Sukhothai, Thailand

It feels like I’ve been in Thailand for ages, despite it only being our third day here. On Tuesday we left Bangkok behind and took the train to Phitsanulok which took about six hours. We were a bit disapointed that the glass in the windows had a black mesh layer in the middle which made it really difficult to see anything, but the seats were comfortable and there was food included in the journey. The only really horrible part was the toilets, but I’ve survived!

I felt really overwhelmed when we arrived at Phitsanulok. Maybe part of it was to do with getting not much sleep, as my body still hasn’t completely adjusted to the time zone, and because it was so busy and confusing. We walked to the bus stop as we needed to get to New Sukhothai and were very thankful to find an English guy who knew which bus to get as the place names are in Thai writing and there was a lack of timetables. It was such a relief to get to the guesthouse after trying to navigate our way through unfamiliar cities in the heat of the afternoon.

The guesthouse is so beautiful. (Ban Thai, New Sukhothai) We stayed in a little wooden bungalow, with a comfortable bed and a clean bathroom with a hot shower! There was a restaurant area under cover and it has a very alternative feel to it. The area with the bungalows was surrounded by gardens and quite hippy-ish in a way. It was all very fun apart from in the night when there was a lot of rustling and scratching around the windows and roof, and I was slightly worried about whatever it was getting in. We weren’t sure whether it was a monkey, although there were also lots of cats at the guesthouse, but it was making a lot of noise! Eventually it went away and we went to sleep.

Today we went to old Sukhothai to see the temples. It was really amazing. Lots of Budhas and huge Wats with beautiful lakes with pink waterlilies. We got up just after six am and got to the temples fairly early so we were lucky to get beautiful photos without crowds of people in the way. It started off feeling quite cool but by mid morning it was very hot. Anyway I’ve really enjoyed today and getting to know the real Thailand because we both hated Bangkok. Although the people are nice there its pretty grim and I couldn’t get any positive feelings from the place. When we visited Koah San Road that felt more relaxed but it was just a tourist bubble.

People live in theses amazing wooden houses here and its been so interesting to see a different way of life. They are also really friendly and helpful. We came back to New Sukhothai this afternoon and took some photos of the streets and the caotic sense of travel. Which reminds me, we went on a Songthaw today, which is like a truck with open sides and bench seats so that was a fun experience. When we came back from the temples loads of school kids got on and I was amazed they could fit so many people in this vehicle.

Later tonight we are going to get the train north to Chiang Mai, which I’m looking forward to. We arrive at 5.35am! Anyway it should be good. Will write more then.