sukothai

Have left Chiang Mai behind and its our second evening here in Sukothai, about 5 hours by bus to the south. Chiang Mai was very enjoyable: very easy to find guesthouses and food (indulged in a steak and Guiness pie at the Irish Pub), the zoo turned out be middling to quite good (esp. the aquarium and pygmy marmosets!), the pandas, white tiger, and lone orangutang were good as well but we felt sorry for the single otter. We in fact managed to get on with the gibbon trip which turned out to be a very good time and besides the rush of the zip lining we did see gibbons - 3 of them including a baby. They were at the very top of a tree and a few hundred yards away but the view was clear anough. Spent our last day there simply wandering around the city and, since it was Sunday, found at least one huge temple party going on with much prwying and feeding of the multitudes happening! So yes, Chiang Mai seems a very good place to stay and also to act as a base for exploring northern Thailand more thoroughly.

Sukothai is an ancient capital of a formerly quite large area of this part of the world, roughly 13/14th century. The main draw is a large area of temple and wat ruins outside of town. This "Historical Park" is great to explore, Sukothai proper is a bit scruffy
and chaotic but we have landed in one of the nicer guesthouses in town so are quute comfy. The usual way to explore the park is by bike but as we were riding outside the main area and into the countryside to see some more far flung sites my tire blew. So I pouted and winged as we walked all the way back to the main park and the bike rental shop. Did find the best espresso in Thailand on the way home though so somewhat mollified.

Oh ya, had dinner last night at the Chopper Pub and Restaurant, Harleys parked outside and good curry to be had inside!

Hard to believe but tomorrow we fly to Bangkok (a one hour flight seems better than an eight hour bus ride) for the last few days of our trip. A few sites to see in Bangkok, some shirts etc. to buy downtown at MBK plaza, and home Saturday... Ciao for now...