Thailand: Sukhothai

In Ayutthaya we lugged our stuff over to another hostel where we were told to meet some other people for a ride to the bus station. We still didn't really know what was going on, but we were handed our bus tickets without paying for them. Part of me thinks that is what the stickers were for but by this time we didn't have those anymore. Somehow, someone there knew we had already paid for our transportation at the TAT office. So we loaded onto the bus and found that the girls that had showed up on the floating house were there too. As we made our way on the charter bus the sun began to set and it seemed to me that were going the wrong direction. I sat there trying to get my bearings for a while when I said something to Dayton. He didn't really seem to care but I started to flip out. I was so afraid that we'd be going back to Bangkok, my least favorite city. I finally asked one of the girls on the bus where they were going and sure enough, we were all going to Sukhothai. We got to Sukhothai and all loaded up in the back of a truck to get a ride into the city. There was one girl in our truck that got dropped off in the country side, she was traveling alone. We never saw her again. The rest of us went to the center of Sukhothai. We found our hostel and settled in for our stay. We spent a couple days in Sukhothai, we rented bikes and rode around more ruined temples. It is very similar to Ayutthaya but in my opinion, Sukhothai is better. The entrance fees are cheaper, it's much quieter and there are fewer people. We had a relaxing time there. In one of the sections of Wats, we parked our bikes and played frisbee on the grass. Some of the tourists driving by seemed to be more interested in us than in their surroundings. We also ran into the girls again. We found out they are Canadian and we took a group photo for them on their bikes. It was inspiring to wander the ruins of Sukhothai and breathtaking to behold stone Buddha's that stand taller than my house. I wondered how they would have made such massive figures so many hundreds of years ago. Some of these statues still had incense burning in front of them. People still flocked their to perform religious rites. I also met a photographer from China there. We walked around together for a while and had a good conversation about our travels. One of the greatest things about traveling is not the things you see but the people you meet. This complete stranger and I became instant friends simply because I knew his language. Another great thing about Sukhothai is the variety to the architecture and designs of the Wats. We found one that had an elephant theme and others with many figures of the Buddha. The only way to really experience this awe inspiring place is to go there yourself. Spend a couple days wandering the clear open spaces and admire the beautiful architecture. It's worth every penny.