Friday 9 December 2011

Sufferin' Sukhothai



Like the high-profile temples and tombs of Egypt (and pretty much all the temples in Bali), much of what you see in the Sukhothai Historical Park has been reconstructed in the last few decades, in the interest of nicer photos and not getting sued by clumsy American tourists falling over stuff.

Would you rather walk around crumbling, perilous, dilapidated ruins? I would, actually. That sounds great. Fortunately, you can still find plenty of these when you stray from the pack into fields of overgrown grass and barbed wire.


Sukhothai Historical Park
(อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์สุโขทัย)




This is the main bit, and where most of the effort has been put in. It does look pretty nice. It can be hard to keep track of things in this labyrinth (especially when you're too cheap to rent an audio guide), but I'll try to check off everything. I hope you like Buddhas.


Wat Mahathat



Seated Buddha #1



I wasn't aware that gaudy self-grooming was a Buddha characteristic though



Seated Buddha #2 + moat



Seated Buddha #3 (Phra Achana - who needs a guide?)



Alright, so I don't know what that is.
But I can still appreciate the jagged geometry



Doc-off, standing, bricked-in Buddha



City Pillar Shrine



Nice, furry columns (roof not included)



Three big bells (I'm really letting the research wane these days)


Wat Si Sawai






More nice, jagged things (and some pigeons)



Taking photos inside old ruins reminds me of my ghost-hunting days



Oh look, there's one



Look at that - people dumping their Buddha images and valuables here, with no respect for the heritage or environment. Makes me sick. Especially the green one



Cheeky rear shot. Wait a minute...



Are those people? Watching me? I didn't realise until I looked at this photo.

I'm never carefully editing through photos again - recklessly uploading memory card contents to Flickr is the way to go


Other wats and things



Wat Sa Si



Wat Chana Songkhram gets a good clean



Wat Tra Kuan looks a lot like a bell



This also looks a lot like a bell, because it is



Monument of King Ramkhamhaeng, seemingly constructed by Gerry Anderson 
(if I accomplish nothing more in life than occasionally encouraging people to waste their afternoons with childhood TV nostalgia, I'll be satisfied)



Noen Prasat - a platform for nothing



Wat Sarasak and Wat Son Khao

(I think? I only have an unreliable tourist map to work with, and this seems the closest match. Just don't base your essays on my poorly researched blogs, alright?)



Okay, no idea what this one is. Another nice bell



And here, ladies and gentlemen, are some non-descript ruins



Wat Khao San. Doesn't look much like the Khao San I remember...



That's more like it