Visiting Sukhothai, Thailand

Location : Sukhothai, Thailand

Defaulting to Sukhothai
From Mae Sot, my next East-bound destination would have been Tak, but the cheapest accommodation was over B300 - deal breaker! I found an B102/night hostel in Sukhothai, the next city east of Tak. That's all that mattered for now. Sukhothai it was! What's there? I would find out when I get there.

Rueang Sri Siri Guest House
At B102/night, this was the cheapest I could see in Agoda. If not for this deal, I wouldn't even stop by Sukhothai. The following day, the rate soared-up to B200+. That's the thing about Agoda. Sometimes, they do a ridiculous price drop and pulls it out the following day. So it's best to be vigilant about these prices drops.

I didn't even bother to propose any deal here. I didn't want to stay beyond 3 days in Sukhothai. The hostel is clean, organized, spacious and the family owners are hands-on. It's also conveniently located next to the bus station. However, it felt dead. None of the travelers were talking to each other and I didn't feel like talking to anyone as well. But it was more than 1km walk to the market scene.

Old City (Sukhothai Historical Park)
Sukhothai was the seat of the Thai kingdom in 1238 AD, which lasted 120 years. The royal palace together with 26 temples, are contained within the city confines. Of all the temples, the Wat Mahathat is the largest. Today, remnants of the old kingdom can be seen through its ruins located in the Old City or Historical Sukhothai, 14 kms west of the working city, New Sukhothai. The area coverage is vast and best explored on a bicycle which can be rented from many shops at B30 from morning to 5:30pm. The city size is 27m² but the walled city is a rectangular 2km x 1.6km, almost as big as Chiang Mai's moated Old City.

The Ruins
As a former seat of a kingdom, don't expect anything like Angkor Wat. No, the ruins are much modest in scale and grandeur. Most of what remains are columns and perhaps a chedi. On the bigger ones, perhaps a statue of Buddha still stands. There is a B100/pax + B10/bicycle entrance to see the "main" sites. Altogether, there are about 193 ruins. But you don't need to see them all. They all look the same after a while. Historically, they are all significant, of course. But as a physical structure to awe, it does not. In fact, it's hard to differentiate the ruins you see here from any other ruin you might see scattered across Thailand. One day to see the ruins should be enough.

New Sukhothai
New Sukhothai is more like the working city of Sukhothai. The night markets, streets lined-up with food carts, hotels and commerce are clustered here. This is also where the bus station is. Going back and forth between New Sukhothai and Old City is comfortable with a regular vintage songthao plying the route for B30. 24-hour bicycle rentals are quite expensive at B60 - you can get it at B30 in Chiang Mai.

Food
As a regional dish, the Sukhothai Noodle (or kuay teow Sukhothai haeng) is very popular, delicious and cheap as low B35. There is a weird sourness to its taste, blending quite well with its hot and sweet flavor. Another favorite here is the thinly sliced, pounded and dried lean pork meat - pork jerky (moo cha wan). It's chewy, salty and addicting.

Ending Thoughts
After 3 nights of ruins, food and walking about, it was time again to pack-up and continue my East-bound journey. What I didn't feel about Sukhothai was the energy. It felt dead and perfunctory. And also, for what I've seen and what has been hyped about its ruins, it's over-rated. Maybe it's just me. One night, I was even thinking, "What the heck am I doing here? Another night market? Another temple? What's the whole point in all of these?"

Phitsanulok is the logical destination, but I don't see any $2 lodging at this point - cheapest starts at B300. Hmmm. We'll see.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Sukhothai Travel Information / Tips

Mae Sot to Sukhothai by van

Van is definitely much faster than taking a bus! Go to the Mae Sot bus station and you'll find a window that says Tak-Sukhothai-Phitsanulok. The van starts in Mae Sot, passes Tak, Sukhothai and stops at Phitsanulok. The guy phoned someone and told me to standby until the van arrives at 1pm, and to pay the driver, B150, 3 hours. It will pass through the Old City and you will be dropped at the Bus Station in New Sukhothai. The 1pm is not on the posted departure times of 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:50, 13:30, and 14:40! (maybe this is the bus schedule and not the van?)

Sukhothai Blogs by TheLoneRider

1. Visiting Sukhothai, Thailand Feb 20-23, 2020

Travel Tips for Thailand

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