it's a sunny day

When we left off, I had had a crap morning in Sukhothai involving little sleep, ample insect bites, prickly heat and slipping in the mud! I decided to start over (having already visited the temples inside the walls,) and went to the museum. The museum was cooler, and even had a fan here and there. And I met a guide named At at the museum who interpreted things and then I hopped on the back of his motorbike and had another go at the day, visiting the temples outside of the city wall. This second attempt was much better than the first.

This is a ditch between the huge old city walls.


There are three walls, and the openings are staggered just like that cartoon documentary about the castle that I watched a hundred times in elementary school (and never tired of it.)

And now that I'm in the mood to appreciate life again, hail the low season! Praise empty guesthouses, cheap rooms, and being the *only* person (save At) at every temple I visited all day, including the part of the day where I was cranky and horrible and not in the mood to praise anything.











This is a much longer, steeper climb than it looks. Trust me.






The tone of the pictures is no different, but I assure you I was a much happier person!

Just one of those days

Sukhothai is the old capital of Thailand, before Ayutthaya, which was before Bangkok. I wanted to visit some old temples, so I took a bus from Chiang Mai.

I had trouble sleeping my first night in Sukhothai. Somehow I've managed to get more mosquito bites in the last couple of days than I've had since I came here. And prickly heat--on my arms! I've had prickly heat twice before, but both times it was on a (sun or exhaust pipe) burn. This time, it's just my arms! And it's disgusting!

And I woke up really early so that I could be at the gate to Sukhothai Historical Park right when it opened at 6:30. And I was, cranky as all hell. Here's a bunch of pictures:











Smile for posterity--not because I feel it.








I was hungry, itchy, sweaty, hot and prickly heated. I visited all of the temples inside the city walls, and a few to the north. And then I slipped and fell in the mud. After that, I thought it best to retire my cranky ass to my guesthouse.

I showered, ate (oh, yeah! I always forget how important eating is until I'm having a crap day!) changed out of my muddy clothes and ventured to the museum on the park grounds to have another go at the day. I'll show you how it turned out tomorrow.