Everything’s Ruined

I spent the day in Old Sukhothai. Wandering around the lush grounds of Sukhothai Historical Park by rented bicycle, I left with my clothing a shade darker and soaked in sweat. It is very, very hot here in Sukhothai. Actually, the country’s highest temperatures are here: currently 36.2 C at 5 p.m. What the hell does that mean? About 97 F. Plus, it is summer right now in Thailand, which means the usual heat plus humidity.

Maybe it was the heat or not having a guide to pass on historical information along with the sights, but I was not in the mood for ancient ruins today, which is Sukhothai’s claim to fame. I found myself more excited about photographing the gorgeous trees that lined the greenway then the relatively small area of ancient temples housed in Old Sukhothai Historical Park. The very loud rattle of what seemed to be thousands of locusts also seemed to speed up my visit.

Compared to Ayutthaya, this historical park is unimpressive and I wound up finishing my visit in less than two-hours. Wat Mahathat was, by far, the best site and it happens to be the first sight upon leaving the ticket booth, making the rest of the journey of the area anti-climactic and a bit ho-hum. I did get some nice shots of these ruins (and some of the others) but the hazy sun from all directions blurred a lot of my shots. But, considering all this, I enjoy photographing Buddha’s face. Such a great guy.

Wat Mahathat

Wat Traphang Ngoen

Wat Si Sawai