23rd January: Sukhothai, Thailand
Today is a happy, albeit long overdue, day in Thai history as gay marriage was finally legalised! We’re in a small town and haven’t seen any ceremonies but are assured that come the weekend, there will be many across the country. Something to look out for!
We started our day with a chilled breakfast in the hotel. It’s another place with inside-outside spaces, which we love. There was quite a spread for breakfast too. The hotel also has dozens of bikes to be taken at will, so we found the one worth the highest adjustable seat and went for a ride around town.
Sukhothai Kingdom existed as an independent force from 1238–1438, before being absorbed into Ayutthaya. Today, three main areas of ruins are protected around the ancient city with lots of other sites scattered between. The complex, as with Ayutthaya, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After my previous issues with their designations, it’s fantastic to see non-western history recognised in this way.
As soon as we entered the central historical park, we were blown away by the sight of Wat Matathat in front of us. This is one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever seen, and I say that after having kind of had a bit of ‘temple fatigue’ recently. We looked around a few other Wats in the central area, many of which are situated on small islands surrounded by moats, and headed to the northern fringes. The day ticket (just 100 baht, £2.40) for the central area meant we could come and go as often as we liked on our bikes.
It felt very warm today. It was 33C again but it i quite humid here and surprisingly feels warmer than in Bangkok. So much for the temperature dropping a bit up north! It’s not too bad whilst cycling with the breeze, but as soon as we walked for a couple of minutes we were soaked!
Looping back around into town, we found some shade and deliciously cooling mango smoothies. We didn’t feel much like eating in this heat but decided that we should. My green lime-leaf curry was delicious but I slightly regretting eating a spicy and hot broth! Kaja’s pad see ew was more the ticket.
Alcohol, not that we wanted any in this heat, can apparently only be sold here between 11:00-14:00 and 17:00-24:00. I’m not sure why it’s more acceptable to drink at 11 in the morning that half 4 in the afternoon! The drinking age is also 20. Probably for the best given everyone over 12 seems to be riding a motorbike anyway!
After lunch, we cycled out of town to the south. The roads took on what I’d describe as a New Forest vibe as we passed through the old city walls. I think it’s the trees, sandy soil, and narrow gently curving roads that give me that sense. About 3km south of the old city, sat Wat Chetuphon and Wat Chedi Si Hong. Chetuphon is based on architecture from Bagan in Burma, with 4 Buddhas – sitting, lying, standing, and walking – on each side of a large structural pillar. We had the entire place to ourselves.
It feels so good to be back on bikes again, even old squeaky town bikes. Having the historical park to ride in is great too as cars are banned from the area, although even the surrounding roads feel pretty safe. The entire complex is vast and quiet. We feel so lucky to have come here. I surmised that it’s perhaps how Angkor Wat would’ve felt before mass tourism (perhaps it’s not as busy as I fear there?). I hope I’m wrong with that as we’ll be there in a couple of weeks!
We had a few more temples to see in the central part of the historical park using our one-day pass. The light was spectacular by now and, coming from the south this time, we didn’t even recognise Wat Matathat until we’d walked around for 10 minutes. The Buddhas and chedis took on a completely different character in the soft light of late afternoon compared to under the harsh midday sun. Around every corner, there are more ruins, just standing there in well kept grounds. Sukhothai is spectacular. One of the handful of the true “what the fuck? Wow” places we’ve been to on this trip.
Sunset from the island of Wat Traphang Ngoen Phra Ubosot was spellbinding. Wat Mahathat was bathed in golden light behind us whilst the sun dropped directly behind Wat Traphang Ngoen across the water to our west. In the skies, birds gave way to bats as darkness engulfed the fading pink.
Back on the main street, the night market was in full swing. On two sides of the lake around Wat Traphang Thong, food stalls were trading and people sat on rugs along the lantern-lined lake. It was incredibly peaceful but we decided to take food and go after getting mossi-ed. Food is so reasonable here compared with Bangkok. We took all sorts to share: a pad Thai; flamed corn in the cob; four scoops of delicious coconut ice cream; a big box of coconut pancakes; and a tray of pomelo all for 150 baht. Just the pomelo would’ve been that in the capital!
