Sukhothai Historical Park

Sooo, its been a while..

I don't  know weather it's because my family is in France at the moment, or because we're in ex-French colonial Laos, where Boulangaries and crumbling French houses are everywhere, but I've had France on the brain  lately, and as such have spent the spare time I would previously have spent blogging, playing Duolingo.. I've gotten a bit obsessed..

Anyways, back to to Sukhothai.

Sukhothai was the base from which the kindgom of Siam was formed, way back in the thirteenth century, and it remained the capital of the kingdom until the mid 14th century, (when its place was taken by the city of Ayutthaya).

 Unlike Ayutthaya however, Sukhothai had been largely abandoned by the 1400's, so was spared much of the trauma of the 1767 sacking which destroyed its replacement.

On our first day in the Historical Park, we explored some of the temples closest to the songthaew drop off point  (30 bhat Songthaew fare and 150 bhat park entry, plus a little more if you want to bring in a bike -we forwent the bikes on our first day, a decision that was probably a mistake, since walking was almost unbearable in the mid day heat!)

(another) Wat Mahathat

Founded  somewhere  between the late 1200's, and the mid 1300's, this temple became the main place of devotion for the people of Siam, and remains the largest complex in all of Sukhothai.

One of the best preserved sites in the city, the complex consists of the remains of an assembly hall, and a principle Chedi, inside which are beleived to be preserved several relics of the Buddha (some hair, and fragments of neck bone for those of you that are curious). Beyond this, are eight other significant Chedis, and the remains of two hundred smaller Chedis, which serve as grave markers for various monks and lay peoples.

Wat Si Sawai

Constructed before the creation of the kingdom of Siam this temple was originally a Hindu shrine to Vishnu, which was later adapted by the Thai people.

Whilst certainly beautiful in its own right, this temple gets more interesting (to me at least..) when you know a little of it's history.

The site was originally constructed in the Khmer style (like Angkor Wat), and there is still evidence of this in the lower portion of the prangs. The tops however, have been renovated in the Thai style; much of the sculptural stucco work is still visible today. Probably this is just me being a history nerd, but I love the way you can read the history of the area in the building. A place which previously held connotations of life under the Khmer rule, had been adapted to become a symbol of Thai independence.

Three prangs | Modern Devotions 

Wat Tra Phang Ngoen

Overlooking a lake this temple is not nearly as well preserved as its contemporaries  (it was built around the time of Wat Mahathat).

Consisting of a Chedi, a walking Buddha*, and and the footprint of an ordination hall (set on an island on a lake), we didn't feel that there was all that much too see here. That said, it is a really beautiful place to just stop, and take in everything that you've seen; Joe and I spent a good 45 minutes, just sitting in the shade, on the island, surrounded by a lake filled with lilies, just people wathing, and thinking about how lucky we are to be where we were. .

Wat Sa Si

Another lake based temple, this site contaied a central Chedi, a large seated Buddha looking out over the lake, and the remains of an ordination hall.

Whilst mostly unremarkable (bear in mind that we had seen a lot of temples by this point), this complex was undeniably beautiful.


On our second day, we rented bikes (30 bhat, from a shop just outside the main complex), and having breifly revisited several of the temples from the day before, we headed out past the old city walls, in search of Wat Phra Luang.

The route was easy, and took us ten minutes or so out of the city, a really lovely cycle past several ruins, and lots of cows (at one point we even got chased down by a Thai style tractor, a very surreal experience. .)

Wat Phra Luang

Similar in its construction to Wat Si Sawai, though not as well preserved, this temple had previously been recognised as the most important temple in the city, (it was ultimately superseded by Wat Mahathat).

Year of the Horse | Decorative Stucco work 

Like Wat Si Sawai, this complex is also serves as a visual representation of the transition from the Khmer empire to the kingdom of Siam, but sadly by this point, Joe and I were just too hot (me), too ill (him), and too tired (both) to be too interested, so we slowly cycled back, returned the bikes, and headed home for a nap.

We didn't think it was possible, but it seems there really is such a thing as too many ruins..

Wow, that was a wordy one.. Thank you so much if you stuck with me throuh all that history nerd stuff. If ya didn't here's a cheeky summary; we saw old stuff, it looked cool. :)

Much Love,

Jess 

xxxx 

*The walking Buddha is a Sukhothai invention intended to emphasise the earthly nature of the Buddha; based on images depicting his return to earth from heaven -where he had been sharing his teachings with the reincarnation of his mother- the graceful statue is beleived to represent the Buddha walking with the people, spreading his teachings throughout the lay comunity.