We bid a welcomed farewell to Ayutthuya after our stomach induced layover extended our stay one extra day. I guess that’s what I get for finishing all of Megan’s meals. Our train to Sukhothai arrived an hour late (right on time in Thailand) to the station and we passed the time by watching a local woman trim a man’s nose hair and chatting with a Polish man about our next destination. The accommodations were different on this second class journey; our car was donned with individual recliners with well worn blue cushioning and filled with mostly foreign travelers There were so many rice fields burning that my book became stained with ash as I read it along the ride. However, once in Sukhothai itself, we were rewarded with mostly clear skies and cleaner air. Enter the room from hell.
We checked into the garden house hostel in the evening and went upstairs to a hot, porous room with mattresses that had about as much give as much as plywood. It was also, conveniently, facing a very busy street. Sleeping was difficult but we managed, using our mosquito nets for the first time. The next day we upgraded our room for five dollars a night and spent the remainder of our stay in a private teak bungalow surrounded by lush greenery.
Not a whole lot to say about Sukhothai. As an older British man who spends six months of every year in Sukhothai told us, it is largely an agrarian economy with thriving produce markets; some of those were destroyed by severe flooding last year and have not recovered. Renting scooters for the day, we spent an afternoon in the Sukhothai historical park, filled with beautiful stone ruins, Buddhist statues and large tranquil ponds. The highlight of the day, though, was when I embarrassed myself by tripping and falling in front a big group of young school children. I gave a gracious bow which won me some applause. We scooted our way through the park and were impressed with the upkeep and scale of the park. On the way back the hostel in the afternoon, we ran out of gas and walked the scooter a few blocks to a local scooter shop who graciously helped us for the sum of three dollars (gas is about $3 per gallon here). Next time, we will rent a scooter with a working dashboard.
During the rest of our stay in Sukhothai, we enjoyed our private shangri-la bungalow and slept and ate very well. It should be noted that we became locals for a few days at a nearby restaurant run by one woman and sporting a superb soundtrack, which served us the best pad thai thus far for by far the best prices. Next, we are off by bus to see the rose of the north, Chiang Mai and meet up with our good friend Jake Broder to see northern Thailand.
We checked into the garden house hostel in the evening and went upstairs to a hot, porous room with mattresses that had about as much give as much as plywood. It was also, conveniently, facing a very busy street. Sleeping was difficult but we managed, using our mosquito nets for the first time. The next day we upgraded our room for five dollars a night and spent the remainder of our stay in a private teak bungalow surrounded by lush greenery.
Not a whole lot to say about Sukhothai. As an older British man who spends six months of every year in Sukhothai told us, it is largely an agrarian economy with thriving produce markets; some of those were destroyed by severe flooding last year and have not recovered. Renting scooters for the day, we spent an afternoon in the Sukhothai historical park, filled with beautiful stone ruins, Buddhist statues and large tranquil ponds. The highlight of the day, though, was when I embarrassed myself by tripping and falling in front a big group of young school children. I gave a gracious bow which won me some applause. We scooted our way through the park and were impressed with the upkeep and scale of the park. On the way back the hostel in the afternoon, we ran out of gas and walked the scooter a few blocks to a local scooter shop who graciously helped us for the sum of three dollars (gas is about $3 per gallon here). Next time, we will rent a scooter with a working dashboard.
During the rest of our stay in Sukhothai, we enjoyed our private shangri-la bungalow and slept and ate very well. It should be noted that we became locals for a few days at a nearby restaurant run by one woman and sporting a superb soundtrack, which served us the best pad thai thus far for by far the best prices. Next, we are off by bus to see the rose of the north, Chiang Mai and meet up with our good friend Jake Broder to see northern Thailand.