Bike ride to the past

• Azurra's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Sukhothai

Trip Start Sep 10, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End Jan 03, 2008 Next
Entry

  Sukhothai, Thailand
Sunday, October 28, 2007

Sunday, October 28th- 9:35 pm

After an extremely short visit in Chiang Mai to arrange for an extention of my Thai visa, I was back on the bus headed south. After a fairly comfortable six hour ride, I had made it to the ancient city of Sukhothai. The town's name is broken down to mean 'the dawn of happiness,' and was the capital of the Siam Kingdom in the 13th century, thought of as Thailand's golden age. How'd you like that bit of history lesson there? Well for me, it's right up my alley! I enjoy learning about the culture's past and the roots from which it has grown. And it's such a change to not be surrounded by tourists all the time.

My day yesterday was a wonderful treat. I rented a green bicycle that looked like it could have come out of the shed at the cottage, and pedalled my way into the past. But first, a stop at the Ramkhamhaeng Museum to get some background info on what I was about to see. I think my patience and appreciation for museums was instilled in me by Mom, who would take us (Wayne and me as kids) to the Museum of Man and Nature and oblige us to look at every exhibit, examine every diarama and hear the story written on each plaque. So Mom, you would be proud. I learnt about the invention of the Thai written language, the excavations of the area's ruins and saw examples of ancient art and architecture. It was a great start to the day.

I spent the rest of the day, until the sun began to set, cruising around the historic park, leisurely taking in the dozens of ruined temples. Most of the ruins were still is fairly good condition for being 800 years old. You could still make out the detailling of the stone carvings and many Buddha statues still stood tall. Although, the ruins that lay beyond the old city wall were more ruined and not as impressive. The best part about my whole experience was that there was hardly any other people around, tourists or otherwise! I took my time exploring each site, taking pictures and resting whenever and where ever I pleased. I think because of the vastness of some of the sites combined with the emptiness and the knowledge of the incredible history, the atmosphere was so peaceful and calming. The day's event just filled me with happiness!

Now, I'm looking ahead and giving some thought to the retreat that is approaching. I will be catching a series of buses in the next two days to get back down south to the Surat Thani area. And then...ten days of silence.

Print this entry Share Sukhothai hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry