| Page Views: 3,889 Last Visit to Sukhothai: April, 2006 | Temples and Monks by thedouglas - last update: Aug 25, 2006 |
Kingdom with history woven with myth & fact | Colourful little ensemble |
This old city is now listed with UNESCO as a world heritage site - and, thankfully, preservation of remaining artefacts is a high priority. Headless Buddha images are a very sad and all too frequent sight in Asia.
The grandeur of Sukhothai dates from the rule of Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng the Great, in the 13th century. As well as being credited as a mighty ruler, who expanded the kingdom in all directions, he is also recognised as the inventor of the current Thai alphabet. A number of stones are testament to the evolution of this script, maintained and displayed in the museum.
This king is also attributed with supernatural power, and said to have turned opposing Khmer soldiers into stone. |
|  | Well walled in its heyday The old town was surrounded by three layers of city walls - which were separated by moats - evidence of which can still be seen today. Interpretations of the early script on surviving stone tablets, suggested that the wall was referred to as "tri pura" - and many of the towns built in the Sukhothai region featured this three layered wall system - and moats. |
| Buddha in walking posture |
| | The Historical Park of Muang Sukhothai The park is divided into 5 groups of surviving monuments, with roughly 125 to see. They are separated as those within the city walls, outside the north, south, east and west walls (4). The latter are much more expansive, and consist of monuments located on hills and on the surrounding plains.
Sukhothai's power lasted for about 200 years, and the area is not overly expansive, but the contribution of this settlement is significant, for the development of the current Thai language, as well as having established a well preserved Buddhist architecture and artistic style. |
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| Pros: | "Well preserved archeological evidence of the "golden era"" | | Cons: | "Looting and environmental damage prior to the current preservation efforts" | | In A Nutshell: | "A formative contributor to modern Thailand" |
thedouglas' Sukhothai Travel Tips
 thedouglas' Sukhothai Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for thedouglas about Sukhothai | | | | |
Goldenboy Wed Feb 18, 2009 02:52 UTC
agree on your tourist traps here. i had the same experience too. and problem is english was not available. grrrrhhhh .... | Jim_Eliason Wed Oct 1, 2008 14:05 UTC
Great tips! | roamer61 Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:33 UTC
Wonderful place. good pics and informative tips. | mavl Sat Jun 23, 2007 18:52 UTC
i haven't even done that myself, a little bit more scary to be with a big naked turkish man, haha! |
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- Pailyn
10/2 Moo 1, Jarodvithithong Rd., Muangkao, Amphur Muang, Sukhothai
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