Because of the rain last night, we had a much-needed full night of sleep! We woke up early to a lovely home cooked breakfast and a personal ride to the Kamphaeng Phet bus station. From the station we took a blue songthaew for 65 baht each ($2 USD) to the New Sukhothai bus station about 1.5 hours north. From there we caught a taxi to our hotel in Old Sukhothai. We arrived around 10am, so our room was not ready yet, but our hosts took our bags, set us up with a tuk-tuk for the day and we were off on our daily adventure!
We wanted to have an early lunch before the historic park and knew about the infamous Sukhothai sweet noodles, so we asked for a recommendation. Our hosts said there were many different spots, but the locals always go to Phor Qu Noodles. She warned us that they don’t have a sign in English, but told us what to look out for. We found it and had an amazing bowl of noodle soup that set us up for a full afternoon of adventuring around Sukhothai Historical Park.
The first thing you need to know is that this park complex is huge! It’s actually broken up into multiple sections that require their own admission ticket (only about $3-$4 USD each). The majority of the temples are located in the “cental zone,” but we also visited the “northern zone” where Wat Si Chum and Wat Phra Phai Luang are. Once in the park, our first stop was Wat Mahathat. This is the largest and most predominant temple in the historic park. There is a large chedi that strongly represents the Sukhothai style. There is a large standing Buddha called Phra Attharaot and used to house the largest seated bronze Buddha in all of Thailand (which is not in Bangkok’s Wat Suthat).
Wat Si Sawai was next on our list and it was stunning. It is one of Sukhothai’s oldest temples and has three distinctive prangs that represent the Hindu trinity. They each have an enclose cella, which create an eerie feel when entering.
Wat Tra Phang Ngoen was a quiet site with a seated Buddha in front of a beautifully preserved chedi. We sat silently for a moment to take in the beauty, as this was one of Old Sukhothai’s largest ceremonial sites before Wat Mahathat was constructed.
As we approached the next site, Wat Sa Si, we noticed the large mote that surrounded it, which was beautiful, but also signified its importance. There were long bridges on multiple sides that brought us to the seated Buddha image. Just outside the Wat, our tuk-tuk driver pointed out a resting Tokay gecko resting in the shade!
After Wat Sa Si we went to the King Ramkhamhaeng Monument. This monument was recently built (1975). His right hand is holding a scripture and his left is in a teaching position to his people. His face closely resembles that of common early Sukhothai Buddha images, which is thought to pay respects to his power and rule. He did many things for the Thai people, including the creation of the Thai alphabet and laid the foundation for politics and religion.
Our next stop is not on many other people’s list and isn’t even starred as a site on most park maps. However, the Ta Pha Daeng Shrine is actually the oldest religious monument still standing in Sukhothai. It has looked the same since the early 1900s, but many historians predict that the structure once stood tall and reflected the Bayon style of construction present in Angkor in the 12th century (check out our previous post about in Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia).
We traveled just outside the main park to visit Wat Si Chum. This Wat was probably the most breathtaking of them all. The main sanctuary has a larger than life seated Buddha in the subduing Mara position. The roof has since disintegrated, but the four walls still stand with a narrow passageway to bring you to this amazing Buddha.
Just as Wat Si Sawai was, Wat Phra Phai Luang was one of Old Sukhothai’s largest ceremonial sites before Wat Mahathat was constructed. It is thought to have been the center of town and Sukhothai’s most predominant temple at the time of construction (also considered to be a product of the Bayon [Angkor] style as the Ta Pha Daeng Shrine). There were once three prangs present, but only one remains. These columns all had true doors facing east while the other directional walls were characterized as “false-doors.”
Wat Sorasak was the last Wat on our list and ended our journey beautifully. Many historians claim the exact build date was 1412 as a stone inscription was found in the mid-1900s that seemingly provides such information. However the story begins when the founder of the temple (and apparent author of the inscription) was sent from Ayutthaya to secure the region of Sukhothai, which solidified their power and control of the old capital.
After the historic park, we were in serious need of some R&R in and around our hotel. Before our tuk tuk driver brought us back to our hotel, we made a special request to stop to get a bag of fried peanuts, which is a popular snack here in Sukhothai.
After we lounged for a bit, we walked towards the market in the Old Town. Since it is open daily starting at 5am, most of the food stalls had sold their stock and closed for the day, so we stopped into Sureerat. This restaurant had been recommended to us earlier, but we did not realize this was it until afterwards! We ended up splitting a delicious grilled pork and sticky rice meal along with green curry seafood topped with shrimp, squid, and baby octopus.
Tomorrow we’re continuing our journey north to Chiang Mai, where we will be for 3 days exploring old temples, bamboo rafting the Mae Wang River, and playing with elephants, so stay posted!