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Sukothai Journal
(Lea)
For me, the trip to the South was wonderful and I loved the beach, the
incredible natural beauty of Thailand, and the dives, but after a week it was
time to jump back in to see Thailand's people and culture. For us, this meant
public transportation. We enjoyed (or endured!) a 12 hour bus ride to Bangkok, completed
some errands in Bangkok, and then a went on a 7 hour bus trip to Sukothai. I don't claim
to love bus trips, but they are the one place where we are normally the only non
Thais, so we get to see a bit more of "real Thai life."
To prepare for our trip North, I decided to read a book about Buddhism. I am going to write a bit about it here to try to clear it up in my mind because it is a bit complex (at least to me). As we wrote before, 95% of Thais are Theravada Buddhists. This means they follow (not worship) the teachings of the Guatam Buddha. The Guatam Buddha was born Siddhartha and was a Hindu (and I read the book Siddhartha in school - I wish I had it now). He was an ascetic, gave up all earthly pleasures, and one day while meditating was tempted by Mara (the devil). Siddhartha touched his hand to the ground and received enlightenment and resisted Mara. I talked about the enlightenment before - basically all people should work to achieve nirvana (absence of desires and therefore absence of suffering). The work comes from basically being a good person. The better you are in this life, the better life you have next, eventually reaching nirvana. Giving offerings to monks, and the wats will help you for the next life. A lot of Buddha's teachings are similar to Jesus (forgiveness, kindness to man) but he is not the Savior, as Jesus is in Christianity. In addition, Buddhism does not officially have a deity, but this is where it gets complex. Many Buddhists believe in a deity, (or deities). In Thailand, almost all revere and worship Brahma, in Hinduism the god "The Creator." In fact, in most Buddhist wats there are Hindu figurines and even shrines to Brahma. Siddhartha was born a Hindu, so the two are intertwined, though Siddhartha did not agree with the caste system or all the rites Hindus follow, therefore Buddhism is void of these. Also, almost all Buddhists in Thailand believe in spirits - which is why there is a spirit house in front of almost every building. They give flowers, incense and such to the spirits. That is what I understand at this point, at a simple level. There are more types of Buddhism, many types of Hinduism, animism (belief in spirits) and mixes of all out there! And I am learning. I just hope to actually get to talk to a Buddhist to learn a bit more.
That being said, this was great to learn before going to Sukothai. Sukothai was the first kingdom under which Thailand (then Siam) was united - in the 13th and 14th centuries. Sukothai houses amazing ruins from this period. Keith and I took a day, and a bike, to explore the ruins and were awed. Both of us compared the ruins to the Roman Ruins, my favorite site in Italy. The ruins were of the old Sukothai city with its walls, moats, and mostly wats with Buddhas. We saw 14th century Buddha figures, big and small; everywhere! All are beautifully sculpted, elegant in their lines and simplicity.
In addition to the ruins, we thoroughly enjoyed Sukothai because it is a city of only 25,000 - enough to have lots of great restaurants and outdoor markets, but small enough to have fresh clean air and not many tourists! We stayed in Lotus Village, a French Thai owned guesthouse, which was set amidst a garden with a wonderful sitting area. Our guest room was our very own teak house with a large bed and clean shower (with hot water) - our best place yet and cheapest (only $10). Sukothai was a great choice and I would definitely come back.
(Keith) Sukothai has been our most authentic Thai
experience so far; other than the ruins it has little tourism. The markets
are genuine and are a true delight to watch. On our ride from Sukothai to
Chiang Mai we spent a couple of hours talking to a Thai, who was on his way to
visit some friends. This man spoke English fairly well; he had learned
through our movies . . . he particularly liked Westerns and was familiar with
John Wayne, cowboys and Indians, and Texas. This man was very eager to
talk as has been our experience several times; most Thais do not get an
opportunity to travel outside of their country . . . some not outside of their
town, therefore they seem to like to practice their English and learn about
other cultures through tourists.
The ancient ruins were awesome; many Thais consider this period a "Golden Age". It doesn't take much thought to imagine ancient life among this great city . . . robed monks walking the streets and praying before the many Buddha images; children playing in the dusty streets; water buffalo casually grazing in the open fields; open air markets where chilies, vegetables, and meats were bartered for. The city perimeter (wall) stretched for many kilometers with several compounds extending many more kilometers beyond the wall. Each wat has a significance within the city and faces East to gain the power of the rising sun. I can only wonder how a great city as this was ever abandoned and left for ruin. It was not rediscovered until the 20th century where it was overrun by dense jungle growth.
To see more pictures of Sukothai dive trip check out the Sukothai Photos.