Sukhothai Historical Park and Wat Phra That Lampang Luang

This weekend my study abroad group took us on a trip to Sukhothai with some cool stops along the way. I'm going to be totally honest, I had no idea what Sukothai was or what we were going to be doing there until I got in the van to leave Saturday morning. And it was awesome! I didn't have to plan anything I just showed up with my stuff for the weekend- stress-free! Not that traveling here is super stressful because it's pretty relaxed but it's really nice to have everything planned out for you and you just have to show up! That's my kind of travel!
Anyways, about halfway through the 5-hour drive to Sukhothai, we stopped at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. This is one of the most respected temples in Thailand. According to a legend, the Buddha came to this very temple more than 2,500 years ago and donated a hair which is buried underneath the chedi found at the temple.

Tile floors

The Chedi that the Buddhas hair is buried underneath

You have probably noticed a lot of the pictures of temples that I have posted have snakes at the entrance. These are called Nagas. They are supposed to be the connection from heaven to earth and also protect the Buddha statues from harm.

We arrived at our hotel around 2 and checked in and got changed for our biking adventure. Of course, the weather was the hottest its been since we have been here- about 92 degrees. Regardless I was still excited to check out Sukhothai and all the temple ruins.

Sukhothai was once the capital of the first Kingdom of Siam way back in the 13th century until the 15th century. The park that we rode bikes through with all kinds of ruins is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was amazing! One of my favorite things I've done in Thailand so far. There are so many beautiful things and places to see in this country it blows my mind.
Sukhothai reminded me a lot of the pictures I have seen of the Angkor Wat in Cambodia but a much smaller scale. Angkor Wat is definitely on my bucket list while I am here so it made me much more excited to try to make that happen. The ruins themselves were gorgeous, I can't imagine seeing this place in the 13th century when it was first built it must have been amazing.

After our bike ride, we went back to the hotel where we had dinner- a buffet with Thai food and American food. I have never been so excited to eat french fries and spaghetti in my life! We also had some group activities followed by Karaoke!

Sunday morning we got to give alms to the monks. You would place a food item in their container and wai (bow) to them. It was a really cool thing to get to be a part of. Monks are very important and highly respected in Thai culture.

Later we went to the Ramkhaeng Nation Museum which was full of artifacts from the Sukhothai ruins when they were excavated by local archaeologists.
We also stopped at the Sathorn Gold Textile Museum to have a look around! All the fabrics are so beautiful here!

And that was it! Another quick weekend!

Aubrey :)