Sukhothai - "Dawn of Happiness"

Sukhothai is for me, one of the most beautiful ruins I've come across in Southeast Asia. There is something about the place, maybe it's even the lovely expressions on the buddhas' faces - everyone of them seemed to be smiling. They gave the ruins personality. There must be a good reason why it is named Sukhothai - "Dawn of Happiness".

The historical park is quite big, consisting of the ruins of the ancient city of Sukhothai from the 13th and 14th centuries. In the complex there were the remains of the royal palace and twenty-three temples.  A shuttle took us to the different parts of the park where we spent the whole afternoon visiting the main temples, the biggest of which is Wat Mahathat, also the most beautiful, in my opinion. 

On the road to Sukhothai we visited what looked like a theme park with a huge buddha dominating the landscape. There was a local market there and I found some delicious local longan fruit. I also encountered for the first time some red-faced muscovy ducks and some other local ducks and a pair of doves that I have yet to find the names for. 

After visiting the historical park, we spent the night at a lovely renovated hotel that reminded me of a hacienda. There were exquisite lotus in the pond and orchids all around the corridors. The historical park had some lotus too but because it was late in the day, they were all closed up. I was lucky to see the ones at the hotel opened up in the morning. 

Before we left Sukhothai in the morning, we visited a local school and spent some time with the young students. The rural school had no computers that we could see - our group donated some money to help out.

The landscape was changing as we drove into the northern highlands - mountains!  We're moving on to our next stop, Chiang Rai.

Wat Mahathat and its buddha from different sides. The main stupa is in the graceful shape of a lotus flower - Lanna style.

This is my favourite view - we don't see the back view of the buddhas very often as they usually have something behind them. I was surprised to see this beautiful backview.

Main complex at Wat Mahathat

 Ancient tree among the ruins

Standing Buddha image on each side of the main stupa

At the base of the main stupa are 168 stuccoed sculptings of buddhist disciples walking with their hands clasped together in salutation

One of many smiling buddhas

Wat Si Sawai - one of the oldest temples founded in late 12th century with three well-preserved prangs, representing the Hindu trinity.

Detail on the prangs

Wat Sa Si right on the lake with a beautiful Lanka styled stupa

The lake in the historical park with its own krathong for celebrating Loy Krathong, which actually originated from Sukhothai as the first capital of the country

Wat Sorasak with another Lanka style stupa

Sunset in Sukhothai

Lotus in the pond at our hotel

 

Orchids in abundance on the ground

Lovely arrangement in a pot

Giant Buddha near the local market

Large, fresh and sweet longan fruit at the market

Red-faced muscovy duck

Ducks with an unusual pattern

Pair of doves

Monkeys on the road to Sukhothai

First view of mountains

Next post: Chiang Rai

 

From the Summer Palace to Ayutthaya, the historical capital

From the modern capital Bangkok, we moved on to Ayutthaya, the historical capital, a UNESCO site. Founded in 1350, Ayutthaya was the largest city in Asia in its heyday and an important trading hub. But it was burnt to the ground when the Burmese invaded in 1767.  We could still see the remnants of the devastation in the ruins today.

On the way to Ayutthaya, we stopped at the Summer Palace, a quiet place in the countryside - a relief after the hustle bustle of Bangkok. The Palace buildings were a mix of Thai, European and Chinese styles. When we entered the Palace rooms where the King held audiences, women were required to put on sarongs over their pants. Beautiful Thai silk sarongs were provided, so it was a nice opportunity to try one on. The quiet grounds were certainly a nice break.  

It was a nice surprise to see some storks flew over us. It turned out that nearby was the winter nesting ground for Asian Openbills migrating from the north. I also caught sight of a Common Myna bird - my second sighting, the first one at the Grand Palace in Bangkok - obviously not so common afterall, a royal bird frequenting royal palaces...;-)

The Chinese building, under renovation, was very elaborate. Apparently, it was gifted to the new king by Chinese merchants in Thailand. We had access to the main hall with its Chinese style decor but were not allowed to take photos of the private interior rooms. It was only when we climbed the tower outside that we saw how elaborate the structure was. 


The first temple we visited in Ayutthaya was the Wat Mahathat known for its Buddha head wrapped around by the roots of a tree - a weird sight but nevertheless considered sacred and visitors were asked to kneel when taking photos. It was an old temple from the 14th century located in the centre of old Ayutthaya. There were many rows of headless buddhas sitting alongside the walls - it was obvious the place had gone through fire and plundering.

We then visited the Wat Chaiwatthanaram, a large temple complex outside the historic Ayutthaya city. It was built in 1630 in the Khmer style, that was why it reminded me of the Pre Rup brick ruins at Angkor Wat, built in a similar style. We arrived in late afternoon, time enough for photos and for us to catch the glow from the setting sun even though it was hidden behind clouds. The ruins were magical in the twilight.

The Summer Palace with its many reflecting pools - and no crowds...

Asian Openbill (stork)

Common Myna

Outside the Chinese complex

The main reception hall in the Chinese style building

The Chinese building seen from the tower

There were many such waterways, this one gated.  It looked like the Summer Palace is accessible by barge - the main building had steps right down to the water (see below).

A Thai squirrel!

Buddha head at Wat Mahathat

The temple complex at Wat Mahathat

Row upon rows of headless buddhas, bricks burnt and plundered

It looked like this buddha was put back together

Wat Chaiwatthanaram - Khmer style, built on a platform with Mount Meru in the centre

The wall surrounding the central platform had 120 sitting buddhas on it.  Each of these chedil-ike chapels have two buddhas inside with wood ceiling and lacquered capitals.

The Temple's Ordination Hall, close to the river and facing west. The two chedis (north and south), each with 12 indented corners, were where the king's mother's ashes were laid. (Wikipaedia)

Magical in the blue hour...