Thailand 2023, part 27 (Sukhothai)
After visiting the Western zone of the Sukhothai Historical Park, albeit only one, but the most important temple, I ambitiously started to ride back towards the central part of the site. My plan was to pass through the central part, then go to the Southern zone, where another significant temple is located. I thought that, since I was already there, I should make an effort to see everything considered important.
However, executing this plan was much easier said than done. To begin with, I had to take another break, as I mentioned in the previous part of the story, to have a refreshing drink and rest, because riding a low-quality bike in the intense heat was very exhausting for me.
After that break, I continued towards the Central zone, where I finally had a bit more shade. At the same time, I rode along a road that runs parallel to the remains of the walls and canals that surrounded ancient Sukhothai.
That’s how I reached the remains of the western gate of ancient Sukhothai, as the city had a rectangular shape surrounded by three moats that encircled the walls and in the middle of each side of the walls, there was a gate.
From here, I continued along one of the paths that lead almost through the middle of the Central Zone and it again took me past some parts I had already seen or visited – the canal around the Wat Mahathat temple, as well as the temple itself.
That’s why I parked my bike at one spot and took a short walk along the canal because from there I had a wonderful view of the temple and some of its parts.
Here, I was also fortunate enough to observe and take photos of several animals quite nicely. For instance, an Indo-Chinese forest lizard or blue crested lizard (Calotes mystaceus), then, a little egret (Egretta garzetta), a great myna or white-vented myna (Acridotheres grandis) and a common myna (Acridotheres tristis).
During this pleasant, short walk near Wat Mahathat temple, I realised that the next temple I wanted to visit was about 2.5 km away from where I currently was. Of course, I would have to return as well. I instantly decided that cycling to that temple south of the Central Zone was out of the question. I value my flexibility, especially considering I’m not usually a flexible person.
Be as it may, I rode the bike directly to the agency where I had rented it. The same tuk-tuk driver who brought me here was waiting for me. He had mentioned earlier in the morning that I should contact him when I finished the tour and he would take me back to the city (apparently, my bargaining price was still attractive to him). I had thought about it, but I must admit I also thought there was no chance that, tired as I was, I would linger and wait for a tuk-tuk driver to come from the city. Lo and behold, the man was calmly sitting there waiting for me. I have no idea what happened, whether he had been away or just kept sitting there all day, but it suited me not to have to arrange for another vehicle at that moment.
Nevertheless, I carried out what I had planned in the meantime – first, I wanted him to take me to that temple in the Southern Zone that I wanted to visit and only then to return me to the city. Once again, we haggled and once again, we both were satisfied with the price.
The temple in question was called Wat Chetuphon, first mentioned in 1514 and it is also the largest temple in the Southern Zone of the Sukhothai Historical Park. This temple consists of a vihara, main mondop, smaller mondop and several smaller chedis. To visit these, one must first cross the bridge over the outer moat filled with water.
Upon passing through the gate, which is a part of the wall surrounding the temple, you reach the inner moat filled with water that surrounds the temple itself.
By this time, I was already extremely tired, despite getting here by tuk-tuk, so I didn’t embark on a detailed exploration. Instead, I followed one path around the temple, but even from there, I could see its main parts.
Apart from the vihara with the remnants of columns in the front section, the most striking part of the temple is the main mondop, where you can see the remains of the walking Buddha (on the eastern side) and the standing Buddha (on the western side). There used to be sitting and reclining Buddha figures adorning the northern and southern sides, but nothing remains of these statues now.
And so, I concluded my visit to the Sukhothai Historical Park. Although I went to see nearly all of the significant temples, it’s worth noting that the park, with a radius of 5 km, encompasses around 90 important structures. To visit them thoroughly, it would take at least 2-3 days or multiple visits. In this case, I couldn’t and didn’t want to do so. I comfortably returned to the tuk-tuk, sat in the back and started to return to the modern city of Sukhothai where I was staying. Along the way, I continued to record with my video-camera, showcasing the remnants of various temples throughout the area.
When I returned to the vicinity of the hotel where I was staying, I immediately went to eat something. I ordered a local soup because I was sure it was the right meal for the moment – something that would provide my body with more fluids and salts.
Then I retreated to my room, where I took a shower and just collapsed on the bed to get some good rest because I was exhausted.
However, I couldn’t stay there forever, so in the evening, I set out for a walk around the modern city of Sukhothai. Initially, I wanted to buy some fruit and the vendor suggested I tried green mango. In the next picture, you can see that the sliced fruit is indeed green on the outside, even though it’s already peeled. I don’t know how they get this colour, but the essence is that it’s an unripe mango, not necessarily green. I started eating it cautiously, but then I was pleasantly surprised. Although I love naturally ripened mango, I didn’t realise that green/unripe mango could be so tasty. By the way, with the fruit, you get a packet of spices, but I didn’t use them because I was eating the fruit while walking and feared the spices might spill if I tried to incorporate them.
On the other hand, it was important for me to eat the fruit quickly because I needed both hands. Near my hotel, on the main street, I came across incredible noise, which turned out to be coming from a huge flock of great mynas settling down for the night. I wanted to capture all of it by my camera.
However, photos simply aren’t illustrative enough, so I had to make a video recording as well:
Then I headed towards the Night Market. Along the way, I passed by a place where it seemed like the local residents gathered to watch TV and perhaps listen to the news. I don’t know if it’s common for all households in Thailand to have their own TVs, or if they economise in this way, or if I simply don’t have a clear understanding of the situation. In any case, I found the scene interesting.
Soon, I began to approach the Night Market and it was quite evident that it was a very popular place in the city.
In front, there was a large crowd created by the visitors’ cars and motorcycles, so I had to be careful where I was going and I didn’t take photos there. However, the crowd was not much smaller inside the market, which is a vast place filled with stalls primarily offering food.
In addition to food, the Night Market was also the place where toys, clothing, curtains and various other items were also being sold, but the main emphasis was on food.
And as for the food... It was an explosion of everything! The selection was incredibly vast and diverse. There was savoury food, there was sweet food, there was food I knew and there was food I didn’t know, there were things I had tried before and those I would never try, but despite all these nuances, a stroll through this night market was one of the most intense and unforgettable experiences for me in Thailand.
Here’s a short video clip as well, just as an attempt to bring to life the atmosphere at this place.
In the end, I bought something to eat, but they packed it in a way that I could have dinner in my hotel room and the kind saleswoman even posed for me.
On my way back to the hotel, I also passed by an incredibly colourful coach. The explosion of colours, lights and impressions didn’t seem to subside.
Except perhaps with the great mynas. They had settled down in the meantime, positioned themselves nicely, resolved all their disputes about whose place was whose and now they were surely already asleep.
Although the beginning of my stay at the chosen hotel in Sukhothai was somewhat messy, the girls who seemed to be co-owners of the family hotel turned out to be extremely kind in the end. They even bought a ticket for me since I planned to leave Sukhothai the next day and take a coach to Chiang Mai. Of course, I eventually paid for the ticket, but I want to mention that while I was exploring the ruins of ancient Sukhothai, they went to the station and purchased the ticket right for the departure time that suited me perfectly. They later informed me about it by calling the hotel phone while I was resting in my room in the afternoon. I offered to go to the reception immediately and pay, but they said there was no need and I could do it the next morning. However, the next morning, there was no one at the reception and no one around.
I started searching for any living human being in the hotel and so I came across a woman who seemed to be an assistant in the kitchen. However, she was apparently skilled at handling guest check-outs, so we went to the reception. She pulled out a folder related to my room and there was the coach ticket. I paid to her and then I went to the nearby main street. Everything in that hotel was like that – it works in the end, but the beginning and the middle seem quite wishy-washy.
There was suddenly no tuk-tuk in sight on the main street. I had plenty of time before the coach departure and there was no need to panic, but I was confused. Where could I find a tuk-tuk? A kind young man selling food from a cart nearby came to my aid. He briefly left his stall, entered a side street and there he whistled to draw the attention of a tuk-tuk driver that he had a new customer. Everything else went smoothly and that kind young man and I waved with smiles to each other as the tuk-tuk drove me to the coach terminal in Sukhothai.
On the way, I passed by, I presume, a young woman selling fresh flower garlands. Although the garlands were beautiful, I was more impressed by the vendor’s styling.
And while waiting at the coach station, I took a photo of an interesting arrangement of platform numbers.
The coach journey from Sukhothai to Chiang Mai passed without any incidents. It was a long and boring trip (about 6.5 hours). The only thing worth noting is that the landscapes we passed through were filled with haze. I read that in the northern parts of Thailand, the field burning season starts from March, even earlier, creating a significant amount of smoke. This, combined with the exhaust fumes on the roads and in the cities, along with the humidity in the air, results in the haze and everything appears shrouded in rather gray shades. These are not clouds, as shadows on the ground are quite visible, but everything looks quite gray. Additionally, all the coach windows were dirty, which didn’t improve the impression.
The journey wasn't supposed to take that long, ideally around 4.5-5 hours. Nevertheless, the good thing was that I arrived in Chiang Mai safely. I needed to take a taxi to the hotel and while I was looking for taxi drivers with the backpack on my back, an “authorized transporter” who had a free van offered his services. After a bit of bargaining, we agreed on a price that seemed fair to me. In any case, this man spoke English quite well by Thai standards. Probably, the main reason for that is the considerable number of tourists who visit this area. In Sukhothai, there were already significantly more foreign tourists than I had seen in the previous days while exploring the east and northeast of the country, but after Bangkok, Chiang Mai is the most popular destination in continental Thailand.