With a 4:30am wakeup, a 7:00am AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Phitsanulok, and a one-hour van ride to our destination, Sukhothai, we began our trip through Northern Thailand. Sukhothai, an ancient city of advanced arts, architecture, and education, was the Thai capital during the 13th century. The impressive ruins are largely intact, as opposed to the more weathered city of Ayutthaya, a popular day-trip from Bangkok, which is why we made the effort to visit Sukhothai. Our guesthouse in New Sukhothai was a few miles from the ancient city, so we had to take the only means of transportation available: songthaew and tuk-tuk. A songthaew is a modified pickup truck with seating in the truck bed, while the comparatively luxurious tuk-tuks are private seat beds rigged onto a motorcycle. Having rested for much of the day of our early flight, we took a songthaew to visit Sukhothai at 4:00pm, about 2 hours before sunset. The songthaew also served as a school bus, so we were joined by many uniformed Thai teenagers. At the ruins, we spent most of our time in the central zone, home to the spectacular Wat Mahathat. The sunset and lack of crowds at the end of the day made the serene setting magical.
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September 2018
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