Our driver, son of the hotel owner and husband of the woman who I had corresponded with was there waiting with a sign to carry us to the hotel. When we got in the car, he said, "I hope it's okay, but I like country music," and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" started playing.
We drove past rice fields, currently in inches of water, past fields of palm trees, corn, lily pads and greenery I can't name. Such a contrast from the city where we had come from.
Our hotel, although nothing fancy was run by incredibly friendly and generous hosts, and the location could not be beat. We believe we were the only two staying there for two nights, but it is the low season. Who knows what this little town, who makes its money off tourism looks like during the high season.
Sukhothai arose in the 13th century as the capital of much of modern day Thailand. Meaning "dawning of happiness," this golden age of Thailand was a time when the Thai alphabet was developed as well as distinctive architecture and artwork. The capital, however was moved about 150 years later. Now, the old city is full of impressive ruins. It's broken into three distinct parts, and our hotel was across the street from the entrance to the largest part.
Jessica and I wandered around the park on our first evening, amazed by the Buddha figures and the columns that remained. Although the sky did not light up as we hoped, we sat in awe watching the sun set behind the mountain peaks, the wise Buddha never changing his expression.
Our dinner that evening was at one of the few restaurants here inside the ancient city walls of Old Sukhothai where we had the local dish of Sukhothai noodles.
They were delicious! I added to mine with fresh coconut.
The next morning, we decided to see the old city as most tourists do, from the seat of a bicycle. Right next door to our hotel, we rented bikes for the day for 30 baht each. That's about 94 cents for the day. Throughout the parks, wide, flat paths invite cyclists, and although we had to travel on the main road at times to connect the parks, traffic here is nothing like Bangkok, and we felt perfectly safe. In fact, I believe as many cows, chickens and cats crossed our paths as cars.
Ancient ruins, giant Buddha statues, and fields of green filled much of the day. I was reminded of the poem, "Ozymandius," where a partial statue remains in the desert with a sign saying "look on my works ye mighty and despair," and yet nothing remains next to the statue. And yet, the Thai people do not seem that power hungry, instead, many of the structures that remain are wats (temples).
It was hot, our hands got sunburned while on the bikes, and we were certainly sore the next day, but touring the old city on bikes was a perfect, quiet, relaxing sort of way to spend our day.
Once again, we positioned ourselves in front of a Buddha hoping to see the skies light up as the air became more pleasant. We were approached by three Thai women who asked if they could practice their English with us. They sat for about ten minutes, laughing, smiling and asking us questions. They asked where we were from, where we were traveling, what foods we had enjoyed and gave us tips about teas to keep us healthy. One woman owned a coffee shop, one translated documents and the youngest worked at the hospital. When I asked here where she had learned English, she said from talking with foreigners in the park and watching YouTube videos with subtitles. And that was it. There were no gimmicks, no thievery, no trying to sell us something. The Thai people do truly amaze me.
Since we ate a late lunch, we decided to treat ourselves to desserts that had tempted us the night before and forgo a meal. The fried bananas were absolutely delicious!
The next morning, before catching the bus to Chiang Mai, I woke up early and wandered back into the park in search of some great morning light and was rewarded with bright sunshine and lillies that had opened over night. It's possible it was just coincididence, but I feel confident it was by design that many of the Buddhas faced the morning sun.
I also found the two dogs who had joined us for dinner at the restaurant the last two nights, sleeping by one of the grandest Buddha statues. Perhaps they feel protected there, perhaps they can look out over the whole park, or perhaps they simply have the freedom to do whatever they want.
Talking to other travelers on our journey, and even Tammie's family, few had been to Sukhothai nor really even knew about it. How did we end up here? Frankly, the guide book I read in preparing for this trip listed it as a top destination. I did love the majesty of it, and I loved the biking opportunities, but what I loved most was the lacking crowds. We truly enjoyed our time in this ancient city!
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