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