai means Dawn of Happiness and we certainly had a happy time here. For about 150 years this was the capital of Thailand and the Old City has been preserved as Sukhothai Historical Park. We hired bicycles and set off exploring the ruins, enjoying the sunshine and the wee breeze on our faces. This was our second dose of temples in a week but these have undergone extensive restoration work. The ruins are dotted around the park which gives it a much more serene setting unlike the constant traffic noise you hear in Ayutthaya. Only the stone temples remain at this 13th century settlement as the secular houses were built from perishable materials such as wood. This is one of Thailand's most visited ancient sites yet we saw more cattle than people; we had most of ... read more

So here I am now almost one week in Thailand and have had so much fun already. I spend two days in Bangkok and found a really quiet place down a small alley to stay. Away from the main tourist area but in a walking distance. I just walked around those two days relaxing from the hectic weekend before because of moving. And ofcourse I enjoyed the nice food: fruit shakes, fresh fried vegetables and sweet fruit, all sold on the streets. What a joy for the mouth, so delicious! After two days in Bangkok I felt like leaving, so in the beginning of the afternoon I checked out and took a small walk to the busstop. There I met a Thai guy who was also waiting for the same bus. We got to talk and ... read more

I figured out how to get a taxi from the Lopburi hotel in the end. There was another way out leading to a parking area where taxis and tuk tuks congregated. Sensibly enough, they don't wait in the main road. I packed yesterday morning and caught a taxi to the station. Sukothai isn't on the railway, so I would have to get a bus from Phitsanulok. In fact, though, I was stopped by a tuk tuk man at the station who offered to take me all the way to my guest house in Old Sukothai for 1,000B. It's about 60km and it seemed like a good deal, so I accepted. My guesthouse is right in the centre of the old city opposite the entrance to the historical park. By the time I'd washed and changed it ... read more

Well... Maybe Not The Kind Of City Your Thinking.... Sukhothai is a bit off the beaten track (being the main route between Bangkok and Chiang Mai), but well worth the visit for a couple of nights. It's the ancient capital of Siam and houses some of the best ruins of the old empire I have seen. Coming recommended by the Tourism Agency Thailand (TAT - the government arm that all tourism and transportation goes through) as the best place to see ancient Buddha statues, we thought we'd give it a go. Thank god we did!!! Pulling into our little guest house, aptly named "At Home Guesthouse", we were greeted with smiles, warm welcomes and critical information for both places of interest and the cheapest way to get there and back. The next morning we set off ... read more

Oh my god! It is ridiculously hot and humid!! It's about 35 degrees, but they have forecast thunder this afternoon and it is very heavy and stuffy, bleugh!! We went to Wat Arun on Thursday, it's very impressive. We climbed up the extremely steep steps then i felt sick because i knew I had to get back down them! I managed though : ) and the temple was worth seeing. We got ripped off on the way there though, Matt insisted on getting a tuk-tuk there, which we paid 250baht for (about five pounds) because matt said it was really far away. I realised it wasn't that far away, and got us home for 6 baht (about 12p) boat ride and a 15 minute walk! We stayed on Khao San Road again, and stayed in playing ... read more