Monday, January 11, 2010

The Serenity of Sukothai

Our next stop on our journey north was a small town called Sukhothai. Sukhothai was the capital city of Thailand before Ayutthaya (from 1238 till 1438), and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


We only had about an hour to explore, so we headed straight to the center of the Old City, which is surrounded by a moat and littered with small ponds and lakes. The landscaping was beautiful.




Most of the sites in Sukhothai are pretty similar to what we saw in Ayutthaya, but while Ayutthaya's monuments are scattered about the modern day town of Ayutthaya, the sites in Sukhothai are altogether in the Sukhothai Historical Park.


While Ayutthaya allowed me to see and feel the passage of time, the isolation of Sukhothai made me feel like I was going back in time; not just walking among ancient temples, but walking through an ancient city.



Just like Ayutthaya, the best way to explore the ruins is by bicycle. Unlike Ayutthaya, there was no traffic to worry about, and because it was overcast and a bit drizzly, there weren't many people around either. We practically had the roads to ourselves.

ahh sweet serenity

The sky was overcast and the ground, covered with fallen leaves, was damp... it smelled just like home after a fall rain.


Although we only had about an hour to wander around the city, it was one of the most peaceful and enjoyable hours of our trip thus far.









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