Sukhothai

Last week our friend Dash was in town so we decided to take a little trip while he was here. We took the 8 hour bus ride down South to the city of Sukhothai. We'd been wanting to check this place out ever since we moved here, so any reason to go was a good one. It's ranked alongside the Grand Palace in Bangkok as one of Thailand's premier places to visit. I'm so glad we went...it was awesome!

Established in 1238, the ancient city of Sukhothai was the capital of the first kingdom of Siam. For 200 years, many kings reigned over the city and its past greatness can be seen all over the place. Many Thais consider Sukhothai to be the beginning of their nation because not much is known of the Thai kingdoms before it. Among its many rulers, King Ramkhamhaeng the Great is considered to be the most influential. Under his rule, the Thai alphabet was created along with the foundations for politics & religion. The Sukhothai domination was short though. The armies of Ayutthaya to the South invaded in the late 14th century and thus began the steady decline of a great empire.



















It was so HOT! April isn't the best time to visit Sukhothai as it's one of the hottest months of the Thai year, but we managed to cope. It helped to arrive early and rent bicycles for 40 baht - definitely the way to go. The old city itself is over 27 square miles and divided into multiple zones with temple ruins and ancient functional buildings scattered everywhere. I was impressed by how clean, well-maintained and easy to navigate the site was. We were free to explore the grounds as we pleased and wander around any of the countless crumbling palaces, temples & other structures.  We visited 3 main areas and covered a good portion of the 27 square miles throughout the day.  One thing that struck me was the amount of water in the area, especially considering how hot and dry this area is.  The entire old city was surrounded by a moat, and several more moats were found various places within the city walls, along with a lake and several other small bodies of water.  Another part of the old city that stuck out was a particular temple where all the Buddha figures were defiled and had their heads cut off.

Headless Buddhas

Definitely a special place that we'll always remember. I figure it's like the Thai version of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

Burning Season

Thais say that Thailand has 3 seasons:  the Hot Season, which runs from late March through June, the Rainy Season, which runs from July to October, and the Cool Season, which starts late October through February.  I'd like to add a fourth season:  Burning Season.  Farmers all over Thailand have started burning their fields, mostly rice fields, to clear the land and get ready for the next planting season.  Unfortunately all this burning creates an ashy haze that lingers in the air, and due to Thailand's geography, it has little chance to escape.  Pair that with the fact that Burning Season coincides with the beginning of Hot Season, and it makes Northern Thailand a stinky, sticky and sweaty place to be.  We can feel it when we run in both our lungs and our muscles, and it's definitely apparent just from looking outside.  The problem has become so bad that it has caused serious health problems and has really affected tourism in this region.  People wear masks around town and many residents leave if possible (since most schools have summer vacation from April to mid-May.)  There are technically burn bans in effect, but there is little enforcement and villagers continue to burn.  Scott and I will be leaving for the rest of the month and into May, so luckily we will miss most of it.  But for now, our beautiful view is gone, you would never know there are mountains surrounding our town, and we will just have to deal with running in the ashy air.  Take a look at the haze in these pictures below.  We'll miss the worst of it, so you can imagine how bad it will get if this is what it looks like now...