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sukhothai in sepia

filtered ruins

Wat Mathatat

Wat Mahathat

Sukhothai Historical Park, a World Heritage Site located halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, doesn’t have the awe-inspiring grandeur of Angkor Wat or convenient proximity of Ayutthaya, but neither does it have the slew of tourists that visit both those sites.  Instead, crumbling temples built in the 14th century rise out of the manicured lawns, blanketing the area in an aura of peace and serenity.  To change things up, we used a sepia filter on these pictures which brings out the subdued red-gray tone of the bricks.

Buddha in trees

Buddha among trees at Wat Traphang Tong

Wat Mahathat Buddha Buddha at Wat Mathatat
Serene Buddha at Sukhothai Buddha at Wat Mahathat

Buddha at Wat Mahathat

Elephants on post

Elephants on base of stupa

Buddha at Wat Mathatat Buddha feet at Sukhothai

Buddha feet at Wat Mahathat

Moldings at Sukhothai

Nagas and devas carved into stone

Wat Si Siwai at Sukhothai

Wat Si Siwai

Wat Si Chum Buddha Wat Si Chum Buddha hand
Wat Si Chum hand Wat Si Chum Buddha

Immense 15 meter (50 feet) tall Buddha at Wat Si Chum

Sukhothai from afar

Sukhothai Historical Park from afar

Details

We highly recommend a stay at Sila Resort/Phuaroon Resort (owned by the same family) in Sukhothai.  For 500 baht ($17 USD), we stayed in a stunning wood bungalow with air conditioning, a huge en-suite bathroom, and our own balcony.  We were within a two minute walk to the bus station and a five minute walk to the main city area.  The staff is friendly and helped us plan out our stay in Sukhothai.  The resort has free bikes or you can rent a motorbike for 200 baht.

At Sukhothai Historical Park, you either need a motorbike or bicycle to navigate around the various temples because they are spread out by a few kilometers and tuk-tuks are not permitted inside the park.   We chose the lazy man's option and decided to motorbike; as it turned out, it was a wise decision because by mid-day, the city reached a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit and most of the bicyclists were turning around and heading back to avoid the heat.

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We are not the sort of folk who try to pat ourselves on the back but . . . . we are excited to be featured as Travel Blog Site of the Day over at TravelBlogSites.com.  Louise does an amazing job putting together a collection of great travel blog sites around the 'net and I recommend checking her site out.

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Comments (10)

It looks pretty awe-inspiring to me! :D

-- Rachel Cotterill 02/19/2010 10:06:28
Rachel Cotterill's recent blog post: On Names And Translation

Beautiful pictures!! I agree that Sukhothai is probably a better option with less tourists.

-- Amy @ The Q Family 02/19/2010 22:07:43
Amy @ The Q Family's recent blog post: Thailand with Kids The Little Moments

You guys take the best pictures. I'm blown away.

-- Camels & Chocolate 02/20/2010 09:50:42
Camels & Chocolate's recent blog post: Photo Friday: San Sebastian, Spain

Great sepia and post processing effects! The last photo almost looks like a faded painting.

-- Gourmantic 02/22/2010 00:22:52
Gourmantic's recent blog post: Jamie?s Italian, Canary Wharf London

You have captured this site beautifully in these photos. The Thai stupa has such a unique shape (which is inspired by predecessors in Sri Lanka and China) and is recognizable around the world. Thanks for sharing!

-- Jennifer @ Approach Guides 02/22/2010 23:16:57
Jennifer @ Approach Guides's recent blog post: Our Interview with Wandering Educators

Thanks all! I feel all warm and cosy inside after reading these comments.


-- Akila 02/24/2010 05:06:02
Akila's recent blog post: the importance of doing nothing

Eerie, awesome, and beautiful. Well done. I really like the style and clean layout of your site.

-- Keith 02/24/2010 22:38:01
Keith's recent blog post: Technology?s Other Edge

Thanks Keith!

-- Akila 03/02/2010 06:19:58
Akila's recent blog post: gear: amazon kindle for travelers

Wow- your photos are amazing. That sure is a whole lot of Buddah.



-- megan riley 03/04/2010 09:13:07
megan riley's recent blog post: Photos of Krakow, Poland

Thanks Megan!

-- Akila 03/10/2010 09:51:05
Akila's recent blog post: just another city: bangkok

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