We spent days 126 through 131 in Sukhothai, Thailand. Sukhothai was the capital of the Siam empire beginning in the 13th century. If you are interested in reading some of the history of this UNESCO World Heritage site, you can click on this link. Our hotel room at Foresto Sukhothai was a nice surprise. We did not expect the resort type setting. We enjoyed it so much — spending a lot of time sitting out by the pool relishing the nice weather. We said it was “catch up time” for the kids’ school work, but in fact we were mostly appreciating the down time before our Nepal trek.
After resting at the hotel for a day (or two, or three), we decided to explore the old city by bicycle. We took a tuk-tuk across town to rent bikes, then explored this beautiful area. We were amazed by the beauty of the ruins, and again pleased about visiting during the off-season. There were very few tourists, and we were actually thanked by the locals when we told them we were staying for 5 days. Most tourists visit the ruins for only one half or one full day, then head on to better known areas of the country. We, on the other hand, were able to explore the day and night market areas, bike the rural countryside, and of course, sample the street food. The city is definitely worth a few days of your Thailand tour.
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- On our way back from Angkor Wat
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- Armed with this map, we set out on our bikes.
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- Andrew and Caleb checking out the Buddha statue.
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- I don’t know which is funnier. Anna’s “You want to take ANOTHER picture face.” Or Caleb standing at attention to do his duty.
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- Excellent posture…
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- Sukhothai, Thailand. Water lilies covered the moat areas. We were told that the water lilly bud (you can see an unopened one in the bottom center-right of the picture) was the inspiration for the taller structures in the picture (and throughout the site).
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- Serene
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- Another Buddha amid the ruins.
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- Modern Buddhas were also on site.
We really enjoyed our guided sunset bicycle tour.
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- Miaow was our awesome host.
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- Beautiful, ornate Wats dot the landscape.
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- These machines are called “iron buffaloes” because they have replaced the water buffalo in many aspects of rural, farming life in Thailand.
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- Shrines like this one are found everywhere. They are usually set up to honor a deceased family member. Offerings (flowers, fruit, incense, etc) are given in expectation of good luck or blessings to follow.
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- This Wat is simpler in design, but still beautiful.
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- Sun setting over the Thailand countryside.