Ruean Thai Sukhothai

... to do now was hire two bicycles and cycle to the ticket booth, around 2 kilometres away.

My bike was really comical, the seat was really loose and kept on tilting back and forwards as I pedalled. It looked like something from the 70's and was just missing some tassels and spokey dokey's! A combination ticket cost us 200 Baht each and gave us access to all areas of the park, although in the end we didn't explore its entirety as the temples were very similar ...

... and walking past would be to rob oneself of the magic of this place.
The aptly named Big Buddha looked down from high above with knowing eyes. Humbling. He is reputed to have spoken to members of the Thai army in days gone by, giving them encourage and inspiration in their forthcoming fighting. He certainly has presence. Make your mind up about that one though.
Cycling ...

Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) I had heard about a very unusual elephant preserve that intrigued me. Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary is definitely well "off the beaten track." My 3 day stay at BLES was one of the highlights of my two month trip to Thailand and Vietnam. Yes, we know that I am already a fan of Thai Elephants, and that I am drawn to spend more time with these grand, intelligent, and social mammals. Anyone who loves the outdoors and is interested in relaxing ...

... up a hill on a shale pathway. We bought water from the guy selling it and headed up the pathway. Im thought I was in decent shape but had to stop a couple of times. I think my banana shake at lunch was catching up with me. Finally made it to the top and on the way down I got extremely sick. This wasn't turning out good. Luckily the ride back was slightly less uphill and the wind helped to settle my heaving stomach. . Our final Wat was the supposed to be the talking ...

... His travelling buddy had been struck down with some kind of gastro thing, bad enough to see him hospitalised, and, a train they were on in the south of the country was derailed. Like we said, something to tell the grandchildren. It was very nice to while away the best part of an hour chatting to someone who spoke our language and who had a sense of humour. On our return we went back to the same place we ate yesterday ...

... the 7/11. Thailand is full of 7/11s by the way. A sawngthaew is a small truck with two rows of seats in the back where the passengers sit. It works like a bus. When I got dropped off at the ruins, I rented a bike for 30B. Sukhothai was the original capital of the Thai kingdom from 1257-1379. Now only the ruins remain but they are better preserved and less urban that the other ancient capital, Ayutthaya. Entrance to the historical park was 100B ...

... Leute hier. Einige Tempel sehen aus wie die in Karate Tiger 3, Pavi koennte das bestimmt bestaetigen!! Auf jeden Fall hatten wir hier einen sehr entspannten Tag, man konnte die meisten Tempel zu Fuss erreichen und man wurde nicht staendig von irgendwelchen fliegenden Haendlern angefallen. Morgen werden wir uns dann mal wieder aufmachen und noch weiter Richung Norden nach Chiang Mai fahren, wo es mit Sicherheit nicht ganz so entspannt ist.

... said that he was very happy to have met me as he learned a lot from me. He liked how happy I seemed to him and how friendly I was towards everyone we met on the way. I thanked him for the opportunity to spend a day with him.



The first thing I did as we returned to town is to write this blog, which I couldn't wait to share with you. While I cannot see well enough to read anything I can still see the keyboard in front of me, and that's what counts after all.

... only after being hilariously caught between a neighbouring territory dispute between rival bike-hire establishments!

We acquired a map of the area, bought our entry tickets and off we set...



It was a beautiful park, the layout is a perfect square and it's bordered by a stone wall with 4 entrances, one at ...