SUKHOTHAI – DAWN OF HAPPINESS

STOP OFF IN PHITSANULOK

Continuing with the Dice’s suggestion that I head up to Chiang Mai stopping in many towns on the way, I took a train from Lopburi to Phitsanulok, before heading to Sukhothai.

I wasn’t planning much here, just a quick stop off to get some rest before heading up to Sukhothai the next day. I’m glad to say I’d only booked one night, as there didn’t seem to be an awful lot to see around here.

After settling into the hotel, I went for a walk into the main part of town to find somewhere to eat. The options didn’t seem great and it certainly didn’t feel that this was a place where tourists would typically stop off.

One of the first things that occurred to me, was the deafining sound of birds which drowned out any sound of the traffic on the roads. The birds would hang out on the electricity wires over head and chirp away to their heart’s content.

There were thousands of these things and as I walked under the wires, one of them decided to shit on me.

Still, that’s good luck, right?

I finally settled on a restaurant that was really quiet apart from one old British guy, so I joined him for a bite to eat and a couple of Changs as we shared our life stories and what had brought us out here.

After dinner, I headed back to the hotel, watched a movie and got some sleep, ready to head up to Sukhothai.

ON TO SUKHOTHAI

After packing up my things and checking out of the hotel, I wandered over to the bus station and purchased a ticket. This bus was a thing to behold:

Old Skool Bus to Sukhothai

The journey took around an hour and once I arrived in Sukhothai I grabbed a tuk-tuk to take me to the hostel, bizarrely named ‘If you want hostel’:

If you want hostel

I’ve got to admit, I loved this hostel. One of the most sociable places I’ve stayed so far. It had spacious rooms with each dorm bed having it’s own curtain to give you a bit of privacy, a chill out space with a hammock, a living room with a TV and DVDs to watch and an awesome roof terrace.

The guys here were really sociable and a bunch of us went out for dinner together and were joined by this Thai man who was endeavouring to try using a knife and fork for the first time. He nailed it.

After dinner we headed back to the hostel, grabbed a few Changs and did the cliche travelling thing of getting a guitar out and having a sing song. All was good, until I broke a string. Oops.

SUKHOTHAI HISTORICAL PARK

On my only full day to be spent in Sukhothai I decided to head to the old town to look around the historical park and take in the sights of some more temples.

I’d heard that the best way to view them, as they were fairly scattered, was to hire a bike for the day, so I headed out on the bus towards the old town and rented myself a bike for 30 Bhat. Check this beast out:

There were a number of temples here and I first visited those set in the grounds of the historical park. Wat Maha That being the biggest draw. This place was beautiful, set in the serene grounds of the park and surrounded by water:

Wat Maha That

I rode round to a few of the other nearby temples, including the large sitting buddha of Wat Si Chum. This thing was HUGE!

Sitting buddha at Wat Si Chum

Here’s an interesting Elephant-motif temple:

Elephant Temple

BEYOND THE PARK

Cycling beyond the park allowed me to head towards the ruins of Wat Saphan Hin. There was a bit of a hike up the hill, to see the ruins, but the views were worth it:

Wat Saphan Hin

I was done, for the day, so headed back to drop the bike off, on the way passing these unfortunate malnourished cows:

I headed back to the hostel and rested up before needing to check out the following day.

Sukhothai literally means the ‘dawn of happiness’ and I can see why it’s earned that name. It’s a beautiful town – especially the old town – and one that you should definitely make sure you visit if you’re this way.

I was now feeling like I was really getting into the swing of this travelling malarkey.

On to Chiang Mai!