Therefore, it might seem strange that on our way north to traveller magnet Chiang Mai we put aside a few days to see a whole city full of temples. But that's because these are some dilapidated temple ruins from a bygone kingdom which nature is taking over and we thought that sounded cool.
And it was. The ruined city of Old Sukhothai is half an hour on a bus away from New Sukhothai where we stayed. Back in the good old 13th century it was the affluent capital of a large kingdom encompassing much of what is now Thailand. So we hired out a couple of bygone era bicycles and got going on some map aided exploration. This turned out to be a refreshingly free way to get about in our own time. Also, everything was exceptionally photogenic.
We so enjoyed our ride around the Old City that we decided to book a mountain bike countryside tour for the following day. Our guide was Mam, who along with her Belgian husband has been running tours with Cycling Sukhothai for more than 10 years. She had amazing knowledge of the rural industry and landscape. I always assumed that stuff was added to sticky and jasmine rice to make it sticky or jasmine-y - but no, these are apparently just a couple of the hundred-or-so varieties of rice grown in Thailand.
Mam took us along tiny back roads and farm tracks which we wouldn't have dared venture on for fear of trespassing/getting hopelessly lost. As a result we saw a completely new bit of Thailand in which there were no tuk-tuks and no other tourists. She knows every single person and so we got smiles and waves from many children and peoples. Between reapplications of sunscreen we were shown the ins and outs of fishing, fish drying, fish smoking, rice drying, rice whiskey production, rice paddy field preparation, cock fight training and Buddhist temple life!
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Top: Jon struggling on a "Japanese Buffalo"
Bottom: Me catching a fish all by myself
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Top: Taken before the coconut was spilt on a monk.
Bottom: The cocks' diet includes a red bull substitute.
Apparently if you already have wings then red bull makes you a badass fighting machine.
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As we'd by chance arrived in town during a Buddhist festival, there were also long boat races between rival villages. Some of this we were invited to watch from on top of a kind lady's pickup truck. Some we were invited to watch from the VIP area where we were photographed like awkward celebs. Some we saw while Mam made us dance with the cheerleaders!
Later in the day we got to jam grooves out with a monks' procession band before they headed out alms gathering. Some elderly gentlemen at the temple then invited us to eat with them. It felt rude to decline even though we had just had lunch - and snacks - so we soldiered on like true hobbits. The food is donated for the monks, and after they have eaten anyone else is free to have some.
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| Top left: An offering to the God of music involving whisky and cigarettes! |
The festivities spilled into the evening so after the tour we went back to New Sukhothai which had been turned into a fairground. There were Thai families from miles around enjoying games and snacks, so we wandered around soaking in the good vibes.
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| All the fun of the fair |
All in all it was a very successful little stop off - although we're not in a rush to see more temples anytime soon.
- Kath
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