Old Sukhothai
My friends know that I like a good road trip, either by car or by bus. So George put together a bus trip to Old Sukhothai about 6 hours south of Chiang Mai. It’s the site of the ruins from the ancient capital of Siam. None of our expat friends has taken the bus to Old Sukhothai. Instead they have either hired a car or joined a tour. We wanted to make this trip on our own.
The website for the bus company was not helpful - in Thai and vague timetables - a few bloggers described ominous experiences. So a few days before our planned trip, we took the city bus to the Main Bus Terminal to buy tickets. The nice agent sold us one-way tickets. George does not like one-way tickets (“things could happen!”). The agent informed us that the buses are air-conditioned, but there is no toilet on board (and the trip is 6 hours!).
A few days later we packed some tasty treats and off we went. The bus ride was uneventful and stopped every 90 minutes at a rest stop. These rest stops were usually local bus stops which offered packaged snacks and relatively clean toilets. We arrived in Old Sukhothai and were able to buy our return tickets right away at that bus stop. Phew!
Our hotel was a 10 minute walk from the Old Sukhothai bus stop, and away from the busy main street. After a good night’s sleep, we rose before dawn (the park opens at 6:30a.m.), hopped on our rented bicycles, and headed for the Sukhothai Historical Park.
We had 2 full days to visit the park where the remains of the ancient kingdom spread out over 17 sq. miles. Some ruins are partially rebuilt, others hint at a great past, and others are simply mounds of bricks. Time and erosion have taken their toll.
The Sukhothai kingdom flourished from the mid 13th century to the late 14th century and that time period is thought of as the golden age of Thai civilization. It is during that time that King Ramkhamhaeng the Great developed the Thai script. Unfortunately Sukhothai was eventually absorbed around 1350 by the Ayuthaya Kingdom.
Wat Mahathat is surrounded by a moat that represents the outer wall of the universe in Buddhist belief. The Kingdom had important contacts with Sri Lanka, and a specific style of Buddha images. Many are in the posture “mudra” of Subduing Mara - the right hand touching Mother Earth to be his witness and help defend him from the attack of Mara the demon tempting Buddha away from the path of enlightenment.
Wat Si Chum has a 50 feet tall Buddha Image (called Phra Achana “He who is not frightened”) seated within a massive brick mondop structure. We arrived just at sunrise - what an experience! Exhilarating. Profound. Truly breathtaking to approach the Buddha with its aura of serenity.
We spent a good 20 minutes sticking our cameras between the slats, trying to capture an image that would remind us of this extraordinary Wat. It was a “duh” moment for us when the staff arrived minutes later and opened the gate for us to enter the mondop.
Many of the Wats are active with Buddhists who approach the images with great reverence. Devotees applied gold leaf to the hand of the Buddha to honor his teachings.
Floral arrangements with marigolds are symbols of trust and faith. The arrangements can be just a few marigolds strung on a ribbon or an intricate arrangement including lotus buds and folded banana leaves. These lower figures represent pilgrims at Wat Mahathat “Temple of the Great Relic”.
Wat Si Sawai. Three Khmer-style towers (prang) and a temple dog.
King Ramkhamhaeng the Great on the right.
Wat Chang Lom, noted for its bell shaped chedi and the 24 elephants (restored in 1980’s).
Wat Mahathat
Wat Traphang Thong, the "temple of the golden pond." It was originally built around the fourteenth century.
Notice the full moon behind the spires of Wat Mahathat. Loi Krothong had just been celebrated at Sukhothai. According to legends, Loi Krothong started at Sukhothai when Nang Noppamas, a royal consort of the King of Sukhothai, gave him a krathong she had made. He lit a candle in it and floated the krathong on the waterway surrounding the ancient city. Today Thai beauty pageants select the young lady to receive the title “Nang Noppamas”.
The bus station in Old Sukhothai is also a tailor shop and a restaurant. Since the Historic Park is a popular tourist spot, many signs and menus around town were in English as well as Thai. That said, many of the restaurants simplify their food for the Western tourists, and a good meal is hard to find. George did his homework and found a few good places for us. We were lucky to get a modern bus for the trip back to Chiang Mai, a relaxing time to dream about the wonderful sights of Sukhothai.