Si Satchanalai Historical Park

This morning I braved the local produce market for breakfast. I had noticed the market the previous day, I wanted to try some real local food. I guessed (correctly) that the food vendors would not speak English, so I took the simple step of waiting till some one ordered and pointing at what they had.
I ended up with a lovely bowl of noodles, with what I think was a tomato/tamarind based sauce, various bits of meat and accompaniments. It was very nice also cheap and filling and spicy and I did not get a photo to display.
After that it was time to explore Si Satchanalai Historical Park.The park is about an hours drive from Sukhothai, so for this trip I engaged a driver with a car for the day. This turned out to be a good thing as the driver had some knowledge of the park and he was able to optimise my visit.
First stop was Wah Khao Phanom Phloeng. This is an ancient temple complex built on a hill called Phanom Phloeng with a nearby hill Suwankhiri also accessible via a short walk. Apparently there are 144 stairs to the top of the hill. I was hot and sweaty by the time I had climbed them.

Looking up those steps

 At the top is a large ruined temple which contains a huge Bhudda. The complex consists of other buildings too and I spent a solid hour walking around and discovering. It is a bit Indiana Jones territory with ruins partially hidden by vegetation and the whole area has a quiet and contemplative feel to it.

I descended from the hill temples and ended up at another complex which I also explored. I think that I may have taken the wrong path down the hill as I had to do some bush bashing and jump a wall to get into the temple area.

The outer wall

View of the temple complex

After this I reconnected with my driver and we drove a short distance to explore the Wat Chedi Chet Thoeo complex.

After that we took a ride to a more better preserved area of the park. Already I was beginning to get a bit "Wat"ed out. I should mention that there were informative displays at various locations, some of which showed reconstructions of how the temples may have looked. These were very useful as you could see the existing ruins and put it all into context.

Interpretative Panel

The ruins corresponding to the panel above.

Despite being in ruins many of these temples are still used for worship and I was intrigued to find some offerings in one place that included a whole roast chicken. It was fresh, the ants had barely had time to find it. I was very tempted to be naughty and try a piece, but I refrained.

Mmm that Chicken looked finger licking good

After a few more buildings and temples I decided that it was time for a change and asked the driver to show me the kilns. The kilns had been used to make pottery, and remember we are talking hundreds of years ago, so I was intrigued to see the technology. Unfortunately the main site was closed to visitors that day, but we spotted a signpost to a kiln along the roadside and I was able to look at that.
It was quite interesting, consisting of three distinct chambers. The first was a furnace where wood was burnt. The second was a chamber where the pottery was placed. I am not sure how that was loaded up. The third and final chamber was a huge chimney. It was fairly obvious that the hot gases from the furnace where drawn through the pottery chamber and out the chimney. To me it was ingenious.

The roof has collapsed, the furnace in the foreground, the other chambers just visible behind.

Detail of the brickwork that the kiln was made of.

By now it was well into the afternoon. I was tired hot and thirsty and had not stopped for lunch. My driver let me know that he had kept the best until last and we made our way to Wat Phra Si Rattana Maha That Chaliang. Technically outside the Si Satchanalai Historical Park but close enough to be considered part of it.

The driver was right as these temples had been restored in the 1700's and are in a much better condition than what I had seen to date.

Once I had visited this, I was all finished for the day. I could not see anymore temples. I asked the driver to return to my accommodation. He was happy to do so.
That evening I had my final meal in a slightly up market restaurant. Unfortunately it was fairly forgettable. Street food was more tasty.
The Bludger could not fit another Wat into his tiny brain.

Sukhothai Historical Park

Rising early I duck walked into the main town and a had a nice breakfast of something. (see Picture).

Phad something. It tasted really nice.

I arrived in the city in time to see a procession of some kind heading to the local Wat (temple). People dressed in ghoulish attire and many looking like "Goths". The procession had drawn a big crowd so it must have some significance.

Procession

After that I headed back to my accommodation and hired a motorcycle because walking sucked big time.
I rode out to the Sukhothai Historical Park, about 4km all up. First stop was Wat Traphang Thong, a lovely restored temple surrounded by a moat and featuring a footprint of Buddha.

The moat - an idyllic scene

The Bludger. Did you notice the yellow cloth coming out of the hat?

Buddha's footprint. He had very big feet and symmetrical toes

The next stop was Wat Mahathat the principle Wat of old Sukhothai. There are a number of Chedi's (Stupa, a kind of hollow tower) here, of which the architectural style shows Khmer influence. The old Khmer empire had a huge geographical reach.

I also visited Wat Traphang Ngoen and Wat Sa Si, by this time I was getting more than slightly bemused and befuddled after a large amount of Chedis, Wats and other buildings not to mention Buddha.

I kept at it though until I was almost trampled to death by a herd of rampaging elephants, that like me had seen far too much of the temples and were now doing a runner. (Joke)

And I left them to the tender mercies of 4 wise men.

I saw more, but even describing it is too much.
I returned to my hotel and returned the motorbike, I relaxed for a while.
That evening I walked into town and had a meal in a restaurant overlooking the river. Nice food, not worth blogging about.
The Bludger had a great day.

October 30 - Travel to Sukhothai

Ayutthaya had been a good start to Thailand, it helped put some of the Thai history into context. My next destination Sukhothai was going to add to that. Sukhothai was capital of a kingdom which predated Ayutthaya, in fact as Sukhothai waned, Ayutthaya grew in strength and importance. So in effect I was going backward in time.
I had organised to catch the bus to modern Sukhothai through my hotel. I paid a premium price, but they provided transport to the bus station which was on the main highway, several Km from town. A small van picked myself and several others up and we had gone about 200 metres when I began to have doubts. "Where was my passport?". I checked pockets and bags and decided that I must have left it in my room. I attracted the drivers attention and asked him to turn around. The other passengers must have thought that I was an idiot. Back at the hotel I suggested that the driver continue to the bus stop, I didn't want to make the other passengers miss the bus, but they all insisted on waiting, that was very kind of them.
The passport was in the room still, along with money belt and wallet. I had put them aside as I packed saying that they were important and needed to be carried on me. I had then taken a shower and threw the wet towel over the valuables thus hiding them. In over 25 years of independent travel that is the third time that I have left a passport or valuables behind. Fortunately each time I have realised quickly and recovered them.
Anyway we made it to the bus station with plenty of spare time.
The bus trip was uneventful but longer than I had expected, close to 6 hours. In Sukhothai I picked a place out of the Lonely Planet guide and took a motorbike there. It was nice, had a pool, which was empty as it was being repaired and I was quite happy to stay there.
I have mentioned my broken toe earlier. At this stage I was in a fair bit of pain and walking with difficulty. I did a duck walk as I found that pointing my right foot to the right was bearable when I stepped on it. I must have looked like a cripple.
So I walked into the main town to have something to eat and a look around. There was an annual "fair" on and I took some time to have a look around. A variety of stalls selling cheap clothing, plenty of stalls selling food and drink of various kinds, sideshows of the pop the ball in the clowns mouth variety and pop 3 balloons with 3 darts to win a prize and a stall with what looked like Thai Buddhist Priests selling tickets to compete for prizes. I thought that Buddhists were not allowed to accept money as offerings. You live and learn.
After that sojourn I had a meal followed by a massage. The meal was unsatisfactory as it was described as a noodle soup. There was not a single noodle in the soup and basically I ended up with a vegetable soup. I reasoned that I probably needed the healthy food. The massage was also a bit of a worry as I was constantly on edge in case my broken toe was mistreated.
That basically ended the night for me.
The Bludger went to sleep. He does that a lot.