Sukhothai, Central Thailand

Sukhothai is split into two sections: New Sukhothai with the city centre and Old Sukhothai 12 km west. After reading how unappealing, dirty and busy the town was, I decided to find us accommodation close to the ruins of Old Sukhothai at a place called Legendha.

Legendha was situated on the highway which meant our bus dropped us off directly in front of the hotel. Bonus! At first we were a bit surprised to find a large gravel parking lot and an open air restaurant without a reception area but an employee ran out to meet us, gathered our bags onto a trolley and showed us across a wooden bridge over a small canal to the resort proper.

We were checked in quickly with welcome drinks and cold scented cloths and then shown our room directly beside a large clean pool that we couldn’t wait to get into it. Our room was spacious with lots of windows and wooden floors but the bathroom was tired looking. Tiles around the tub were missing and the shower head sprayed water everywhere and the beds moved when you got into them, but it was one of the nicer hotels in the area. The grounds were nice and the pool was absolutely refreshing and this turned out to be a welcome relief from the heat of Central Thailand.

The resort is more suited for tour groups and these were frequent at Legendha. They were early risers, those groups, but then so were we. Groups were out the entire day so we still had the pool to ourselves in the afternoons. The resort rented bicycles so Ian and I took advantage of those and headed into town early to see the ruins.

Sukhothai is typically regarded as the first capital of Siam and was previously the site of a Khmer empire until 1238. The remains of the kingdom feature around 45 sq km of partially rebuilt ruins in a peaceful natural setting. Wat Mahathat completed in the 13^th C is the largest wat in Sukhothai. A brick wall and moat surround a complex that features 198 chedhi and various Buddha figures.

Ian and I always find it amazing how despite visiting several ruins and temples, we always see different things. In Old Sukhothai it was the very large and very different Buddha figures.

We were lucky as there were not a lot of people around. Ian actually called his mom back in Canada and they chatted as we strolled through the complex.

We got back on our bikes and followed the path around to the south of Wat Mahathat to Wat Si Sawai dated from the 12^th and 13^th centuries. This wat features three Khmer style towers.

To the side stands a lovely tree with various Buddha figures entwined in its roots.

We rode our bikes slowly around the almost deserted park to visit a few more simple Wats and this ancient Chedhi with a lovely Buddha figure in front of it.

It was time for a smoothie and a coffee as the heat of the day was overwhelming. After re-energizing, we headed outside the city walls to see the ruins there. As soon as we began riding down the long hot road, I wished we had rented scooters! The sun pounded down on our heads as the road was without shade. We passed a few ruins that looked like nothing more than piles of bricks.

There were a few paths one had to climb and Ian went up one of them. This one we merely admired from the road.

Our journey led us back to the highway, however, nothing looked familiar and we had no idea which direction would lead us back to town. After some debate, we headed left but luckily a fellow at the side of the road grabbed out attention and indicated we should go right. He turned out to be absolutely correct.

Lunch was at a small open air restaurant and the afternoon was spent at the pool. We decided to try the hotel buffet for dinner and caught some of the Thai dance performance held there each night. Can’t say I was overly impressive with either the food or the performance. Our night was fairly quiet and we were up again early to miss the heat.

This time we were renting scooters from Vitoon Guesthouse, where we also dropped off some laundry.  I think the scooters were about 10 dollars each and once the paperwork was completed we set off to Si Satchanalai – Chaliang Historical Park just outside of Old Sukhothai. The park covers 720 hectares and the setting is lovely, quiet and peaceful with its wide open spaces and giant trees. I don’t think we ever had to share a site with another tourist. It was splendid.

The first ruin we came to was Wat Chang Lom, a bell shaped chedhi surrounded by elephants that had clearly been restored.

We moved on to a few more temples with seated Buddha images. I wish I knew the name of this particular temple ruin as it was truly magnificent. As we approached from the road, we could make out a very large Buddha peeking through the opening of the ruins. It wasn’t until we stepped through the opening that we could appreciate its size….there’s me at its feet.

We really felt very lucky to be there.

At this point, it was time for a bathroom break so we followed the map that led us to an active temple complex and the public restrooms. While I was occupied, Ian wandered around and discovered a shrine that housed a Buddha image inside. As we stood admiring the unique structure, a monk wandered over and motioned for us to follow him inside. We had to step sideways to get through the narrow door that led us to its inner sanctum.

We knelt at the feet of the Buddha image and the monk handed us incense which we offered to Buddha. He then placed an orange bracelet on Ian’s wrist, handing mine over to Ian as monks are not permitted to touch women.

We said our goodbyes and thanks and headed back out on the scooters feeling lucky having been blessed by a monk. The road was almost deserted and it was great flying on our scooters through the park-like setting. Our next stop was a large area of ruins where we could just make out bass reliefs of Buddha.  

There were also several Khmer towers, disintegrated elephant statues and piles of bricks.

At some point we decided to check out New Sukhothai so we off we went, passing our hotel and heading out on the highway with the rest of the traffic. The city was not my cup of tea: dirty, congested, tiny open air stores crammed along the streets…we quickly turned around and headed back to a small department store we had passed earlier. Here we had a coffee and purchased a few sundries and then headed back to our hotel and the pool.

We had a splendid time alone in our large pool. At one point a small moth landed on Ian’s head and would not leave. Ian would go under water, the moth would flit around, and as soon as Ian resurfaced, it would plant itself back on his head.

It tried my head for a few minutes but definitely preferred Ian’s. It was probably there for a good 15, if not 20, minutes.

After our lazy afternoon, we went for another ride before returning the bikes, picked up our laundry and headed back to the hotel for dinner – the manager was treating us to a complimentary meal. Sweet!  

The next day we headed to Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok. We had wanted to visit in October when we were in Bangkok but it was completely flooded at that time. It would be interesting to see how it had recouped since the flood. The bus ride would take about 5 hours, so we packed up our bags and settled in for another long bus ride.  

Finishing up in Chiang Mai

Since De Chai was so pricey, we decided to try a cheaper place called 3 Sis, directly across from Chedhi Luang and in the old city. The room was decent and the shower had loads of hot water and good water pressure. Breakfast was a bit sad though – limited choices and the first place I’d been to without fruit – that was an extra 80 baht to order. But the lobby was very pretty and the staff excellent so that helped make up for things.

We found a super restaurant close by called Beetroot Stories, a vegetarian place that used local and organic products that offered yummy food at really good prices. I had a beet salad with goat cheese and Ian had a delicious panang curry. I think our two meals, with fruit shakes came to under 10 dollars.

The Chiang Mai International Horticultural Exhibition was still on but to the opening being delayed due to the flooding.  We hired a taxi to take us to its remote location outside the city. Covering an area of 21,000 square metres, the site boasts exhibits from 30 nations representing 5 continents. The drive up to the park promised some spectacular settings with carefully groomed bushes and flowers lining the entranceway.

We purchased an admission and tram ticket that would allow us to jump on and off the tram and we headed out to see some exhibits. Our first stop was the orchid centre – I never knew there were so many varieties of orchids.

 I loved how some plants grew with their roots reaching out below the pots….

Several countries and companies had exhibits that often included iconic images from their country. Here is Thailand’s with bamboo featuring as a major theme –

Unfortunately Canada, new this year, had a horrible exhibit and I was embarrassed for our country. I didn’t even take a photograph - it was that ugly. It looked hastily thrown together and included a large wall with a huge photograph of Niagara Falls. Inside were mostly photographs and few plants. It was by far the least appealing of all the countries we saw.

Next up was the Royal Pavillion and its surrounding gardens –

We hopped back on the tram to visit the Thai Tropical Garden –

Our hotel had suggested we go to the park around 3:30pm so that we would be there to see the parade and the lights but as the sun set, we were astonished to find the light tacky with a carnival effect. Again, we had made assumptions. Both of us had expected fine tasteful lighting and instead saw this –

Unfortunately our timing wasn’t the best as there were no showcases featuring competitions so we decided to head back to town. It took us quite a while to weave our way through all the vendors at the exit – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in one place!

The next day we headed to Doi Suthep and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep located on its summit. We took a tuk tuk to where we had to catch a local bus – if you can call our vehicle that. We negotiated a price and then sat waiting until finally Ian asked when we’d be leaving. The driver informed us that we had to wait until he had a full bus so we negotiated another price so we could leave sooner. I think it ended up costing us 400 Baht return ($13) instead of 200BHT.

The bus drove quickly up the mountain and we had to hold onto the bars as the driver whipped around the bends. Several buses were already parked at the temple entrance –

Several tourists were already making their way up the 306 steps, framed by the naga balustryade.  In the photo below you can see the 7 heads of the naga and the staircase to the left.

Along the stairs sat little girls in traditional costumes of one of the many hill tribes located in Northern Tahiland. These girls were not happy that I snapped off this photo without giving them money first...I wanted to take the photo to show you on the blog how some kids were being used to make money.  Reluctantly I gave them some change - not because I'm cheap but because I don't support this.

 The temple was first established in 1383. After purchasing our ticket –

We entered an open air terrace filled with various statues, shrines and bells to ring for good luck.

A second set of stairs led us into the main cloister where many Thais were paying their respect with incense and prayer –

In the centre of the cloister sit a gold plated chedhi and 5 tiered umbrella erected in honour of the city’s independence from Burma and its union with Thailand.

Flanking the chedhi are several Buddha statues –

We wandered around the site taking it all in. Close to the exit were several mailboxes in which you could make a donation to a specific group –

After watching a dance performance, we headed down the stairs to find our bus driver waiting for us. That night we ventured out to the Saturday walking market where they closed down the road to traffic and it became one huge street of vendors and unfortunately, beggars.

The street was very crowded with tourists not leaving much room to move. Vendors sold T shirts, jewelry, fruit juice, candy, purses, scarves, sandals, and souvenirs. Beggars sat or stood in the middle often singing karaoke or playing an instrument for donations. Some of these folks were in a sad state; a few were blind and one woman was covered in a scaly rash that she scratched absently.

We came to the end of the street where several tuk tuks were waiting but they wanted a ridiculous price to travel a short journey so we walked back.

Originally we had planned to continue up north to Chiang Rai but after seeing how hazy the sky was, we knew it would only get worse the farther north we headed and the news confirmed our suspicions. Our trip to Chiang Mai was done so we headed to Sukhothai, a 5.5 hour bus ride south of Chiang Mai. The air conditioned bus as usual was cheap, maybe 10 dollars each and the ride, although long and dull, was uneventful. Details on Sukothai will follow soon.

Chiang Dao

It was time to rent a car and see the countryside. Ian found a good rental agency and off we went in our Vios, Toyota for 1000BHT ($33) a day. Armed with a map we headed north to a small town called Chiang Dao, north of Chiang Mai.  The drive was easy and after a few missed turns, we found the lane that led to Chiang Dao Nest where we were staying for three nights.

A lovely woman named Pak met us with a huge smile and such warmth that we felt like we were being welcomed home. We sat down for a fantastic lunch that was a bit pricey but the yummiest food ever. After filling our stomachs, and the paperwork, we were shown to our fan cooled bungalow – apparently it gets quite chilly at night so I wasn’t too worried about not having a/c.

After unpacking, Ian and I climbed back into the car and continued north to see what we could see. Highway 107 led us through the hills on a wonderfully smooth curvy road until we turned off and headed west. Our road would travel up a mountain, looping close to the Burma border before returning us back to the highway.

We were astonished to see how many fields were ravaged by fires.

Farmers were burning off their fields to make way for new crops. The entire sky was hazy with smoke and occasionally our eyes burned and our throats parched; but once in awhile, there were some lovely sights.

 I love the hay stacks that look like homes -

The road snaked up and up the side of a mountain and at times ran along its spine with both sides of the highway falling to deep valleys below.

The drive was fantastic and we wished the smoke wasn’t so thick so we could really appreciate the scenery around us. As we reached the top of the mountain, we found the roads becoming less smooth, and clearly, less travelled.

 At one point, we pulled over for a stretch and short walk and found an area with several trees protected in Buddhist cloth.

The sun was getting low and I was getting very nervous because that red globe of a sun was to the right of us which meant we were travelling north and we should have been travelling west. I worried we had taken a wrong turn but we’d only come to one T junction and I was positive we’d turned the right way. Ian also worried that we’d be stuck on the mountain after the sun went down as the roads were now in very bad shape and the last thing he wanted was to be driving on them in the dark.

We came across a tiny village and pulled off the main road (if you could call it that) and made our way into the town.

An old man with betel stained lips holding a small glass of beer came out to the side of the road to meet us. Through sign language and gestures he indicated we could either turn back or continue to head forward to reach our destination so Ian and I continued forwards.

After what seemed like hours of heading up, the road turned down into a valley and onto a paved road along some rice fields. Civilization! We were thrilled! Best of all the low sun was now ahead of us so I knew we were heading the right way. The narrow lane led to a well paved, well travelled road and we turned left to head back to highway 107.

To our dismay, traffic petered out and the road started heading up the mountain once again.  The sun was now down and the night had fallen around us. Thick forest and no traffic made the night especially black.  As we headed up the mountain, the number of fires lit by the farmers increased – we were now seeing trees completely engulfed in flames and long lines of fires going up the hills around us. At one point, the fire was right onto the road and we had to make our way around it.

We’d never seen anything like it. I tried to get some good shots but my photo skills are a bit pathetic but at least you get the idea of what we were seeing. It was quite incredible.

Good news though, the road stayed smooth and remained paved but boy those turns going down the mountain on the other side were sharp! I was almost glad I couldn’t see them and certainly glad Ian was the one manoeuvring around them. We eventually found our way to the main highway and made it back to Chiang Dao Nest around 9pm – just in time for dinner. It was certainly an adventure…

The night was indeed a chilly one but extra blankets and socks kept us toasty warm. The next morning we were up super early to miss the heat of the sun. A nature trail a 100 metres down the road would lead us up and over a small limestone hill to the Chiang Dao caves.

The hike was crazy:  the trail very rough and many times difficult to follow. I was hot and sweaty and didn’t think I could make it. We’d forgotten the bug spray and the layer we had sprayed on had dripped away. I seriously considered going back because let’s face it; I’m not in the best shape.

 After lots of breaks (and whining), I made it to the top and the way down looked pretty sweet. Boulders of rock poked through the ground and tall bamboo trees towered overhead. It was quite stunning and peaceful and we felt like we had the entire hill to ourselves.

The path split a couple times and I’m not sure we actually went down the right one but it was an easy trek. A temple complex with tall trees spread far apart waited below and we followed a path leading us to the caves.

There are four interconnected caves containing several religious shrines and the usual stalactites. One must rent a pressurized gas lantern for a 100 BHT and a guide for about 200 BHT (?).

We expected the guide to actually tell us about the cave (like when we visited Batu Caves in Malaysia) but no such luck. All she did was point out rock formations that vaguely resembled baby elephants or the head of Buddha or a snake… She hurried ahead of us and I don’t think she was too happy that we took our time. I pulled out my mini-flashlight so it didn’t matter if she went ahead.

There were some magnificent caverns and rock formations but the camera just didn't do it justice.

A few times we had to crouch low and crawl through some tight spaces but it was all part of the experience.

The caves were a bit anti-climactic to be honest so I was glad that we done the hike as well. We finished right at lunchtime so we stopped at Chiang Dao Next 2 for some Thai food: stir fried veggies in oyster sauce, rice and spring rolls. Once home, we hopped into our trusty Vios and headed to the summit of Doi Ang Khang, located in the northern corner of the Chiang Mai province.

We followed highway 107 most of the way and it remained smooth and well paved. Like the day before, a number of military checkpoints stopped vehicles along the way - as soon as the soldiers noticed we were tourists, they’d wave us through. I’m not sure why there were so many, perhaps because we were so close to the Burmese border? 

Eventually we turned off the highway and headed to Doi Ang Khang, sitting 1300m above sea level.

At the summit was another military checkpoint and a lookout stop – unfortunately the smoke obscured much of the view.

On the other side of the mountain is a small town and nature resort. You can camp and hike the hill from here. It was getting late, so we headed back, not too worried as the roads were paved and other than the many sharp turns, fairly easy to follow.

Although the car was an automatic, Ian shifted into low gear quite frequently as the road was incredibly steep and the turns almost 180 degrees. At one point, I could smell burning rubber but thought it was the fires – Ian suddenly said, that’s not fire, it’s our brakes. We have no brakes! He pumped them but they were not responding at all. Luckily we were on a straight away, no sharp turns, but were still heading down. The road went down and up, and at the top Ian used the emergency brake to stop us.

There we sat, at the top of a hill, 6pm at night, with no brakes. Neither one of us wanted to take the chance of going down the rest of the mountain without brakes; especially if there were any brutal curves ahead. We climbed out of the car, sprayed our bodies thoroughly with bug spray and started walking. A laneway was a short walk away and I could just make out a couple of people working further along. Ian decided to see if they could help and I went back to sit in the car.

Unbelievably, one of the two people spoke English and he immediately offered to take Ian down the hill on his scooter to find a garage. I could not believe our good luck. Off Ian went and I settled in for a long wait in the car. The sun set and boy did it get dark fast. Around 8:30pm, Ian called to say that the garages were closed (of course) so we’d have to sit out the night and get towed in the morning.  His driver, Eid, insisted we stay with them for the night.

They returned to the car around 9pm and I met our Good Samaritan for the first time. Eid was about 28 years old and a civil Engineer. Currently he was volunteering his time at the temple complex that sat at the end of the laneway. The philosophy behind this sanctuary was to offer a place in which Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity were all accepted. The complex sat on the spine of a hill surrounded on three sides by a valley of Lychee trees. There was an open dining area with a fire for cooking, an area to bathe, a temple, some benches and a few sleeping huts. Dogs were everywhere.

Eid made us some spicy soup with instant noodles and we sat on a primitive bench to share our meal.

Once finished, he took us to our sleeping hut which was extremely rustic and in rough shape. Looking at the large gaps in the bamboo thatching, all I could think about was how I was going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. I would have preferred to sleep in the car. However, Eid was prepared. He brought out thin mattress pads, blankets, pillows and a mosquito net and soon we had a nice little sleeping area.

In the room beside us was our bathroom complete with squat toilet.

The comforters kept us warm and other than discovering a spider the size of my hand beside the toilet and having a dream of a huge boa constrictor finding its way under the mosquito netting, the night went well. We arose early and wandered around the complex – surprised at how lovely it was.

After some coffee, Ian went to check the car and discovered that with a night of cooling there were enough brakes to get us back to Chaing Mai and the car rental agency. We left a donation for the complex since Eid refused to take any money for himself and off we went, keeping our speed low, not taking any chances. At Chiang Dao Nest we grabbed some breakfast, said our goodbyes and headed back into the city.

The manager of the car rental agency said it was Ian’s fault for the brakes going which was quite awkward but the young woman in reception was quite sweet and apologetic. We had one more day with a car and would have preferred our money back but there were no refunds so we had to get a new car. The original plan had been to see some places on the way back from Chiang Dao but it was now late in the day so we drove to the mall on the edge of the city and saw a movie instead.

It was all good; we were back safe and sound with an incredible adventure to add to our list.