After breakfast, we drove a short distance to Sukhothai Historical Park. I gave very truncated history of Sukhothai in my last post, so I'll just add a few more interesting tidbits for context to this post. If you want a pretty good explanation of the significance of historic Sukhothai, I'd recommend this 25-minute video that gives historical context for the layout and structures within the park.
Surrounded by a moat, the main area contains 21 temples divided into 5 zones, dispersed among various moats, canals, and groves. The area itself is about 70 square kilometers. At the center of the central zone is the Wat Mahathat temple, the spiritual center of the city.
While most structures in the 13th and 14th centuries would have been made of wood, time and advanced technology eventually replaced wood with stronger materials (like brick), so many wooden structures were erected atop brick podiums, which is why we see the remains of the brick podiums and pillars today, but we don't see the wood structures that would have sat on top of them.
One of the most prominent structures found frequently within the park are these bell-shaped structures, called "jedi" (pronounced je-dee, I think?), which also reflect Sri Lankan architectural influence.
Directly from the video (5:04):
"The Sukhothai Buddha's upright impassive figure his right hand raised as a token of the suppression of fear. The Buddha is seated in the half Lotus position in the attitude expressing the calling of the earth to witness or the victory over illusion."
After spending a few hours at the park, we returned to the hotel for some downtime and lunch before setting out for a short hike in Ramkhamhaeng National Park, named for the King of Sukhothai credited for introducing the Thai alphabet, among other accomplishments.
Surrounded by a moat, the main area contains 21 temples divided into 5 zones, dispersed among various moats, canals, and groves. The area itself is about 70 square kilometers. At the center of the central zone is the Wat Mahathat temple, the spiritual center of the city.
Because the Sukhothai Kingdom was formed through an amalgamation of different peoples and cultures, the architecture (what would now be considered distinctly "Thai" architecture) reflects Indian, Sri Lankan, and Chinese influence, and especially Khmer architecture.
The distinct style of Buddha sculptures seen throughout the park also represents a distinct Sukhothai Buddha style.
The distinct style of Buddha sculptures seen throughout the park also represents a distinct Sukhothai Buddha style.
Distinct Sukhothai Style of Buddha
Part of the Wat Mahathat temple
While most structures in the 13th and 14th centuries would have been made of wood, time and advanced technology eventually replaced wood with stronger materials (like brick), so many wooden structures were erected atop brick podiums, which is why we see the remains of the brick podiums and pillars today, but we don't see the wood structures that would have sat on top of them.
Wooden structures would have been atop these brick platforms
One of the most prominent structures found frequently within the park are these bell-shaped structures, called "jedi" (pronounced je-dee, I think?), which also reflect Sri Lankan architectural influence.
Jedi (bell shaped structures) seen throughout the park
Directly from the video (5:04):
"The Sukhothai Buddha's upright impassive figure his right hand raised as a token of the suppression of fear. The Buddha is seated in the half Lotus position in the attitude expressing the calling of the earth to witness or the victory over illusion."
Okay, enough history...for now. Seriously, watch the video for more visuals and context. I'm glad I watched it before touring the park. It helped provide me with some cool history nuggets to share with students during our morning.
I should mention the method by which we got to travel around the park was pretty excellent. Noi rented bikes for our entire group, so we got to split up and explore at our leisure while covering a lot of ground. Plus, I really like bikes :)
The Westminster group all biked-up!
Kathryn and I biking around the grounds. I'm in my happy place:)
After spending a few hours at the park, we returned to the hotel for some downtime and lunch before setting out for a short hike in Ramkhamhaeng National Park, named for the King of Sukhothai credited for introducing the Thai alphabet, among other accomplishments.
Welcome sign to Ramkamhaeng National Park
We learned a valuable lesson in our efforts to visit the park. If you arrive after 2PM--regardless of what trail you plan on hiking--the park authorities will not let you enter the park for safety and liability reasons, so our trip to the national park was short-lived. Womp womp. Everyone was really good natured about the situation and we shifted plans to allow folks some time to visit a traditional Thai market, where street vendors sell all sorts of goods and consumables (chicken thighs galore, durian, jewelry, etc.). Students really seemed to enjoy their experience at the market, and one student even walked out with an *excellent* haircut!
Some students in front of a traditional Thai market
The yellow stuff is durian. It's a...polarizing...flavor
Students had a few free hours in the afternoon, so Kathryn and I went on a run on which we found a super awesome paved bike trail that traveled past additional temples/structures, so we are planning on taking students to run there tomorrow morning before we depart Sukhothai.
The last activity of the day was our evening meeting, during which we turned the floor over to Rose, Noi, and Michael (our primary Thai hosts) to learn more about them, Thai culture, current trends/issues within the nursing and public health fields in Thailand, and the history of this specific study abroad program. It was really cool getting to learn from their perspectives, and Noi gave some very thoughtful and empathetic advice about homesickness and stress when traveling abroad, which I think was really helpful for the students to hear.
Students learning from Rose, Noi, and Michael
I closed my night out with another Thai massage since there was an extra spot left, so I feel like a million bucks, and I'm ready to take on our next location--Chiang Mai.
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