Just another temple.

The forth leg of our trip took us to the Phitsanulok train station and then to the Phitsanulok airport to pick up a rental car. From there we headed to our guest house for the night. The next morning we headed out early to explore old Sukhathai, the one time capital of Thailand. We arrived at the park at opening, around 07:00. This turned out to be a wonderful choice. We were able to explore many of the ruins without other tourist around and it was very quite.

Very early in the day the various sites began to run together and I won’t bore anyone with the details of every wat and monument that we visited. The ruins in old Sukhathai have been restored in many cases and are well cared for. Access is very open so we were able to see things from whatever angle we wanted. Despite the nearly unrestricted access, there were no signs of vandalism. Either everyone visiting shares our respect for these sites, or they are quick to correct any transgressions.

Around 10:00 we were approached by a group of children who seemed very interested in me in particular. After a few seconds their teacher came up and explained that they were not used to seeing foreigners and would like to take a picture with Adrian and I. Of course we agreed. I have to assume they were from a rural area since tourists are common in Sukhathai. We were by no means unique there.

I became the tourist attraction.

Shortly after noon we left Sukhathai and headed to Satchanalai, a less visited site that once housed the royal city.  Satchanalai is less visited because it is a two hour drive from from Phitsanulok and there is no regular bus, unlike Sukhathai. We had a rental car so this wasn’t a problem and our drive from Sukhathai to Satchanalai was very pleasant. We drove along country roads edged with rice fields being actively worked.

Satchanalai was expansive, covering an area several kilometers square along the Yom river. The ruins had a different flavor than Sukhathai. In some cases, they were restored, meaning that stones and been replaced in their original location to make the structure more complete. In others, they were mostly unrestored, resembling little more than piles of cut stone.  In still others, there were indistrinct hills accompanied by a sign explaining what had once stood at that location.

I have not used the word “ancient” thus far (or at least I don’t think I have), but the Thais use it without fail when referring to these sites, as well as just about any other ruin temple site. However, by western standards  (or really any standards) none of these sites are ancient. Most date from long after Columbus discovered the new world and even the oldest are from only the 1300s. This doesn’t detract from their beauty of course, but in the “our ruins are older than your ruins” contest, these are hardly old at all when compared to say the pyramids, the ruins of ancient Greece or even many native American sites in North, Central and South America.