Searching the Ancient Cities

Darren and I left Bangkok a few days ago and arrived here, in Sukhothai.  There seem to be two tourist options for seeing the ancient ruins of Thailand and we chose Sukhothai for two reasons:  it's further from Bangkok and therefor there are supposed to be less tourists; and, because it was a convenient way to break up the otherwise 12-16 hour bus ride to Chiang Mai.

Sukhothai was established in the 13th century and was supposedly the "first independant kingdom of Siam".  The acient royal city is some 900 years old and what remains of them are pretty incredible.  The old/ancient city is only a short motorcycle ride away from the centre of town, so Darren and I made the trip on motorbike, allowing us to cruise around the park on motorbike as well.  It's the first temple we've been to since Indonesia, and those "ruins" were no more than a few stones amid a small creek.  Other than that our impressions of temples were established in China; and as we know, the oldest stuff there was "rebuilt in 1980".  So, to see 900 year old ruins still ruined was pretty incredible.  The Historical Park is a UNESCO sight and there is some reconstruction, but very little from what we could tell (and it's pretty obvious what's new and what's old).  You'd think that being that this is all that's left of the ancient city there'd be red ropes and railings blocking everything off, but other than a few signs asking you not to climb on the monuments you're free to walk amidst the ruins as you please.  I know for Darren especially being able to just wander in between old decayed walls and up crumbling staircases was really a highlight.  It really provokes you to wonder what the city would have looked like in its prime.

At one of the first temple remains we went to, Darren and I both said a little prayer to Mama.  Coincidence or not, but the day definitely started out looking like rain, and after a little chat with Mama it was so hot and sunny that we could've gone for a couple sweat towels!  It turned out to be a beautiful day and such a refreshing experience--there were hardly any people there and it was wonderful being able to experience such a peaceful place... in peace.

Since we were here, we decided to check out another Historical Park not far off in Si Satchanalai.  It's just over 60 km away and Darren and I decided to rent the motorbike and go for a little ride (don't worry parents, the road out is practically empty and we were careful ;)).  It was a beautiful day for a ride, and though there were grey clouds ahead, we didn't worry too much about them.  It took us about an hour to get to the site, and we stopped at the "Tourist Information Centre" to grab a map and make sure we were on the right track.  There were some beautiful pink flowers outside and of course, I went to go take a picture... only to discover that my camera wasn't working... *mental flashback to our hotel room, picturing the camera battery still plugged into the wall above our bed!!!  I was pretty upset with myself, but it was an hour away and there was nothing I could do.  As we approached the ruins however, that sense of disappointment practically turned into sheer depression.  You'd think that one set of ruins were exactly like the next, but these were definitely better than Sukhothai.  I'm not sure what it was about them, maybe that the area itself was more secluded and quiet, but they were amazing.  Everywhere I looked I saw a photograph and it felt so unfulfilling to see an image and not be able to capture it.  We had come so far and didn't have time to turn around and go back to get my camera even if we wanted to... but that didn't stop me from going back the next day though.

Another hour there and another hour back, but I had to!  We had searched for a disposeable camera or someone who would rent me theirs but nada!  I couldn't leave that place without taking a few pictures.  So we made the trip again today and it was excellent.  The great thing about being able to see it twice was that the feel of the place today was very different from yesterday (and not just because it was the second time I'd seen them).  Yesterday, as I mentioned, it was fairly cloudy and there was even a thunderstorm in the distance.  It made for a nice cool day, but the clouds and grey skies really set a great ambience over the ruins.  Today, it was HOT and sunny and it totally changed the feel of the place (not for better or worse, just different), and probably made for better lighting in any case.  We did run into some rain just as we were taking a last photo at the last of the temples and we had to ride back in the last bits of it, but it was well worth it.  Thankfully, the extra trip only cost us extra in transportation.  The ladies let us use our passes from yesterday for today!  (*Do check out the picture though, they do the place way more justice than my words do.)

We've done little else but visit the ruins.  The city doesn't offer a lot and there aren't even really any good restaurants around (we miss Papayas and the cafe in Krabi) despite the giant outdoor food night market.  Both times we ate at the night market we were pretty disappointed.  I had a green curry that tasted like toothpaste (they used mint leaves instead of basil) and Darren's spareribs were, well, sparing in meat!  I had a "tomato salad" another night, and I don't know what I was expecting but tomatoes atop a bed of shredded cabbage with a side of mayo was not it!  There is one redeeming factor of the food here however... Banana Roti!  This wont be the first time we've raved about Roti, but we've always had it with a spicy curry sauce; but, who knew Roti could also be dessert?!  Mmm!  So good!  This woman just cooks these things non-stop all night long on the side of the road and she's so fast!  I like mine with banana and sweet milk (sweetened condensed milk), and Darren likes his with chocolate!  We've been here three nights and had 8 Rotis!  Ya, they're delicious!

Anyway, it's up to Chiang Mai tomorrow where things should really get cookin'... literally actually.  I'm planning on taking a cooking course while we're up there, we're going to visit the Tiger Kingdom, visit some elephants, maybe go pirahna fishing, check out some Muay Thai, some hill tribes, and who knows what else!  Should make for some more exciting posts in any case!