At this point of the trip, I was pretty much in love with Thailand. The country was more than I have ever imagined. I wanted to stay for a long time in order to explore more and more. Therefore, it was really exciting to visit the place considered the origin of this fantastic kingdom. I am talking about Sukhothai, sometimes described as the first capital of Thailand.
This was the center of the great Sukhothai kingdom which lasted from 1238 to 1583. This monarchy controlled parts of present day Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
- King Ramkhamhaeng Statue
Copy of Ramkhamhaeng stele
The kingdom flourished during the reign of the third monarch. He is known as Ramkhamhaeng the Great. He is credited with the creation of the Thai alphabet and the establishment of the Theravada Buddhism as the official religion of the empire. What is known about the life of this king comes from the Ramkhamhaeng stele. This is a piece of stone inscribed with epic stories about Sukhothai and its kings. The original was found in Wat Mahathat which was the principal temple in the old capital. The original stone is located at the National Museum in Bangkok.
The surprising part of this entire story is that many scholars believe that the inscribed stone was created with political purposes in the 1800s. If the inscriptions are not original, then nothing is really known about the Sukhothai period. When I was in Thailand, none of this information was provided by my guide. I found about this later. It is interesting to see how in Thailand it is punishable to talk against the past and present monarchs. One time my guide was asked a question about the age of the current queen. She responded the questions. The person who made the question said that the photos of her all around the country were showing a much younger queen. My guide agreed and said that they have to use old pictures because the queen has undergone a lot of plastic surgery and her face does not look normal anymore. After saying that, she asked us not to talk about what she commented (specially with other Thais). The guide also discussed how it is not permitted to watch or posses movies like Anna and the King. It is believe that this movie (and others) denigrates the image of Thai royals. My guide saw the movies because her clients from Europe and the United States have sent her the DVDs. I find all this very interesting.
Chedi at the Historical Park
My husband and me in front of Wat Mahathat
Chedi and Buddha
The Sukhothai Kingdom wasn’t a dominant power for very long. Once Ramkhamhaeng died, many parts of the kingdom started to break away. What was left, submitted to the prevailing Ayutthaya (which is Thailand’s second capital).
Ruins of Wat Mahathat, the main temple in the complex
Buddha Statue
What is left of the old capital is located about 6 miles (12 km) from the more modern Sukhothai. The remains of the one glorious empire headquarters are now ruined and have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have read that there are 193 ruins in the area. There is even a ruined temple behind the hotel where we stayed. We had a guided tour of the most important sights and then we explored by bicycle.
Buddha Detail
Buddha Statue, the fire over the head is typical Sukhothai style
Since I learned about Thailand’s first capital, I wanted to visit. That is one of the reasons I chose this trip route over others. A lot of companies skip Sukhothai and visit other areas in northern Thailand. As I have said before, I love history and ruins. I felt very blessed with the opportunity to discover the place where this beautiful country has roots.
This post includes pictures of my guided tour. Next, time I will show pictures of the areas we explored by bike.
View of the main temple
Ruined temple columns
Sukhothai Historical Park
See you next time. Remember to like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.
Wow, great information about the queen. Didn’t realize that Thais held royalty in such high regard that they couldn’t talk about some of the changes or couldn’t accept anything that portrayed an image that they didn’t like. This type of information and history is the stuff I love about travel!
Jeremy B recently posted..Passenger Bill of Rights expanded in 2011
Jeremy,
I am not exagerating when I say that Thais treat royalty like kings. Probably, the current king deserves some of that devotion. He has helped his people way to much. Another interesting thing is that they do not like Tiger Woods even though his mom is Thai. One time, he went to see the king in a sport outfit and people thought this was a complete disrespect.
Ruth recently posted..Papillon Photos- Luzhi Water Town- China
Great photos, I love Sukhothai and learning more about Thailand’s fascinating history.
Yes, great place. I visit places like this every day and would never get tired.
Ruth recently posted..Cicadas and the Holy Week
Beautiful! Large stone buddhas are my favorite things to see!
Grace recently posted..The Philosophy behind Solo Travel
There are a lot in Sukhothai. You now they are Sukhothai style because of the fire over their heads.
Ruth recently posted..31 Symptoms of Travel Obsessed People
These are gorgeous photos of Thailand. I have always wanted to go. Thanks for the great post.
Lisa recently posted..The Baltic Sea A Leisure Destination
Hopefully, one day you would make it. I want to go back and discover new places.
Ruth recently posted..Thailand’s Blue Tiger- Day 8 Scene 2
I missed this on my last trip to Thailand – next time.
Well, one great excuse to go back.
Ruth recently posted..Papillon Photos- Luzhi Water Town- China
Wow – what a fascinating place to visit. Great photos, Ruth. Really like the one of you and your husband. Very nice.
Cathy Sweeney recently posted..Croque Monsieur et Moi
Thanks Cathy. It is difficult to have good pictures of the two of us together. Almost every time we asked somebody to take a picture, they end up cutting our headsm bodies or the background.
Ruth recently posted..Most Incoherent and Shameful Things I Have Heard in my Travels
This bring me so many good memories of my time in Ayutthaya in Thailand. It is similar to Sukhothai, full of temples and ruins. How I love it! Great background info and pics!
Norbert recently posted..Tela- you tricked me!
I did a brief visit to Ayutthaya. Want to go back and explore more. I thought we were going to have a guided tour but not. One of those surprises you get when traveling on a tour.
Ruth recently posted..Papillon Photos- Luzhi Water Town- China