The Ancient City of Sukhothai.

Early the next morning we headed downstairs and ate breakfast at the restaurant.  Our guest house offered a free transfer to the pick-up truck public transport to the old city and we took advantage of the 9am run.  The shuttle dropped us off in front of 7/11, which are absolutely everywhere in Thailand and we immediately jumped on the back of a sawngthaew which was loaded up with passengers as well as sacks of potatoes and peanuts to be dropped off along the way.

After hopping off the sawngthaew we headed across the road to rent a couple of bicycles for 30 baht a piece (roughly $1). 

We spent the day coasting around the Sukhothai Historical Park checking out the remains left from an ancient kingdom of the 13th and 14th centuries. The park, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is over 70 square kilometers but we saw only a fraction of it, concentrating the majority of our time in the center of the old city which contained giant Buddhas and many temples all surrounded by a moat.

We heard later from someone that moats used to surround ancient cities in order to protect the temples from termites. I don't know if this holds any truth but after seeing some of the damage a termite can cause it wouldn't surprise me.

 Somewhere along our exploration we heard some loud thunder and and noticed  menacing clouds rolling in.  We sought the nearest shelter and managed only to get hit by a few raindrops before it really came pouring down. 

Mike waiting out the storm.

The rain provided a really nice relief from the heat and about a 30 minute delay.  We waited under a little roadside hut for the raindrops to slow before heading on to another section of the ruins that contained a huge Buddha with famously photographed long golden fingers.

I'm always impressed with the symmetry in ancient ruins.

This contraption makes the ride we took the other night look as safe as a Volvo.

Wet and worn from the day we hitched a ride back to the 7/11 where the guest house shuttle took us back.  We cleaned ourselves up anticipating to use one of the free guest house bicycles to ride to town for some dinner. When we inquired at the front desk, the look on the woman's face said it all. She cautioned us on the state of the roads due to the recent flooding and we opted instead for another mediocre meal at the guest house, some cards, a beer Chang, and an early night to bed before a long travel day to come.