A Stranger in a Familiar Land - Part II: Sukhothai

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It Isn't Business As Usual

Pre-Covid, Thailand was one of the easiest non-English speaking countries to navigate. One could simply step into any of the numerous agencies and book transport and day tours. When planning this trip, I was a little concerned about whether the usual backpacker transport routes were running between Chiang Mai and Sukhothai (as it turns out, they weren't), and I was also a little concerned about the risk of being crammed into a minibus. Fortunately, Paul saved the day once again. His wife Renu had gone to her hometown of Kamphaeng Phet to vote, and Paul was planning to drive down, visit her family, and then drive her back. As Sukhothai was a short diversion, he offered to drive me.

Our drive took about 4.5 hours with stops en route for coffee and a random Portuguese egg tart stand at a rest stop. Along the way, we had some great conversations about how our lives and careers have turned out since the time he lived in Honolulu over a decade ago.

Paul dropped me off at my guesthouse around 2pm. After checking in, I went out in search of food and to get myself oriented to New Sukhothai. Although New Sukhothai is a 20 minute drive from Sukhothai Historical Park, I heeded the advice from the Lonely Planet and other sites to base myself there because of the good budget accommodations and wider range of food options.

After a short rest, I ventured out again after sundown to eat at the night market. Thousands of birds were active after sunset, and the noise was deafening. I was surprised to find that only a small handful of the vendors had English signage, as I thought pre-Covid Sukhothai had a critical mass of travelers. Although I speak enough Thai to get by, I never learned to read it, so I am functionally illiterate in this context. I found a stall selling khao man gai (Hainan-style chicken rice) and tucked in happily. For me, one of my happy places is to eat on a makeshift table with traffic whizzing past just feet away. I felt as if I was meant to be right here, right now. For dessert, I had sankaya (a sort of custard), and I had a fun exchange in Thai (supplemented with gestures) with the vendor who was very interested in what vaccines were available in the US. She was very surprised to learn that I had my booster shot already.

After a hearty breakfast the next morning, I asked the guesthouse owner if the sawngthaew (covered pickup trucks with two (sawng) benches (thaew)) that regularly plied between New Sukhothai and the park for 30 baht were running. He said they weren't. It certainly wasn't business as usual. He advised me to flag down a samlor (a pedicab powered by a motorcycle), and that the going rate was 150 baht. I certainly am having to pay more because it isn't business as usual. But, I am sympathetic to all the people in the informal economy whose livelihoods were upended when the tourists stopped coming.

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Exploring the Main Part of the Historical Park

Sukhothai Historical Park is roughly divided into three zones - the main park itself, a northern zone, and a western zone. My samlor driver Khun Thorh (this is the closest transliteration of his nickname that I can think of; the intonation is similar to the second tone in Mandarin) dropped me off at a bicycle rental place and told me to call him if I needed a return ride. I then hoisted myself onto my rickety rental bike and ventured into the main part of the park. The bike rental cost 30 baht (US$1)!

My first stop was the Wat Mahathat, which was a huge and spectacular ruin. The highlight of this ruin was two large standing Buddha statues. One statue had one hand raised, and the other did not. I was mildly amused by the cliched sight of two westerners meditating in front of one of the statues while listening to a recording of a Buddhist chant.

The rest of the ruins in the main park were much smaller and less grandiose. Next up was Wat Si Sawai, which had three Khmer-style prangs. After that, my next stop was Wat Chana Songkhram which had a huge bell shaped chedi. The other highlights in the area included Wat Sa Si, which was located on an island in the middle of the lake. There was a colony of egrets living around it and much of the ground was white with their droppings.

I had a very pleasant time cycling on the shady roads and around the moats and lakes. I've always wanted to visit this park and it certainly didn't disappoint. I was grateful to not have to deal with tourist hordes. In fact, I don't think I saw more than a dozen westerners.

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On To The North

I decided to also tackle the northern section of the park, and leave the more remote western section for tomorrow. The northern section is a short cycle from the main park. The highlight of this part of the park is Wat Si Chum, which boasts a huge sitting Buddha statue with long fingers. This is perhaps the single most famous image of Sukhothai. I made a beeline for this ruin and I stood transfixed at the sight.

The north part of the park is centered around Wat Phra Pai Luang, which is a large ruin surrounded by a moat. It certainly was an atmospheric structure. The rest of the northern zone isn't as well preserved as the main park, but there were two highlights for me. The first was a series of kilns where the bricks that were used to build the temples were made, and the second was Wat Sorasak, which featured elephants. After that, I visited the Ramkamhaeng National Museum, a small museum which had provided some insight into the history and restoration of the site. I particularly enjoyed learning about some of the antiquities that were recovered from the restoration and kept in the museum.

After about four hours of cycling and exploring, I felt as if I had enough for one day, so I returned the bicycle, and I was surprised to discover that Khun Thorh hadn't returned to New Sukhothai. He had, instead, opted to wait for me! He took me back to New Sukhothai and I arranged to have him take me to the western zone tomorrow. I then had a late lunch and chilled. In the evening, I once again ventured out to the night market for food.

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And, Finally, to the West

Khun Thorh came to get me around 8.30am. My sightseeing goal for the day was to check out the monuments on the western section of the park. As he drove me there, I realized I made a good decision to split my sightseeing in this manner, as the western zone was some distance away and I would not have wanted to cycle there helmetless (the rental place didn't offer helmets) on a barely roadworthy single gear bike.

The first stop - Wat Saphan Hin - was the most spectacular. It features a long stone staircase (saphan = bridge) up a hill to a ruin with a standing Buddha. There were good views from the top too. When I descended, I saw that Thorh was chatting with a guy with a weedwhacker. I had a trilingual conversation with him - in English, Mandarin, and Thai. He apparently lived in Taiwan for a year, which explains his Mandarin. We gave him a ride to his worksite. The other monument of note - Wat Chedi Ngarm - also involved cresting a hill, this time to a bell shaped chedi. As with the northern zone, the various wats weren't as well preserved as those in the main park.

After the sightseeing, Thorh brought me to a place known for its Suhkothai-style noodles, which features thinly sliced raw green beans and peanuts. After lunch, he deposited me back at my guesthouse.

I'm currently chilling by the pool (I specifically chose Forresto Guesthouse because it was the cheapest place with a pool) while I wait for my late afternoon flight to Bangkok. At least one thing is business as usual, though - the airport shuttle is still in operation.

Next stop: the City of Angels (Bangkok), and my one time home in the 1990s.

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Photos

My Ride
I hired Khun Thorh (Khun literally means person and it is a common prefix in Thailand; Thorh is his given nickname and it is the closest transliteration I can make of his name) to bring me to and from the historical park in this samlor (pedicab powered by a motorbike) on both days. We fell into a comfortable silence after I exhausted his English vocabulary and he exhausted my Thai.

Wat Si Chum
This is probably the most iconic image of Sukhothai. Devotees place gold leaf on Buddha's fingers.

Wat Mahathat
One of the two standing Buddha statues. This one has one hand raised.

Wat Si Chum
A full body perspective of the famous Buddha statue.

Wat Sorasak
The northern zone wats weren't quite as spectacular, but this one caught my attention because of the elephants.

Wat Saphan Hin
The stone steps up the hill, with the standing Buddha in the distance.

Wat Saphan Hin
After the trek up the hill, I was rewarded with this wat and a great view to boot.

Selfie With Cop
This cop wanted a selfie with me, so I asked him to return the favor.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Thailand
Thailand has so many beautiful statues and sculptures. I'm enjoying your trip.

[Siewch]

Thailand
Thailand has a special place in my heart as my time there shaped much of my young adult life. Thanks for following me!

[alex waring]

Happy Place
I loved the point about you being in your happy place, Siewch, sat eating at a makeshift table with traffic whizzing past ? It's so wonderful that you were able to get on the road again, and very fortunate indeed that you were able to visit before they reimposed quarantine. Really quite sad to read about the drop in tourism numbers for the locals, though I do imagine Thailand without the tourist hordes must be amazing.

[Siewch]

Thailand without Tourist Hordes
Thanks for reading this entry, Alex. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Thailand without large numbers of tourists. I was especially grateful to not see any tour groups from Mainland China; they tend to be rather loud, and, because I speak Mandarin, I have a hard time tuning them out. As for eating street food with traffic whizzing past, well, I can't think of a better way to connect with a place!