Road Trip to the Ancient City of Sukhothai

UNESCO World Heritage Historic Park in Sukhothai, Thailand

Sukhothai is a town located about 440km (270mi) north of Bangkok in central Thailand and is home to a UNESCO World Heritage historic park that contains the partially-rebuilt remnants of the former Thai capital of Sukhothai. Established around 1238, Sukhothai - which roughly means "dawn of happiness" when translated from Sanskrit - served as the capital of the Thai Empire for approximately 200 years; a time that is often considered Thailand's golden era. The Kingdom of Sukhothai helped establish many aspects of Thai culture, including the creation of the Thai alphabet, the establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the national religion, and the introduction of ceramics production to Thailand. King Ramkhamhaeng, referred to as the Founding Father of Thailand, is personally considered responsible for many of the developments during that time. Beautifully preserved, the remnants of this old walled city is housed within the historic park.

Access from Bangkok: Sukhothai Airport, Car, Bus, Train (bus transfer at Phitsanulok)
Distance: 430km (270mi), about a 5hr 30min drive

The remoteness of Sukhothai makes access more difficult than popular Ayutthaya (another former capital located an hour's drive outside Bangkok), but local and international tourists can still be found exploring the town. Sukhothai Airport provides a convenient, if not quite as affordable, option, although bus travel and car rental options for the six-hour drive are also available. The city has many local hotels, with some very nice boutique options and others with more plain fare. This means that costs are very low, but as always this can come at the expense of quality. Tiger and Bird typically have no opinion on the matter, but for what it's worth, we had an excellent experience staying at the beautiful "Sukhothai Heritage Resort", which is located adjacent to the airport.

Chiang Rai: The Golden Triangle

Huts and small bungalows lining a river passed on the way to the Golden Triangle

One beautiful day while staying in Chiang Rai, Tiger and Bird decided to take a trip up to the northernmost point of Thailand. The mysterious Golden Triangle is the meeting place of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand as marked by the lazy flow of the mighty Mekong River (see the photo below). Why golden? Well, the opium and drug trade once flourished here and up into the 1990s this area was the world's largest producer of opium. Right before the turn of the century, the three relevant governments worked together to eradicate opium production and transportation here, with at least some success on the Thailand side.

The Golden Triangle. Laos is observed from Thailand, across the Mekong River.

The Golden Triangle is a relatively flat region when compared with the rest of the mountainous province. We left early on a bright, sunny day from Chiang Rai town for the two hour drive. The trip took us along some picturesque but otherwise nondescript roads before we happened upon a small town that suddenly sprang up alongside the Mekong River (see "1" below). Here small shops and hotels, many with signs in Chinese characters as well as Thai script, were open for business. Traffic picked up and we drove past large, air-conditioned tour buses and some shops with many Chinese tourists milling about. We took note of this and parked next to a small Wat. The weather today was hot and the noonday sun relentless as we stepped out of the car. The Wat itself was quite small (see "2" and "3"). Walking through, we soon found ourselves on a large, open boardwalk along the river, mostly deserted although several Chinese tourists huddled in the shade of some adjacent trees. A landmark for the location (see "4") showed that we had indeed reached the Golden Triangle, and the fork in the river before us was the meeting place of the three countries' borders. The area felt local and somewhat touristy, with vendors selling trinkets, food - very average at best - and snacks. We found a young lady selling coconut smoothies at a nearby stand, which ended up being quite delightful to these parched and sweaty visitors!

Chiang Rai: International Balloon Fiesta in Singha Park and Doi Tung

[International Balloon Fiesta]  [Doi Tung]

Tea plantation in Singha Park, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Bangkok is a land of eternal summer. It's hot! Temperatures hover around 30°C (90°F) most days of the year. Winter will typically arrive in late November and remain through early February. During this time, temperatures drop to a comfortable 20°C (68°F) - even lower still at night - in the northern reaches of the country. In contrast to Central Thailand (ie Bangkok) and in the South, the upper provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are quite rugged with mountains shrouded in thick vegetation hugging lush, rolling hills and steep valleys. The weather is cooler year round, leading the locals to grow coffea, tea shrubs, strawberries, and other varieties of plants better-suited to this more temperate environment.

The uppermost province of Chiang Rai borders Myanmar and Laos, and is only 100 miles from the southern border of China's Yunan province. As such, here occurs a mixing of cultures, with significant influence from Chinese immigrants (especially on local cuisine!). Chinese tourists are a regular source of income, which means the locals are familiar with basic Chinese and English words. The area is also home to many various hill tribes who largely maintain their own culture and lifestyle. Unlike the pictures often shown on travel sites, traditional dress - while very beautiful with bright colors, is largely preserved for ceremonial or tourist purposes. These days everyone has moved on to a dress style that is more Western in appearance.

But enough information! Chiang Rai is full of natural beauty, a delightfully rustic and sabai sabai (relaxing) place to visit. Therefore, one warm (hot!), sunny day in Bangkok, Tiger and Bird decided to forsake the concrete jungle and make a spontaneous trip up north.

DRIVING to Koh Chang from Bangkok!

Koh Chang means "Elephant Island" in Thai (Chang is Elephant, Koh designates Island). It's a rather large, mountainous island located in the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. There are no elephants on the island- that's just the name. However, the island is known for its pristine beaches and can be quite affordable during the rainy season. The resorts and hotel facilities can also be as modern or rustic as you would want them to be. A long weekend? Why not rent a car and drive on over? Throw in some special promotions from the local establishments and we were set to go!

Locale Thai workman taking in some air above the truck (note there is also a guy relaxing in the shade below)

Wild Elephants in Khao Yai National Park

When people mention Thailand, what often comes to mind will be Pad Thai or Som Tum, possibly the red light districts of Bangkok, the beach town of Pattaya, or one of the many islands - replete with white sand beaches and turquoise water - under a splendid sun with cloudless skies. Yes, in Thailand you can have ALL of that and so much more. But what about wildlife? Mountains? Yes, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are idyllic locales for these trips - and especially good destinations to see and experience the otherworldy skylanterns launched during the New Year celebrations - but these provinces are a plane-flight (or overnight bus trip) away from Bangkok. Another good alternative is located within several hours driving distance to the northeast of the city in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province: Khao Yai National Park and the mountainous surrounding region.

Night lazily settles over the Lam Takhong Reservoir in the Nakhon Ratchasima province of Thailand

One weekend a short while ago, some friends and I were talking about a trip out of the concrete jungle of Bangkok. It's a great city - vibrant, bustling, full of fun; but the constant action and motion seems to drain the life out of a person after some time. The usual ideas of "let's go to one of the islands and just hang out on the beach!" naturally came up, but since we were short on time, we decided it would be fun to check out something different, something new- yet within driving distance of Bangkok. Finally, we settled on a short trip up to Khao Yai National Park, located just several hours drive to the northeast of the capitol. In the region are some mountains (including the highest point in central Thailand) and the national park complete with waterfalls and wildlife, and many reservoirs. The next day we set out and the trip ended up being fantastic!