Saturday morning I slept in until 8:00am.  I had an American breakfast at the guest house (fried eggs, the smallest piece of bacon known to man, ham, a hot dog, toast, real butter, coffee and juice).  Oh how I miss butter and enjoyed the heck out of buttered toast.  Then I got on the motor bike and braved the highway again to go to the Old City.

Here’s what Lonely Planet has to say about Sukhothai:  “The Sukhothai kingdom flourished from the mid 13th century to the late 14th century.  This period is often viewed as the golden age of Thai civilization, and the religious art and architecture of the era are considered to be the most classic of Thai styles.  Sukhothai is typically regarded as the first capital of Siam, although this is not entirely accurate.  Sukhothai’s dynasty lasted 200 years and spanned 9 kings.  The most famous was King Ramkhamhaeng, who reigned from 1275 to 1317 and is credited with developing the first Thai script”.

There are ruins everywhere in the old City.  I went to the main part which is the Sukhothai Historical Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  They suggested you rent a bike and ride around, but I took my time and walked through the park.  Most of the morning, I just felt at peace, a feeling I haven’t felt in awhile.  Ok, so apparently, I just want to be a tourist and travel around seeing cool sights.  By 1:00, this peacefulness had changed drastically. I was agitated, very unhappy, and physically uncomfortable.  I have no idea why.  So, I went to get lunch and drink some water.  I drove around on the motorbike looking at more ruins that were on the map, but outside the park.  There were some ancient kilns so being a potter, I decided I wanted to see those.  They were unimpressive, but I ended up in the middle of a herd of cows being moved from one place to another.  That was odd and cool.  I got lost a few times looking for other ruins.  By now, the general distaste for life had not faded so I decided maybe it was time to call it a day on the sight seeing.  There is a pottery museum that I didn’t get to.  I’d love to see that and will have to make that my focus next time I go.

I looked for a Tesco on google maps, but couldn’t find one.  It’s kind of like a Walmart and there were things I needed like a pillow case, office supplies, a cutting board, etc.  I did drive by a Big C and remembered that was similar.  I went it and got a bunch of stuff, way more than I could put in my backpack.  Well, I’ve seen a family of 4 on a motorbike.  I’ve seen a dining room table on a motorbike.  Surely I can get a pillow and 3 bags of stuff to my guest house on a motor bike.  I had so much trouble in the parking garage just getting the motorbike backed up and the bags kept falling.  The garage attendant came over and hung the bags from the rear view mirrors for me.  I made it back to the guest house, but it was sketchy.

I went to a pizza place with the other teachers that live in Sukhothai and their neighbors, about 12 expats.  It was great to have a real pizza and to have a normal conversation in English.  I was a bit jealous as it seems they are quite enjoying living in Sukhothai.  After dinner I went and got a massage.

Today I got up, ate breakfast, refilled the motor bike with gas and took off to the bus station.  I managed to say ba tan cu an (entrance to the dam) correctly and get on the right bus.  When my stop was getting closer, I pulled out google maps just in case they forgot that’s where I needed to stop.  They remembered and one of the guys on the bus came and got me to tell me my stop was coming up.  The stop is on the side of the highway so that was weird.  The bus trip, with stops was about 2 hours – not bad.  After the bus pulled away, I saw the taxi stand that I doubted would actually exist.  I was able to say long rien sam ngao wit. (sam ngao wit school).  I’m carrying a decent sized heavy overpacked backpack, a purse, a pillow and two bags of groceries and I’m going to get on the back of a motor bike.  The taxi driver put the pillow and groceries in between his feet and I sat sideways on the back.  I had one hand on his shoulder and the other with a death grip on the back of the bike.  A half an hour of this going 80kmph with no helmet.  My legs hurt so bad, but I didn’t dare adjust the way I was sitting.  This is the most terrifying thing I have experienced yet in Thailand.  Talk about no control.

Well, home safe and sound.  I feel a little better about living here knowing I can take weekend trips without a ton of hassle.  Ok, now the ridiculous amount of photos and a cow video:

(c) all rights reserved Kimberly Fiore