Templemania

Day 5-7:

Hello again folks, and welcome to Templemania!!

Templemania is a period of time during which I visited a series of Buddhist temples in two ancient cities: Ayutthaya and Sukhothai.  I saw A LOT of temples, and I wasn’t quite prepared for it all.

For the first day of the Mania, I booked a day tour to Ayutthaya, the former capital of the Kingdom of Siam.  A minibus took myself and 10 other people straight from Bangkok to Ayutthaya (an hour and half drive).

Our first stop was Wat Phu Khao Thong – a chedi, or “stupa”, which is a structure used to house relics or the remains of dead royalty. I was informed by our tour guide, Pan, that this mighty stone structure was built by the Siamese (Thai) King Ramesuan, but was later renovated by the Burmese following the fall of Ayutthaya in the 18th century.

After a short visit, we were ushered onto the bus and shuttled to Phra Buddha Sai Yat or “Reclining Buddha”.  It was rightly named – the sculpture was literally a giant image of Buddha lying down.

This trend continued for the rest of the day: i) drop off at the temple ruins, ii) brief overview of the history and significance of the site, iii) free time to explore, and iv) get back on the bus.

This was a very efficient method to see many temples in a short period of time, but it was exhausting, and my memories of the different ruins started to blend into each other.

My conclusions:

If you’re pressed for time, but have knowledge of the sites, then the one-day tour would work.

If time is in abundance, spend an extra day, rent a bicycle (or motorbike) and explore Ayutthaya at your own pace.

Regardless of your schedule, do some research ahead of time.  Having a context for sightseeing tours can make the whole experience more meaningful and enjoyable.  I learned this lesson the hard way.

While the rest of the tour group headed back to Thailand, I stayed in Ayutthaya at the Baan Eve Guesthouse.  What a great place – in addition to great food and happy staff, they had a treehouse!

Day 6

I woke up to the sound of birds.  But these were not the typical crows and sparrows that one hears in Essex County.  These voices were strange to me and served as another reminder that I’m in Asia.

By 9 am, I was on the bus, heading North, bound for Sukhothai.

Lesson of the day:  Unlike Greyhounds, these busses DO NOT have toilets.  Plan wisely, because they only make washroom-breaks once every ~ two hours.

During the six-hour ride, I finished “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. It’s a powerful book and quite inspirational for my situation.

Arriving at the Sila Resort guesthouse, I met a German traveller in the lobby.  Mirco and I were fast friends, cracked open some Chiang beers from 7-11 and watched Thai football.

Day 7

Mirco and I rode rental bicycles from the guesthouse to the bus stop in downtown Sukhothai.  I should mention here that our hostel is in “new” Sukhothai, while the ancient city and temple ruins are in “old” Sukhothai, 15 km down the road.

With two German girls, Tina and Julia, who I met the night before, we rode in a rickety old bus with bench seats and holes in the wooden floorboards; truly a Thailand experience.

At the Sukhothai Historical Park, we rented out creaky cruiser bicycles for the entire day, and started to visit the temples, one-by-one.

What you need to know is that there are three sections to the park: Central, North and West.  The Central district has some of the most visually impressive sites, but also gets the most tourist traffic.  Wat Si Sawai was my favourite with its three Khmer-style towers.  Worthy of note here: beware of the open 3-metre deep wells in the courtyard Wat Si Sawai … we witnessed a woman fall in, chasing a rogue camera.  How she managed to do this without any injuries was a complete mystery to us.

Wat Si Chum is the highlight in the North and houses a gigantic Buddha image.  The North is great for exploring some of rural Thailand – just bring a compass because almost all of the signs are written in Thai.

The West district is a single dirt road, with almost no tourist traffic.  Although the temples are smaller than in the other districts, most are perched on a ridge that faces East, offering great views of Sukhothai from above.  Climb on up to Wat Saphan Hin and you’ll know what I mean.

After a full day of biking and templemania, we kicked back with some other travellers for delicious street food at the Night Market and beers at another hostel.

 

*Pictures will be uploaded shortly!