Sukhothai - Religious Enlightenment

Back to School

Now I've thought long and hard about this and I am sorry to say, oh patient reader, that I really can't find a way around it. Therefore, it is with much trepidation that I begin this post with a brief history lesson. Now don't immediately skip the next couple of paragraphs, this stuff is important I assure you. I promise I won't put in too many dates and names so sit tight and it'll all be over before you know it.
So, before Thailand was Thailand it was known as Siam, until 1939 when it officially changed it's English name. Before that it was a collection of city states centering around a localised power and before that it was simply a collection of regional empires. Now the era we're interested in is the 13th century when the regional empires were declining and the city states were coming into full force.
After the Lanna kingdom centred around Chiang Mai (more on this later) the rising star of Thailand was Sukhothai. Encompassing most of northern Thailand, some of northern Laos and parts of southern Burma Sukhothai, meaning "Rising of Happiness" is considered to be the first true Thai kingdom and marked a new period of cultural awakening. Ayuthaya, just north of Bangkok, rose to power and absorbed the Sukhothai state. It acted as the capital when Siam first opened up to western trade, until it was flattened in a Burmese invasion.
Today Sukhothai and Ayuthaya are among the most popular tourist sites in Thailand. Both ruined cities boast beautiful temple complexes and a hushed and still atmosphere of awe reminiscent of the power of a bygone age.
On our slightly swift tour of northern Thailand however Theo and I ignored all this potent historic significance and did what any discerning traveller would do when facing a difficult choice. We googled it and went with the prettiest.

Rising of Happiness

It was a beautiful day when we set out for Sukhothai, only an hours bus ride from Phitsanulok. Equal parts sun and cloud the odd rainstorm broke the heat. The first thing that struck us on arrival was the quiet. For a major tourist attraction it was dead. We were dropped off by the eastern entrance of the old city wall that surrounds the ruined temples and the only people in sight were the owners of the numerous food stalls and a friendly man from the bike shop who immediately pounced on us brandishing a map.
He told us we needed to head north to get tickets from the information kiosk. He also recommended we rent two of his bicycles because it was quite far. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we thought, sure it is. We're too street smart and wise to fall for that scam. We headed north, down quiet grass-lined paths, through the section of the north wall, past a vast lake and a herd of cows. We were hot and cranky and sticky after a good fifteen minutes of walking when we conceeded that yes it was far, and perhaps bikes would have been a good idea.
Our minds were made up when we eventually found the information centre. We wandered past several empty rooms and a strange series of covered porches before we found a woman, sat with her feet up, and an enormous map. She told us, in broken English, that we couldn't buy tickets there, we would need to go to the west side of the wall.
So the cunning bicycle man won in the end. With a grin he welcomed us back and ushered us over to the desk where could sign our names and pay our baht. When we were done we were presented with our bikes. What could make a scenic bike ride around ruined ancient temples better than old-fashioned style his and hers bicycles? With Theo on blue and me elegantly mounted (after a minor shorts ripping incident) on pink we set off.

Wat Saphan Hin - Sukhothai

We meandered peacefully through long silent halls of pillars and half-ruined walls of stone. Faceless Buddhas raised their weather-beaten palms in salutation. Dilapidated wats sat in the centre of mirror like ponds and only a few people trundled here and there, their voices lost in the wide openness of it all.
Leaving the complex we cycles north on a somewhat circuitous route (Theo lost the map, he maintains I lost the map, don't listen to him it's all lies) and found the "Big Buddha". Caught in a rainstorm we grumbled that this Buddha better live up to his title or we would be extremely displeased. We were not disappointed. Boy was that Buddha big. Crammed in between rising stone walls he sits in the classic position, one hand resting in his lap, the other with long, elegant fingers draped over his knee to the floor.

Phra Achana, Wat Si Chum - Sukhothai

The size of some of the Buddhas we've seen is a testament to the force of the devotion prevalent in this country. It is unfathomable how they moved them let alone devised the making of them. We've seen vast gilt wats, quiet functional wats and ruined wats. All have been totally different; a different atmosphere and a different purpose. I've seen people make their daily offering to Buddha, a bus driver offered up prayers while he waited for his passengers, flowers and food and gifts of every kind adorn shrines in every possible location. One thing we've learnt since we've been here, this country is serious about its religion.