Riding through the past II - Atravesando el pasado II

After a long day visiting the Old City of Sukhothai and a great night sleep at the Lotus Village, we were ready for our adventure of the day.  North of Sukhothai stand the ruins of Si Satchanalai.  Founded in 1250ad, they were the second major city of the Sukhothai Kingdom and residence of the Crown Prince of Siam through the 13 and 14 centuries.  It's design and construction are very similar to those in Sukhothai, but the great difference between them, is that Si Satchanalai is not as popular and visited, so enjoying a day walking through these incredible site, with almost no one around, is a luxury.

Carved design of Si Satchanalai Historical Park

Despues de un largo dia en las ruinas de Sukhothai y una buena noche de sueno en el Lotus Village estabamos listos para nuestra aventura del dia.  Al norte de Sukhothai estan las ruinas de Si Satchanalai.  Fundada en 1250ad, fue la segunda ciudad del reino de Sukhothai y residencia del Principe de la Corona durante los siglos 13 y 14.  Su diseno y construccion son similares a los de Sukhothai, pero la gran diferencia, es que Si Satchanalai no es tan popular ni visitada, por lo que disfrutar de estas increibles ruinas, sin gente alrededor es un lujo.

To get to Si Satchanalai, we had to travel 60km and there is a few ways to do the ride. No way were we walking or biking there and we didn't fancy taking a public bus - although this is a very easy option -, we just wanted to do it at our own pace .  So we had one other option; renting a motorcycle and driving all the way there and back.  For 300 bahts we got a brand new scooter at the Chopper Bar with a full tank.  Upon return you have to give it back with a full tank, just in case you are wondering, which is about 100 bahts.

Our great ride

Para llegar a Si Satahcnalai, teniamos q hacer 60km y hay varias formas para hacer el viaje. No ibamos a caminar ni a montar bicicleta, y no queriamos tomar el bus publico (que es muy facil) y ya que queriamos hacerlo a nuestro ritmo, nuestra mejor opcion fue alquilar una moto. Por 300 bahts, alquilamos una scooter, con tanque lleno ycasi nueva en el Chopper Bar.  Obviamente al regresarla hay q llenarle el tanque, que cuesta unos 100 bahts.

We left Suhkothai taking highway 1195 - the same one that goes to the Sukhothai Airport - and headed up north.  If you are renting a bike, I would recommend you to take this highway, instead of the 101, it is easier, prettier and carries a lot less traffic.  We went through rice paddies, wheat, tobacco and fruit fields in a never ending rainbow of greens. You pass Si Samrong, the airport, Sawankalok and then you'll come to the intersection with highway 1048. Here things could get a bit complicated, but there are a lot of signs (all along the way), that are very easy to follow.  So we just followed the signs and after about an hour - a bit more - we were entering the Si Satchanalai Historical Park.

Salimos de Sukhothai por la carretera 1195 - la misma que va al aeropuerto - con direccion norte.  Si piensan alquilar una moto, les recomiendo esta carretera en lugar de la 101, es mas facil, bonita y con mucho menos trafico.  Atravesamos campos de arroz, plantaciones de trigo, tabaco y frutas en un sin fin de tonalidades de verde.  Pasamos Si Samrong, el aeropuerto, Sawankalok y llegamos a la interseccion con la carretera 1048.  Aqui las cosas se podrian complicar un poco, pero hay muchas senales (todo el camino) muy faciles de seguir, asi que despues de poco mas de una hora estabamos entrando al Parque Historico de Si Satchanalai.

Since you enter the park you are overwhelmed by green. There is vegetation everywhere and small slopes around, which give the place a feeling of being a lot more in harmony with nature, than any other ruin site I have seen in Thailand.  Some of the ruins are still been claimed by the vegetation and some paths have even disappeared, which immediately raises your explorer excitement.  The park is huge (over 2,000sq km) so you better have an attack plan for it. We decided to go for the area within the wall first, as here is the biggest concentration of sites, and save the famous Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat for the end. 

Stupas, chedis, shrines and temples surrounded by vegetation everywhere

Apenas entrando al parque, ves que hay mucha vegetacion y pequenas colinas por todos lados, lo que da al sitio una enorme armonia con la naturaleza, mas que caualquier otras ruinas que haya visto en Tailandia. Algunas de las ruinas han sido cubiertas por la vegetacion y algunos senderos ya desaparecieron, lo cual eleva tu nivel de explorador.  El parque es grande (mas de 2,000km cuadrados) y es mejor tener un plan de recorrido. Decicimos ir primero por el area dentro de la muralla, ya que aqui esta la mayor concentracion de ruinas y dejar el famoso Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat para el final.

Wat Chedi Chet Thadeo

As I said before, the design of the city is very similar to the one in Sukhothai, you have an outer wall, surrounding the main palaces and temples, a great starting place.  So we drove into the central area through Dom Leam (northeast) Gate and headed for the middle of the middle. We parked our bike and headed on foot, to explore the eastern sites.  We began at Wat Chedi Chet Thadeo or, The Temple with Seven Rows of Chedis.  Here you can see different styles of chedis architechture, Pagan, Srivijaya and Sri Lankan.  Back then the temple was surrounded by a moat outside of the perimeter wall, which gave the impression as if you were on a small island.  An interesting fact of this temple, is that according to Prince Damrongrajanuphap, here is where the ashes of the Sukhothai Royal Family were kept.

Stupas holding the Royal Ashes

Como dije antes, el diseno de la ciudad es muy parecido al de Sukhothai. Tiene una muralla alrededor de los principales palacios y templos y entramos al area central por la Puerta Dom Leam (nor-este) y fuimos al centro del centro.  Dejamos la moto y recorrimos a pie los templos del lado este, comenzando por Wat chedi Chet Thadeo o el Templo con Siete Filas de Chedis.  Aqui se pueden ver diferentes estilos de chedi, Pagan, Srivijaya o de Sri Lanka. En aquella epoca, el templo estaba rodeado por un foso que daba la impresion de que uno estaba cruzando a una isla.  Algo interesante de este templo, es que segun el Principe Damrongrajanuphap, aqui se conservaban las cenizas de la Familia Real de Sukhothai.

Vihara columns and main shrine at Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Yai

Next, heading east, is the temple of Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Yai.  Maybe not as majestic as it may have been 700 years ago, but with a little bit of imagination, you can picture how it used to look with its vihara (Sanskrit and Pali term meaning; a secluded place in which to walk in) supported by 10 huge laterite columns.  Then, further east, walking towards the outer wall, we found the beautiful remains of the Wat Nang Phaya Temple and it's amazing Sri Lankan Chedi and the exterior faces of the vihara walls, which until today have remains of some very highly elaborated stucco in the artistic style of the Ayutthaya period

Sri Lankan chedi at Wat Nang Phaya

Un poco mas al este, esta el templo de Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Yai.  Tal vez no es tan majestuoso como debe haber sido hace 700 anos, pero con un poco de imaginacion, uno puede ver como debe haber sido con su vihara (termino en Sanscrito y Pali que significa; un lugar retirado para caminar) sostenido por 10 enormes columnas de laterita. Un poco mas al este, llegamos a las increibles ruinas del templo de Wat Nang Phaya, con su espectacular chedi (estilo de Sri Lanka) y sus paredes exteriores donde aun se pueden ver restos de grabados en alto relieve al estilo del periodo Ayutthaya.

Wat Nang Phaya

Across the road, we find three opposite temples, Wat Suan Keao Utthayan Noi, Lak Muangand Wat Udom Pa Sak, which in contrast to the three we just walked through, have been greatly covered by vegetation and have therefore a much more mystical feel about them. These were all minor temples or shrines, with Buddha images, maybe not as impressive as their neighbors across the road, as not much of them is still standing, but worth visiting and walking between them and through the vegetation. 

Wuat Suan Keao Utthayan Noi

Cruzando la pista, hay tres templos, Wat Suan Keao Utthayan Noi, Lak Muang y Wat Udom Pa Sak, los cuales a diferencia con los que acabamos de visitar, han sido en su mayoria cubiertos por la vegetacion y lo que les da un aura mas mistica.  Estos son unos templos menores, tal vez no tan impresionantes como sus vecinos, la verdad no queda mucho de ellos de pie, pero bien valen la pena la visita y caminar de uno a otro a traves de la selva.

After these first set of temples, we decided to head towards the southwest corner of the citadel and the mountain temples.  First we went to Wat Khao Suwankhiri, built on top of the Suwankhiri hill, where this temple holds an outstanding chedi, which provides an amazing view of the surrounding jungle and then, after following a path through the jungle, we came up to Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng.  Due to it's privileged location and view, one of the most famous temples in the area.  It has a very long set of steps that take you all the way to the top, which represents "getting closer to heaven" and therefore bringing your offerings and prayers, closer to the gods.

Despues de visitar este primer grupo de templos fuimos hacia la esquina sud-oeste de la ciudad y los templos en las montanas.  Primero visitamos Wat Khao Suwankhiri, construido sobre el monte Suwankhiri, el cual tiene un impresionante chedi desde donde se tiene una gran vista de la jungla que nos rodea.  Luego siguiendo una trocha a traves de la selva llegamos a Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng.  Gracias a su privilegiada ubicacion y vista, uno de los mas famosos del area. Tiene unas largas escaleras al lado principal, que te llevan hasta la cima, "acercandote al cielo" y por esto, trayendo tus ofrendas y rezos mas cerca a los dioses.

Sukhothai Noodles

By, now it was well after noon and we were getting very hungry, so we headed to some local restaurants in the area where we had some delicious Thai dishes and cooled down for a while, before we headed to the two must-see temples we still had in our list.  For under 300 bahts, we enjoy some famous and delicious Sukhothai noodles.  Made with rice noodles cooked in a sweet sour lime sauce with string beans, served with peanuts, roasted chicken, fat pork shoulder and crispy pork skin. Outstanding flavour. 

Ya habia pasado la hora de almuerzo cuando decidimos ir a un restaurante local a probar una delicia local antes de ir a los dos ultimos templos de nuestra lista.  Por menos de 300 bahts, probamos los Fideos Sukhothai.  Hechos con fideos de arroz cocinados en en una salsa dulce de limon con chauchas verdes, servidas con mani, pollo asado y carne y piel de cerdo fritas.  Increiblemente deliciosos.

Wat Chang Lom

So after lunch, we went to is Wat Chang Lom temple. Located in the centre of the old city, right next to Wat Chedi Chet Thadeo - the first one we visited - and east of the mountain temples. The most important feature of this temple is it's chedi.  This time it's not only big and impressive, but also decorated by 8 elephant sculptures on its front side, and 9 on the other three sides, plus one more in each corner, which makes a total of 39 elephant statues, supporting the chedi. Now, the really impressive thing about this statues, is their size, they are bigger than real life elephants, maybe such a magnificent design has something to do with the belief that this was the temple made by King Ramkhamhaeng in 1286ad where he dug up remains of Buddha, and where he performed a homeage to them, before reburying them under the chedi.

Elephant statues at Wat Chang Lom

Despues de almorzar, fuimos al templo de Wat Chang Lom. Ubicado en el medio de la ciudad antigua, junto a Wat Chedi Chet Thadeo (nuestro primer templo) y al este de los templos de las montanas.  Lo mas destacado de este templo es el chedi, que no solo es enorme, pero porque esta decorado con 8 estatuas de elefantes en su cara principal y 9 en los otros 3 lados y una mas en cada esquina, lo que hace un total de 39 estatuas sosteniendo el chedi.  Lo mas impresionante de estas estatuas, es que son mas grandes que un elefante de tamano real.  Tal vez, un diseno tan impresionante se deba a la creencia de que en este templo el rey Ramkhamhaeng, en 1286dc, desenterro unas reliquias de Buda, y les brindo una enorme ceremonia antes de enterrarlas nuevamente debajo del nuevo chedi.

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat

Bayon style Buddha image decorating the main entrance

The next temple we went to, was maybe the most spectacular of them all.  Wat Phra Sri 
Rattana Mahathat.  It's located on the eastern corner of the Si Satchanalai park, so we had to jump back on the bike and cover the 6km between the old city and the temple. From the moment you walk into it you are amazed.  In the entrance gate, you are welcomed by a decorative stucco in the best Bayon (in Angkor, Cambodia) style, and this together with some archaeological evidence found here, under two prior buildings, states that this temple was built before the Sukhothai Kingdom and talks about the already existing relations between the Khmer and Siam Kingdoms. 

Partial view from the stupa

According to some scholars, maybe before the 12th century during the times of Pho Khun Si Nao Tam Thun.   Once more the view you get when you climb the steep steps of the stupa is overwhelming, not only the design of the temple is pretty, but this, mixed with the surrounding fields and the running waters of the Yom River next to it, make it an incredible place. There is also a huge chedi built in Mon style from a different period than the shrine. Maybe one of the most amazing things we found in this temple, is a Buddha image in Maravijaya gesture (victory over Mara) in front of the main shrine.  

Main chedi at Wat Mahathat

El ultimo templo que visitamos fue Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, el mas espectacular del dia.  Esta en la esquina este del parque, asi que tuvimos que tomar la moto y recorrer los 6kms que hay entre los templos.  Desde que uno entra se queda maravillado. Te recibe un dintel decorado al mejor estilo de Bayon (ruinas de Angkor, Camboya), lo cual junto a restos arqueologicos encontrados, hablan de la temprana relacion entre estos dos poderosos reinos.  

Al escalar el gran chedi principal, la vista es espectacular, el diseno del templo mezclado con los campos, y el rio Yom hacen ver porque escogieron este lugar para el templo.  Ademas hay un chedi en estilo Mon (inusual en estas partes) y una imagen de Buda en posicion Maraviajya (victoria sobre Mara) frente al templo principal que redondean la importancia religiosa y popular del templo.

We walked through all the corridors of this temple, it's many chedis, shrines and images trying to pay attention to all the little details we hadn't seen before, different materials, walls, colours, this was definitely, the highlight of the day. But now it was starting to get late and we still had to drive all the way back to Sukhothai and enjoy a few, very well deserved, beers.



Caminamos a travez de los corredores, sus chedis, altares e imagenes, tratande de prestar atencion a los mas pequenos detalles, diferentes materiales, paredes, colores, estilos y las horas que pasamos ahi nos quedaron cortas.  Cuando nos dimos cuenta, ya estaba empezando a atardecer y aun habia que regresar hasta Sukhothai, a disfrutar de varias, bien merecidas cervezas heladitas.

Tomorrow, we will be taking the bus back to Bangkok, there are a couple of companies which have vip service, back to Mo Chit bus station for about 400 bahts.  It takes around 7 hours (meaning 10!), but it will definitely be enough time for us to absorb all we've seen this weekend and to start planning where our next adventure should take us.

Mon style chedi

Manana vamos a tomar el bus de regreso a Bangkok, hay un par de companias que tienen servicio vip hasta la estacion de Mo Chit por 400 bahts y sabiendo el trafico que nos espera entrando a Bangkok, vip es un gran lujo.  Se supone que nos demoramos 7 horas, osea 10, pero esto va a ser suficiente tiempo para absorber todo lo que hemos visto este fin de semana y para empezar a planear donde nos va a llevar nuestra siguiente aventura.





Some information about transportation used and places visited.
Si Satchanalai Park,  http://www.thaiwebsites.com/sisatchanalai.asp
Chopper Bar,  find it in Facebook as Chopper Bar

Riding through the past - Atravesando el pasado

About 700 years ago, in northern Thailand, existed the Kingdom of Sukhothai, the first capital of the Siam Empire.  This is a place I have wanted to go for a long time, and this weekend, finally I did.  This time, our legs took us out of Bangkok, and we went 400kms north, but not walking. There are quite a few ways to get there and Elaine and I decided to fly. 

Hace unos 700 anos, en el norte de Tailandia exisitio el Reino de Sukhothai, la primera capital del Imperio de Siam.  Este es un lugar al que quise ir desde que vine a Tailandia y este ultimo fin de semana, finalmente fui.  Esta vez, fuimos 400km al norte de Bangkok, obviamente no caminando, hay varias formas de llegar a Sukhothai y esta vez Elaine y yo decidimos volar.

Lotus Village

So we headed to Don Mueang airport and took an early AirAsia, one hour flight to Phitsanulok, from where a shuttle bus took us - in under an hour to Sukhothai. Probably the best decision we made, was to stay at Lotus Village.  Lotus Village is an extremely peaceful, wooden, Thai style, full of flowers, ponds and plants guesthouse, with extremely helpful staff and in a very convenient location.

Tomamos un vuelo mananero de una hora, con AirAsia, desde el aeropuerto de Don Mueang hasta Phitsanulok y de ahi conectamos con una van y en menos de una hora estabamos en Sukhothai. Problabemente la mejor decision que tomamos fue hospedarnos en el Lotus Village.  Un sitio muy tranquilo, construido en madera al estilo Thai antiguo, lleno de flores, estanques y plantas, con un staff excelente y en una ubicacion super adecuada.

Local bus ride to the historic park

After checking in and deciding what to do for the day, we were off.  The easiest way to get to the Historic Park is to walk down to Charot Withinthing Rd, heading west cross the bridge and 50mts after the 7/11 - on the left hand side - you will find a local bus stop, from where for 30 bahts and after 20 minutes, buses will drop you right in the heart of the park. Here you have two options - well three, but motorbikes were not an option for today - you can either walk, or rent a bicycle. The park has 5 sections: central, north, east, west and south, and we wanted to do it all. The central, northern and west sections cost 100 bahts per person, plus 10, 30 or 50 bahts for parking, per bicycle, motorcycle or car.  

Despues de registrarnos y decidir nuestro plan del dia, salimos.  La manera mas facil de llegar al Parque Hsitorico de Sukhothai es, caminar hacia el oeste por la calle Charot Withinthing, cruzar el puente y 50mt despues del 7/11 (a mano izquierda) llegamos al paradero de buses locales, que por 30 bahts y en 20 minutos te dejan en la entrada del parque.  Aqui tienes dos opciones - bueno tres, pero alquilar una moto hoy no estaba en los planes - puedes caminar o alquilar una bicicleta. El parque tiene 5 secciones; la central, norte, este, oeste y sur, y queriamos hacerlas todas. La central, norte y oeste cobran 100 bahts por persona y 10, 30 o 50 bahts mas por estacionamiento de bici, moto o carro. 

Buddha statue at Wat Mahathat

Surrounded by a 7.2km wall the central area is where we would start, with the main temples, ruins and palaces located here.  So, we decided to rent push bikes to cover more land and for 30 bahts a day per person this is a great option.  Once on our bikes we headed towards our first stop, Wat Mahathat. This amazing enclosure and its almost 200 chedis make it a very impressive sight.  It is said that this temple contains a hair and piece of neck bone of the Buddha himself, collected by King Lo Thai in Sri Lanka in the 14th century. Another incredible detail of this temple are the two 12mtr standing Buddha statues on both sides of the main chedi.

Rodeada por un muro de 7.2km el area central es donde queriamos empezar, ya que aqui estan los principales templos, palacios y ruinas.  Decidimos alquilar dos bicicletas para cubrir mas terreno y por 30 bahts cada una, esta es sin duda la mejor opcion.  Ya en nuestras bicis, fuimos hacia la primera parada, Wat Mahathat.  Este sorprendente recinto y sus casi 200 chedis son una vista impresionante.  Se dice que en este templo se encuentran un cabello y un pedazo del hueso del cuello del mismo Buda, recogidos por el rey Lo Thai en Sri Lanka en el siglo 14.  Otro impresionante detalle del templo, son las dos estatuas de 12mt de Buda - de pie - a cada lado del chedi principal.

 

We were completely absorbed and overwhelmed by the energy and peace of the ruins and were enjoying every single second since the start.  So without wasting any time, we headed towards Wat Si Sawai.  The most interesting thing about this temple is how much it looks like the temples of Angkor, Cambodia - both - architecturally and aesthetically.  It shows very clearly the strong influence that the Khmer Empire had in all the region for more than 5 centuries. 

Ya estabamos completamente absorbidos y sobrecogidos por la energia y la paz del sitio y estabamos disfrutando cada segundo, asi que in desperdiciar un minuto, continuamos hacia Wat Si Sawai.  Lo mas interesante de este templo es cuanto se parece a los templos de Angkor en Camboya, en cuanto a su arquitectura y estetica. Si Sawai, muestra claramente la fuerte influencia que el Imperio Khmer tuvo en la region por mas de cinco siglos.

Khmer influence at Wat Si Sawai

Image of walking Buddha

After Si Sawai and riding through some minor temples and ruins we arrived to Wat Thapangngern. There is not much to see here but a statue of Buddha and an unusual image of a walking Buddha to one of its sides.  The highlight of this temple is that it is surrounded by the Silver Lake and to get to it you have to cross a small bridge, which creates quite an awesome scenery.

 Chedi by the Silver Lake

Dejamos Si Sawai y atravesamos algunos templos y ruinas menores en camino a Wat Tahapangngern.  Aqui no hay mucho que ver ademas de una estatua de Buda y una muy inusual imagen de Buda caminando a uno de los lados, pero lo mas destacado del templo es que esta en una isla, rodeado por el Lago de Plata y para llegar a el hay que cruzar un pequeno puente y todo junto crea un panorama espectacular.

Closer to the northern wall there are two minor temples that are worth checking out; Wat Sorasak and Wat Song Khao.  Although they are a bit away from the main central area temples, it is this isolation which makes them a great and peaceful stop to have a snack and recharge your batteries. Wat Sorasak's most amazing feature are the 24 elephant heads supporting a stupa.

Cerca al muro norte hay dos templos menores, que bien valen la pena visitar; Wat Sorasak y Wat Song Khao.  Ambos estan un poco alejados de los templos principales, pero es este aislamiento lo que los hace una gran y pacifica parada, donde a la sombra de un enorme arbol puedes recargar baterias y descansar del fuerte sol.  Lo mas impresionante son las 24 cabezas de elefante de Wat Sorasak, soportando todo el peso de una gran estupa.

24 elephant heads supporting the stupa of Wat Sorasak

Khmer influence in Wat Phra Phai Luang

As we were on the northern area of the site, we took the Sang Luang gate and headed to Wat Phra Phai Luang. This is a temple of great significance, because its edifices, constructed through different periods, are proof of the evolution of the Sukhothai style.  Again, here you can see a Khmer influence which is proof of the strong relation between these two powerful empires.  A little bit to the west is Wat Si Chum and the outstanding 11.3mts statue of Buddha that it houses, which occupies the total space of the building containing it.  Something else very important about Wat Si Chum is that here the Wat Si Chum Inscription Stone was found, which tells the story of the foundation of Sukhothai.

Ya que estabamos cerca al area norte del sitio, tomamos la puerta Sang Luang y fuimos hacia Wat Phra Phai Luang.  Un templo de enorme importancia debido a que sus edificios, construidos durante diferentes periodos son muestra de la evolucion de estilo Sukhothai. Ademas, aqui tambien se ve la influencia Khmer, otra muestra de la fuerte relacion entre estos dos poderosos imperios.  Un poco mas al oeste esta Wat Si Chum y en su interior, la excepcional estatua de 11.3mt de Buda que ocupa todo el espacio del recinto en el que se encuentra.  Fue aqui donde ese encontro la piedra tallada de Wat Si Chum, cuyos grabados narran la historia de la fundacion de Sukhothai.

Buddha image at Wat Si Chum

Stone bridge at Wat Saphan Hin

There are quite a few other temples in the northern area, but they are all in ruins and therefore we decided just to ride through them while heading west, to the mountain temples.  The west area of the park, holds Wat Saphan Hin. A temple on a mountain top with an amazing view of Sukhothai's Old City and one of the most beautiful statues of Buddha, called Phra Attharot Buddha.  To reach the top of the mountain there is a 300mts path known as the "Stone Bridge". In a stone found in the temple, it says that King Ramkamhaeng would ride his white elephant to the top on full moon nights to present his respects to Buddha. 

Buddha image at Wat Saphan Hin

Los demas templos de la zona norte, se encuentran en ruinas y por eso decidimos simplemente atravezar el area dirigiendonos hacia la zona oeste y los templos de las montanas.  Aqui en la cima de una montana esta el templo de Wat Saphan Hin.  Este templo tiene una increible vista de la ciudad antigua de Sukhothai y una de las estatuas mas bonitas de Buda llamada, Phra Attharot Buddha. Para llegar a la cima, hay q seguir un camino conocido como el Puente de Piedras.  En una piedra hallada en este templo hay un grabado que cuenta que el rey Ramkamhaeng, subia al templo en su elefante blanco en noches de luna llena, para presentarle sus respetos a Buda. 

By now, it was well after noon and we needed to go get some food.  Close to our starting point we saw there were a few restaurants, serving some local delicious dishes.  It took us quite a bit of time to go through the run down chedis of the west and through the central area all the way to the east side of the site, but by the time we got there, our appetite was just right for us to sit down, relax and enjoy.  We had some delicious Gai Yang (grilled chicken), Som Tam Khai Kem (papaya salad with hard boiled egg) and Khao Niew (sticky rice), we repeated every single dish and downed it all with quite a few Leo beers.  Delicious. 

Ya habiamos pasado la hora de almuerzo y necesitabamos ir por algo de comer. Cerca a nuestro punto de partida, vimos algunos restaurantes donde servian platos locales y hacia alla nos dirigimos. Nos tomo un poco de tiempo, pero en el camino atravezamos templos, bosques, puentes, chedis en ruinas y la parte sur de la zona central, asi que cuando llegamos estabamos con el apetito adecuado para sentarnos, disfrutar y relajarnos.  Nos pedimos unos deliciosos Gai Yang (trozos de pollo dulce a la parrilla), Som Tam Khai Kem (ensalada de papaya con huevo duro salado) y Khao Niew (arroz glutinoso), repetimos cada plato y los bajamos con varias cervezas Leo. Para que mas?

Lotus flowers at Thra Phang Tra Kuan pond

The sun was starting to set and we still had one more temple we wanted to see, Wat Sa Si, maybe one of the most attractive monuments in the park. It is on a small island, surrounded by hundreds of lotus flowers in the Thra Phang Tra Kuan pond. It is not a big temple, but its beautiful main chedi in Singhalese style and the Buddha statue in the "calling the earth to witness" position make of it an incredible sight.  Besides - and to our surprise - in this temple, starting at 730pm there was going to be a performance telling the tale of the foundation of Sukhothai, together with a lights show and some fireworks.  So surrounded by a couple hundred of Thai and farang visitors, we sat down and enjoyed the show. Although it was impossible to understand, as all the narration is in Thai, the lightning and fireworks were quite impressive. 

El sol ya se empezaba a poner y aun habia un templo mas que queriamos ver, Wat Sa Si. Uno de los monumentos mas atractivos del parque.  Esta en una pequena isla en el centro del estanque Thra Phang Tra Kuan, rodeado de cientos de hermosas flores de loto.  No es un templo grande, pero su chedi principal, en estilo Singales y la estatua de Buda en posicion de "llamando a la tierra a ser testigo" lo hacen una vista en verdad espectacular.  Ademas - y para nuestra sorpresa - a las 730pm iba a haber un show, contando la historia de la fundacion de Sukhothai con show de luces y fuegos artificiales.  En este momento, ya estabamos rodeados de cientos de Thais y algunos pocos extranjeros, asi q nos sentamos a disfrutar del show.  Para nuestra mala suerte no entendimos nada ya que toda la narracion del show es en tailandes, pero las luces y los fuegos artificiales fueron impresionantes.  

Buddha image and chedi at Wat Sa Si

By the time the show ended and we handed back our bikes to the rental shop, it was almost 830pm and our only way to do the 12kms back to New Sukhothai town was by a 200 bahts tuk tuk ride.  As it started to rain on us we jumped on to our tuk-tuk and headed back, and this also gave us time to get back home, have a beer and think about our visit for tomorrow, to the Historical Park of Si Sat Chanalai, 60kms north, but that will be tomorrow.

Cuando el show tremino y devolvimos nuestras bicicletas ya eran casi las 830pm y la unica forma de regresar al Nuevo Sukhothai era en un tuk-tuk por 200 bahts.  Justo en ese momento empezo a llover fuerte, como siempre en Tailandia, asi que tomamos nuestro tuk-tuk y regresamos en menos de 15 minutos y esto nos dio mas tiempo para sentarnos a tomar una cerveza y pensar en nuestra visita de manana al parque historico de Sisat Chanalai. Pero eso sera manana.

Some information about the transportation used, historical park and places visited.
Lotus Village
Sukhothai Historical Park
Nokair

Walking around Chinatown & Little India - Caminando por el barrio chino y la pequena India

For thousands of years the Chinese have been exploring, settling, influencing and have become an active part of Asia's commerce and business life.  And their presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand can be seen everywhere.  In many cities of the world nowadays we can find a Chinatown area, and probably one of the most real - which keeps alive it's traditions and celebrations - is the Chinatown in Bangkok.  For the last 100 years (since October 15, 1915) Chinatown has been growing together with Bangkok. 

Durante miles de anos, la cultura china ha explorado, colonizado, influenciado y se ha convertido en un lider de la vida comercial de Asia.  Y su presencia en Laos, Singapur, Malasia, Vietnam y Tailandia se puede ver en cualquier lugar. Es mas, en muchas ciudades del mundo podemos encontrar un barrio chino y tal vez, uno de los mas reales, donde se mantienen vivas las tradiciones y costumbres, es el barrio chino en Bangkok. Desde el 15 de octubre de 1915, hace casi 100 anos, el barrio chino ha crecido junto con Bangkok.

Visiting Chinatown is definitely a mind blowing experience.  There is people everywhere!  Coming in and out of alleys which you might never notice, which end in hidden temples, flooded by incense smoke, or more alleys.  The strong smell from food stalls cooking typical delicacies is everywhere. Hundreds of motorcycles coming from every direction and delivery trolleys carrying the most unexpected goods between shops. Chinatown can make any day an incredible day.

Visitar el barrio chino es una experiencia unica.  Hay gente por todos lados, entrando y saliendo de callejones que ni te habias dado cuenta que estaban ahi, que terminan en templos escondidos, inundados por el humo de los inciensos, o en otros callejones.  El fuerte olor de los puestos donde se cocinan las delicias tipicas lo abarca todo.  Cientos de motocicletas fluyen en todas las direcciones posibles, igual que los cargadores, llevando los mas inesperados productos entre tiendas. En este barrio cualquier dia, puede ser un dia increible.

Wat Rajaburana

So, after deciding how we were going to submerge ourselves in this neighborhood, we made our way to the Memorial Bridge pier.  If you get to Chao Phraya river, no matter where, at any pier, just jump into one of the Orange Flag taxi boats and for 15 bahts you will get there. Easy!  Right next to the pier you will find the Memorial Park and right in front of it you will see Wat Rajaburana, also known as Wat Liab.  (For some weird reason i still don't understand, everything in Thailand seems to have two or three names).  The wat was built in the 15th century under the reign of King Sam Phraya and during the late 1700's it was the seat of the Head Monk Patriarch of the Thai Sangha (Buddhist Assmebly).  The temple deserves a visit, as it holds over 80 statues that were evacuated from Ayuthaya when the Burmese invaded the city in 1767. 

Entonces, despues de decidir como ibamos a sumergirnos en este barrio, fuimos en bote hasta el muelle del Memorial Bridge.  Desde cualquier muelle en el Chao Phraya te puedes tomar un bote de bandera naranja y por 15 bahts llegas. Facil.  Justo al lado del muelle esta el Parque Memorial y al frente se puede ver el Wat Rajaburana, tambien llamado Wat Liab. (Por alguna razon, que hasta ahora no entiendo, todo en Tailandia tiene dos o tres nombres). Fue construido en el siglo 15 bajo el reinado de Sam Phraya y en la segunda mitad de los 1700 fue el trono del Monje Patriarca del Thai Sangha (la Asamblea Budista). El templo merece una visita ya que contiene unas 80 estatuas que fueron evacuadas desde Ayuthaya cuando los burmeses invadieron la ciudad en 1767.

Continuing up into Chinatown itself, we decided to make a short detour and walked up north by Triphet Rd. into the Indian area, also known as Little India.
Not a very big area, but as it turned out, a very big surprise. First of all, people change.  Sikhs and Muslims now flow out from every corner and the language, the background music, the smells, the food, is different. After exploring the fantastic Pahurat Cloth Market, we found a small samosas stand on an alley on Chakraphet Rd. and next to an impressive Sikh Temple, Sri Guru Singh Sabha. The samosas and tikki (deep fried dumplings stuffed with potatoes) that Raspal Singh offers are outstanding.  For 8 bahts per bite you can delight in a delicious Indian combo, served with a delicious sweet sour sauce that will make you lick your fingers.

Continuando hacia el barrio chino, decidimos hacer un pequeno desvio por la calle Triphet hacia el barrio indio, conocido como la Pequena India. No es un area muy grande, pero si una gran sorpresa.  Primero porque la gente cambia. Sikhs y musulmanes salen de todas las esquinas y el lenguaje, la musica, los olores, la comida, todo, es diferente.  Despues de recorrer el mercado Pahurat encontramos un puesto de samosas (como unas empanadas) en un callejon, sobre la avenida Chakraphet y junto al Sri Guru Singh Sabha, un impresionante templo Sikh.  Las samosas y el tikki (frituras rellenas de papa) de Raspal Singha resultaron increibles, por solo 8 bahts (menos de un sol) por pieza puedes disfrutar un delicioso combo indio, servido con una deliciosa salsa agri dulce que va a hacer que te chupes los dedos.

Tikki, samosas & sweet sour sauce.

"Pet" crocodile

So, belly full after our snack, we headed towards something we really wanted to see. Next to Wat Chakkrawat, in a labyrinth of alleys, there is a small monk's residential area, where in a pond the monks keep, we had read, a very unusual pet.  A giant crocodile.  We were not only surprised to find this was true, but also by the size of this "pet".  He - or she - was almost the size of the pond! maybe 5mts long? When we wondered what they would be feeding this big fellow with, we realized...we hadn't seen any dogs or cats for a while.  Unfortunately there weren't any monks around to ask.

Con la barriga llena nos dirigimos hacia un destino que teniamos muchas ganas de ver.  Al lado de Wat Chakkrawat, en un laberinto de callejones hay un complejo residencial de monjes, donde en un pequeno estanque, los monjes tienen una inusual mascota.  Un cocodrilo gigante. Nuestra sorpresa no solo fue ver que esto era verdad, sino al ver el tamano de esta mascota.  El - o la - cocodrilo media unos 5mts.  Cuando nos pusimos a pensar en como alimentarian a tremendo animal, nos dimos cuenta, que en un buen rato, no habiamos visto perros ni gatos.  Para nuestra mala suerte no habia ningun monje a quien preguntarle.
  
Therefore we just kept on going finally into the heart of Chinatown.  So we took Sampeng Lane, once Chinatown's main road and now a mega street market lane. Here you can find anything you want and a lot that you don't want. Shops specialize in what they sell; plastic shoes, hair bobbles, belts, dried shrimp, pet stores (no crocodiles though), zippers, watches, coin purses, t-shirts, underwear, velcro, sweets, boxes, restaurants, plastic bags, pens, etc, etc, etc. No wonder that the Chinese community is a major part of the business in the city.  These lane alone, goes for more than 20 blocks full of stands, shops and walking sellers.  

Asi q decidimos seguir hacia el corazon del barrio chino.  Subimos por el pasaje Sampeng, una vez la calle principal del barrio convertida en un mega-mercado callejero, donde se puede encontrar absolutamente de todo.  Aqui las tiendas en verdad se especializan en lo que venden; zapatos de plastico, ligas para el pelo, correas, charqui de langostino, tiendas de mascotas (sin cocodrilos), zierres, relojes, monederos, polos, ropa interior, pega-pega, dulces, cajas, restaurantes, bolsas, lapiceros, etc, etc, etc.  No queda ninguna duda de porque la comunidad china es la tajada mas grande del mercado de la ciudad.  Solo este pasaje, tiene mas de 20 cuadras llenas de tiendas, puestos y vendedores ambulantes.

Dizzy and overwhelmed we walked out of Sampeng Lane, took a left into Itsaranuphap road and after only two blocks we got to the Talaat Kao, a 200 year old market, which has been acting as the central market and trading place of Chinatown.  A great place to discover the real cuisine of the Chinese.  Or to have a snake blood shot. Your call. Anyway, we are still full, so we decided to head towards Yaowarat Rd. then up to Charoen Khrung Rd. and pay a visit to the Leng Noi Yee Temple.  Built in 1871 and one of the most important temples for the Chinese community in Bangkok.  Here together with the regular services you can have your fortune told, make some merits, see funeral burning of paper cutouts offerings, or pray in a Confucian, Taoist or Buddhist altar.

Service at Leng Noi Yee Temple

Leng Noi Yee Temple

Mareados y abrumados salimos del pasaje Sampeng y doblamos a la izquierda en la calle Itsaranuphap con direccion al mercado Kao, un mercado que hace 200 anos de antiguedad actua como el centro de negocios del barrio.  Un gran lugar para probar la verdadera comida china, o un shot de sangre de serpiente, tu diras.  De cualquier manera, aun estamos llenos para cualquiera de las opciones asi que nos dirijimos hacia la calle Yaowarat y hasta la calle Charoen Khrung, para visitar el templo de Leng Noi Yee.  Construido en 1871 es uno de los mas importantes en Bangkok para la comunidad china.  Aqui ademas de los servicios regulares te pueden leer tu futuro, hacer meritos, ver la quema de ofrendas funerarias o rezarle a un altar Taoista, Confucianista o Budista.

China Gate

Wat Traimit

Now that we were in Chinatown's heart, there were still two places to visit before lunch.  So we headed down east on Charoeng Khrung Rd. until we reached the China Gate, also known as the Odeon Circle.  This is the mark of the limits of Chinatown. Then our second stop, although not Chinese, was in one of the most important temples in the city.  Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha, the world's largest solid gold Buddha statue. It is estimated that the statue was made during the Sukkhotai period (around the 13th or 14th century), it is 3mts tall and weighs over 5.5tons. The funny thing is that this golden statue was discovered by accident - when it was being moved to it's new location, one of the ropes snapped and the statue fell on the ground, then the plaster cover chipped showing the golden interior.  In 1935 the statue was settled in the old Wat Traimit building and since 2010 it rests in it's actual residence, making of Wat Traimit, one of the most visited temples in Thailand. The estimated cost of the statue is US$250 million, so at 40 bahts for entry fee, this Wat and the statue are very worth the visit. 

Ahora que ya estabamos en el centro del barrio chino, fuimos a ir a visitar dos sitios antes del almuerzo.  Asi que bajamos hacia el este por la calle Charoeng Khrung hasta llegar al Porton Chino, tambien conocido como el Circulo de Odeon. Esta estructura es la que marca el limite este del barrio chino.  Nuestra segunda parada, aunque no es china fue en unos de los templos mas importantes de la ciudad.  Wat Traimit, el templo del Buda de Oro, la estatua de Buda mas grande de oro solido en el mundo.  Se cree que fue construida durante el periodo Sukhotai (entre los siglos 13 y 14), tiene 3mts de alto y pesa mas de 5.5 tons.  Lo curioso es que esta fue descubierta por accidente - cuando la estaban llevando a su nueva locacion, una de las cuerdas se rompio y la estatua cayo al piso, esto causo que la cobertura de yeso se rompiera mostrando el interior dorado.  En 1935 la estatua se coloco en el antiguo edificio de Wat Traimit y desde el 2010 descansa en su actual residencia, esto hace que Wat Traimit sea uno de los templos mas visitados de Tailandia.  El costo estimado de la estatua es de unos US$250 millones, asi que por 40 bats la entrada, vale la pena.

Moo Satay with peanut sauce, sweet salad and toasts.

Now, to finish the day we headed for a local delicacy for lunch.  This is kind of two restaurants in one.  On one side you have Chongki Moo Satay (pork skewers) which come with a delicious peanut sauce and a mix of sweet cucumber, onion and chilli and the optional - and highly recommended - side order of toasts.  On the other side you have Khao Moo Dang Sri Morakot, this is also pork, but you can get 3 kinds of pork; bbq, fried or pork sausage, or the 3 of them mixed together.  The serving comes with rice and just like the skewers, it is delicious.

Khao Moo Dang 

Para terminar nuestro recorrido fuimos a un restaurante local para almorzar. Mas bien dicho a dos restaurantes en uno solo.  En un lado, Chongki Moo Satay, sirven una brochetas de cerdo con una deliciosa salsa de mani y una ensalada de pepino, cebolla y aji dulces y como opcion - muy recomendada - se acompanan con tostadas.  Al otro lado esta Khao Moo Dang Sri Morakot, aqui la estrella tambien es el cerdo, pero tienes 3 opciones a escoger; bbq, frito o chorizo de cerdo, o una mezcla de los tres.  Se sirven con arroz y al igual que las brochetas es delicioso.

After lunch, we walked towards the Hua Lamphong train/subway station (officially  called Krungthep station), taking a little walk through the station.  This is Thailand's main train station and from here you can take a train across the country or to Malaysia, Myanmar and even Singapore.  It was opened in 1916 and it is built in an Italian Neo-Renaissance style.

Despues de almorzar, caminamos hacia la estacion de tren y subterraneo de Hua Lamphong (oficialmente llamada estacion Krungthep) y decidimos darle una vuelta.  Esta es la estacion principal de tren de Tailandia y desde aqui se puede tomar un tren a cualquier punto del pais o a Malasia, Myanmar (Burma) o Singapur.  Se inauguro en 1916 y es una pieza del estilo neo renacentista italiano.

Hua Lamphong train station

Maybe next time, I will take a trip from Hua Lampong to inspire my next exploration.  I will let my legs decide.

Tal vez la proxima vez, hare un viaje desde Hua Lamphong para inspirar my proxima aventura.  Que mis piernas decidan.