DAY 56: Bangkok to Sukhothai
Trip Start
Sep 21, 2006
1
57
228
Trip End
Jun 01, 2007
Sukhothai,
Thailand
Thursday, November 16, 2006
My taxi arrives early to take me to the Northern Bus Terminal. We're briefly held up by security escorting the king's granddaughter to university in her green VW beetle. (The well-loved king, Vajiravudh, has been on the throne for 60 years, making him the world's longest-surviving monarch. A birthday celebration is taking place in four days' time, and the markets are doing a roaring trade in royal-crested yellow T-shirts for the occasion - yellow represents the day of the king's birth.)
The spotless, spacious, air-con coach to Sukhothai couldn't be more different, more comfortable, compared to the bone-jarring, limb-crushing buses in Nepal. Crew even bring round iced drinks and nibbles.
There's little but business parks to see for the first hour along the straight north road. Then it opens out to paddy fields, framed by palms. Egrets lurk in the grass; storks perch on the high branches. The flat horizon is interrupted by the steep triangular roofs of wats.
After six hours I arrive in Sukhothai Historical Park, site of the first capital of Siam. Sukhothai was established as the capital of a unified Siam in the middle of the 13th century. It's most remarkable period was under the rule of the learned King Ramkhamhaeng who promoted Buddhism and introduced the first written Thai alphabet, Lal Sue Thai.
Across from my hotel a night market is open, offering seafood kebabs, writhing catfish, fragrant lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Wat Tra Phang Thong Lang, surrounded by moat has mottos hung in neighbouring trees: 'A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks', 'A bold attempt is a half-success'.
My hotel is right beside the historical park entrance so I pay a visit in the fading light. There are many school parties exploring the ruins, some jogging around temples and respectfully acknowledging the Buddha as they pass his image. It turns out that they are gathered for a sound-and-light show as part of the annual Loi Krathong festival, but I get mixed messages and assume it's private, then return for the last few moments. I catch a colourful dance between partners, fireworks and the release of lanterns into the night sky.
Dinner presents similar frustrations. Being a vegetarian, and with few local diners offering an English menu translation, it's hard for me to dodge the meat and seafood content of traditional Thai food without limiting my choice of eatery to the most tourist-friendly. Earlier my only option with a bus meal ticket was egg with rice. I get a red curry. It's ready in just one minute and it's fine but blander than I'd hoped for.
