Friday, Nov 11 - Sukhothai

First stop today was the Sukhothai Historical Park.  Sukhothai (which means “Dawn of Happiness”) was the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13^th and 14^th century in Northern Thailand.  During that time they built a walled city, complete with moat, and many temples.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and feels a lot like Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

The grounds included lots of flowers and lily ponds...

and sprawling grounds.  Some tour groups were getting around on bicycle...much easier and faster.

And there were a huuuuugh number of temples.

The first major temple was Wat Mahathat. 

Then we stopped at Wat Si Sawai.

The Wat Traphang Ngoen temple was built on an island and is reached by a wooden foot bridge.

Next was Wat Sa Si (the temples are beginning to look a little bit alike).

This one was also beside a lovely lily pond with a picturesque bridge.

Wat Si Chum was outside the main wall and had a very large sitting Buddha.  From a distance it looked rather bug-eyed because the white on the eye lid had worn off.  From a distance it looked like the eyes were wide open (and sort of startled).

-----------------------------------
More photos of Sukhothai
-----------------------------------

Last temple of the day, Wat Saphan Hin, was outside the old city walls and required a long hike up a stone pathway to the top of the hill.  Great views.  The temple was fairly small, particularly compared to the others we have seen, and not particularly special from a tourist's perspective.  

That evening we went back to the park to see the illuminations for the celebration of the Loi Krathong festival.  Everyone was out in force and there were lots of vendors selling food and also floating floral votive candles (krathongs).

Worshipers light the votive candles, say a prayer and release them into the various ponds around the ground.

There was a large memorial to the late Thai King...

and lots of oil lanterns everywhere.

------------------------------------------------------------
Watch video of the  Loi Krathong festival. 
------------------------------------------------------------


We enjoyed the entire experience.  It was visually beautiful, reeked of history and had a serene and peaceful feel about it.