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| 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.
