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Published: February 11th 2008
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Off to Sukothai ("Dawn of Happiness") with Chai and his wife. Glen, if you read this entry, you should know that my decision to commit us to this wacky endurance test is due greatly to your wonderful descriptions of the place. Matthew and I are still groggy at 5:00, but not Chai. Thought this was to be a direct trip, but should have known that it would be "Too much crazy" to leave out anything of note on the drive to north. Fist stop, just as the sky was starting to brighten, was Wat Phra Phutthabay, c. 1620, where a wandering hunter supposedly discovered a footprint left by Buddha. Needless to say, we were the only ones there at this hour. The floor of woven silver shimmered in the first light of the day and the air was cool and full of birdsong. It was so lovely, Glen, that Matthew promised not to throttle you for firing up my imagination on Sukothai. The wounds of the hunter who discovered the footprint were said to have been healed when he bathed in the water held in the indentation of the footprint, which is about 5 feet long. Hmmm! Quite a footprint. Now,
Chai says, people come here seeking cures, a kind of Buddhist Lourdes. On to Lop Buri, where we stopped to see the monkeys who live at Wat San Phra Khan. They were still huddled for warmth against the temple stones. They are aggressive and occasionally chomp on people or more often steal glasses, so Chai hired a young lad to stand near us and threaten the little b***ards with a stick whenever they came close. Every year they are guests at a huge feast put on to honour them by the local townspeople. Back on the road with Mrs. Chai peeling fruit, the names of which I can't remember, and cutting them into lovely shapes before passing them back to us to wolf down. Stopped at Kamphaeng Phet, famous for its reclining Buddha. A short wile ago, Chai was here with a group and they surprised a cobra sunning itself on the rocks, so he warns me to be careful where I step.
Finally, Sukothai. The city was started in 1238 and flourished until 1318. It's ruins are too much to take in during one visit. It covers 28 square miles. Huge Buddhas sit serenely gazing at the remnants
of men's endeavours to worship them and guarantee their own place in history. The lartgest one is in Wat Sri Chum, just outside the old city walls. Took a picture of Matthew, looking like a Lilliputian, beside it. There's another gigantic one that looks like its striding out of a stucco wall. One thing I find about religious art - whether its temples or cathedrals, Buddhas or saints - is that it's fairly repetitive. So, when you see something unusual, innovative, or very fine, it's a great delight and the Buddhas of Sukothai are especially graceful and lithe, in contrast to a lot of dumpy, tubby ones we've seen elsewhere. But enough about temples. The best part of the trip was spending a long day with someone who really knows the country and was able to give us a lot on insight into its culture.
Chai spent 3 years as a monk and expressed a fair degree of criticism, not of Buddhist beliefs, but of the business associated with monastic life. The king has urged that no new temples be built and that people worship and maintain the 36,000+ of existing temples. But building temples is big business, accodring
to Chai, and can generate a fair amount of money for the families of high-ranking monks. He says Thais are overly superstitious and each buys hundreds of amulets, sold by the temples; the most valuable ones often receive the endorsement of the police, who receive a cut of the sales funds. Re the king, his sister has just died and the entire country is in mourning. Everyone, right down to little kids, is dressed in a combination of black and gold ( the colour of the royal family) or pink (the colour worn by the king on a recent return from hospital). Thais revere and love their royal family, and also love gossiping about them. The only son and Crown Prince is widely regarded as a playboy and possibly a financier for some of the major drug lords in the country. Most Thais would like to see the second princess ascend the throne when her father dies. She is viewed as the most serious royal, the one most like her father, and the one most committed to her people, as evidenced by the numerous charities with which she is envolved. It seems that the Crown Prince tried to shoot her
not that long ago but did not succeed (and we thought the British monarchy was slightly wacko!).
We returned to hotel in Bangkok at 10:30 p.m. exhausted. Packed our bags and prepared to check out early next morning for flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
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