Thailand - Sukhothai

Sukhothai is about the same as Ayutthaya except their ruins are in much better condition and we thoroughly enjoyed here also. If you like history and ruins, it's worth a visit. It's another one of Thailand's most historical sites. Sukhothai means "dawn of happiness".  

How did we get here? Our trip from Ayutthaya was an interesting day of travel. We started with our Tuk Tuk ride from the hotel to the Ayutthaya Train Station. We had already purchased our tickets in Bangkok and had 2nd class car seats (which is "Thai first class"). This train was basically an air conditioned commuter train.  

Once seated we were handed a bag lunch which consisted of cooked Thai Jasmine rice, Saba in soy sauce (sardines that smelled absolutely horrible 😫), Kua Kling Chicken (chicken red curry, very spicy), strawberry-raisin flavored cream filled hot dog bun, banana chips, and a water.

After 3 1/2 hours on the train we arrived at the Phitsanulok Train Station. Before leaving the train station 🚉 we stopped and purchased our tickets 🎟 for Chiang Mai. We hopped on a Tuk Tuk to the Phitsanulok Bus Station 🚌. As soon as we walked in we were asked where we were going. "Sukhothai". "That bus is leaving in 10 minutes." Perfect timing! After 1 1/2 hours we arrived at the Sukhothai Bus Terminal. Time for another Tuk Tuk ride to the hotel.

Tuk Tuk Ride

Which lane are we in?

We had two nights, November 9th and 10th at the Sukhothai Gardens booked through Agoda. We splurged and booked a Superior Triple Room with Garden View at a total of just under $98.

Shower was next
to the toilet, like
a boat head.

We even had a balcony 

I loved the mirror in the room.

The young lady who checked us in told us to watch the sunset from Wat Sa Si. Wat Sa Si is located within Sukhothai National Park in the middle of a large reservoir known as Traphang Trakuan. It includes a round bell-shaped chedi, an assembly hall, and an ordination hall.

Dinner was at the Sureerat Restaurant (which Rob affectionately calld, "Sewer Rat"). We ordered Tom Yum Chicken (soup) and Pad Thai with Chicken. One was really spicy. Wish you could see the tears streaming down Rob's cheeks.

 

We started our mornings with our free hotel breakfast. Let me tell you it was not bacon and eggs but they did have a good variety.  They had bananas cooked in coconut milk and fresh fruit including white watermelon. On Friday morning they had minced pork with soy bean curd soup.

Yesterday we ran into the two different French couples that had stayed in the same hotel with us in Ayutthaya. They all traveled by bus from Ayutthaya to Sukhothai and were taking a bus to Chiang Mai. One of the couples was staying in the same hotel as us. We decided to take the bus to Chiang Mai, went around the corner to the bus station and purchased bus 🚌 tickets even though we already had train tickets. We decided it was much easier and quicker than Tuk Tuk -> bus station -> Tuk Tuk -> train station. Oh well.... so we were out about $25 for the train tickets.

Time to grab a bicycle (free at the hotel) and go explore the ruins. Our first stop was the Sukhothia National Park.

Wat Mahathat is situated in the heart ❤  of the town and believed to be the place where Lord Buddha's Relics are enshrined. Lord Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.

 

Wat Si Sawai

There were several more Wats located in the park and right outside.

Wat Tra Phang Thong Lang

Wat Sa Si

Monument Of King Ramkhamhaeng The Great

The Bell Of King Ramkhamhaeng

Wat Tra Kuan

Wat Chana Songkhram

Wat Sorasak

Wat Son Khao

I think our favorite time here was just bicycling through the neighborhoods. We had to stop for a popped chain. A local was riding past on his scooter and stopped to help. Rob had already fixed the chain and was cleaning grease off his hands. We thanked him. Everyone is just so nice here!

Next stop: Rob thought he saw coconuts 🥥. He was thirsty and had been in the mood for coconut water. They turned out to be green oranges 🍊 but the lady called out to the next house and she took us there to buy coconuts. They took just as many pictures of us (if not more). It was fun and 2 coconuts 🥥 were less than $2.00. Nick paid $10.00 for one in Hawaii.

Lady selling oranges

Owner

We made a stop at the day market for a snack. The day market is like an open air grocery store. 

Random pictures

As from a heap of flowers 💐 many kinds of garlands can be made
So many good deeds should be done by one born a mortal

Dad and son feeding
the huge catfish 

We found a bar which was not a bar that we are used to but a bar nonetheless. They served beer and Whiskey. Eventually our two French women walked by and joined us for a drink. Luckily they spoke fluent English.

We had dinner at the same place, Sureerat Restaurant. We ordered fried chicken with noodles in soy sauce and stir fried chicken and chili in oil. 

We have a long day of travel ahead of us, so off to the bus stop to start our next adventure.

"OH MY GOD! In Thailand, they've got the spiciest food I've ever had in my life!" - Nick Carter

Thailand - Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya isn't exactly high on the excitement scale but we thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like history and ruins, it's worth a visit. It's one of Thailand's most historical sites and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ayutthaya was the largest city in the world and capital of Thailand until the Burmese attacked it in 1767. It's an easy trip from Bangkok and many tourists make this a day trip. Tip: If staying in Ayutthaya for a couple of nights, visit the ruins early to avoid the heat and tour buses. (We learned this the hard way).

How did we get here? Our trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya was a pretty easy one. It was about a two hour train ride from the Bangkok Train Station (Hua Lam Phong). We had made a dry run to the train station the day before and purchased tickets to Ayutthaya. We purchased 2nd class sleeper car seats for 390 Baht ($10.60). We had air conditioning AND padded seats. Such luxury! An elderly Japanese man was sitting across from us and asked us where we were from. We said, "America" and he replied, "Trump. Biden". That was about the extent of his English. We just smiled and nodded. He then offered us some of his fried bananas. So many nice people in the world.

Once we got off the train, we purchased a ticket to our next destination and took a tuk tuk to our hotel. We knew we were over paying since we were charged 150 Baht. I wasn't about to argue or negotiate over $4. 

Google Translate is amazing and a game changer.

Train station

Sleeper car. The seats fold down and the compartment over Sharon's head folds down for a second bed. Notice the ladder to climb up. There's even a table under the seat. The entire car had ONE outlet which was right across from us. It was very popular. 

Tuk tuk ride to our hotel. 

Where did we stay? We stayed at the Tamarind Guesthouse (booked with Agoda.com, $19/ night) which is a funky brick and wood building with lots of charm and outdoor living space. It's old and creaky but very clean and safe. The hotel is right across the street from the ruins. The owner is so nice and sweet (I really wish I had asked her name). We had coffee and breakfast right outside our room. They even had bicycles we could borrow. And she did our luandry for 50 baht! Yes, washed, dried and folded for less than $1.50 - I think a Tide Pod costs more than that!

Breakfast

Laundry is nice and clean! 

What is there to do? We went to the night market right down the street the first evening. So much food to choose from! 

Don't know what this was but it was good! Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. 

Monkey meat. (Not really)

The next morning we spent booking our trip south. I also called my mom first thing. We are exactly 12 hours ahead of the east coast. We walked down stairs to start our day of site seeing when the owner asked us to please sit down and make a krathong. Time for arts and crafts and banana leaf origami! It was November 8th which wasn't election day in Thailand. It was Loy Krathong. It's one of the most popular festivals in Thailand. It is celebrated on the night of the full moon in the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar. Basically translated it means to "float ritual vessel or lamp". This was fun!

We stopped and had brunch at a coffee ☕ shop right around the corner. We both ordered ham, egg, and cheese croissants and fresh fruit. Rob even got a fruit smoothie. 😋 Our waitress offered to take a picture for us.

By the time we got to the ruins, it was hot and tour buses had amassed. It wasn't like being in port with cruise ships but still a lot of people. Lesson learned.

Headless Buddha

Buddha head in a tree

Monitor lizard is like 10x the size of an iguana. 

Thai teenagers. All on their phones just like teenagers all over the world. Thought it was kind of cool. 

The hotel owner and krathong-maker-instructor got us and two French women a tuk tuk to the river festivities. I guess she paid for the tuk tuk because it was free to the four of us. A second tuk tuk contained another French couple a lone guy, Andre, from Germany. So we all kind of followed each other a little confused to the river. We lit our candles and sticks, floated our krathongs and made a wish to the goddess of water. After that was done, we walked away and looked around for food and a beer. The single guy was sort of hovering near us so I asked if he was alone. He didn't understand so I asked where he was from, "Germany". I whipped out my phone, set my Google Translate app to German and next thing ya know, we're in search for einen beir! I couldn't help but tell him I took two years of German in high school. He ended up speaking enough English that we had a fun time together. We enjoyed meeting Andre.

Sushi 🍣 

Full Moon

Fireworks went on for hours

The next morning we had coffee and breakfast and headed further north to Sukhothai. When we were ready to check-out, the owner called for a tuk tuk and negotiated the price. She and a cleaning woman waved good-bye. We would so stay here again!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lau Tzu