Sukhothai

From Ayuthayah I took a bus to Sukhothai, site of yet another set of ruins. Sukhothai was part of the Khmer (Cambodian) kingdom until it broke free in 1238. The new kingdom is generally considered to be the founding of the modern Thai state. The golden age of the occurred under its third ruler, King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, who is credited with inventing the Thai alphabet. But the fun didn't last for long. Sukhothai was soon absorbed by Ayuthayah.

I shared a tuk-tuk to the Ayuthayah bus station with a German photographer named Michael Riehle. Fascinating guy. He's traveled all over the world and has published books of his work. He was in Thailand because his agency needed to refresh its stock photos. Nice job, eh.

The town is divided into two sections, the old part, where the ruins are, and the new part, which is 12 km away. My guidebook said all the accomodation is in the new part, which meant I'd have to hire a tuk-tuk in the morning to take me to the ruins. Michael's guidebook said there was accomodation in the new part, closer to the ruins, so we decided to check it out. We ended up in a guest house catty-corner across the street from the park entrance. From the entrance of our guest house we could see the ruins. It couldn't have been any closer.

The ruins are similar to Ayuthayah in that they aren't completely overrun by tourists, and they're a great place to spend a relaxing day riding a bike.

The temples feature a number of restored statues of Buddha, most of them white, like this one at Wat Sa Sri.



Just north of town is Wat Saphan Hin, which is at the top of a hill overlooking the town and features an enormous standing Buddha.



Enormous.



The main temple is Wat Maha That, and features white Buddhas of various sizes. This should be a nice pic when I have time to touch it up. I like the bird sitting on the Buddha's head.



The temple is quite large, with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. This is a wide view, with two standing Buddhas in the background and sitting one in the center pavilion.



Probably the most popular spot is Wat Si Chum with its equally enormous sitting Buddha. (I had to go there three times because it was so crowded with tour buses that I couldn't even get close.)



This isn't an optical illusion. It's practically wedged into the temple. The tree gives a sense of its size, but this picture of me standing by its hand really hammers it home.

No ... more ... temples

I've covered a lot of ground since I left Bangkok. I wanted to make my way to northern Thailand and visit a few of the historical sites along the way. I took the train to Ayutthaya and spent a day there. I took the bus from there to Sukhothai and spent a day there. I took the bus from there to Lampang and spent a day seeing the town and the Elephant Conservation Center. Now I'm in Chiang Mai, the tourist hub for northern Thailand.

The temples at Ayutthayah and Sukhothai aren't nearly as large (or impressive) as those at Angkor but they're also not as crowded. The sites are elaborately landscaped and dotted with canals and ponds. The weather is unusually cool here so I was able to spend a couple relaxing days riding a bike around the ruins. But my brain is full to the brim with temples and it's time to see something else.

I've got lots of good pix but I'll update the blog and respond to email when I have the time and a decent connection. In the meantime I'll probably be sitting on a bus, to where I haven't figured out yet.

I'm online with a lousy connection doing some research for the next leg of the trip. I've got a little over a month to spend before I have to be back in Bangkok to meet a friend who's coming to visit, so I need to prioritize what I want to see and plan wisely.