Mother Country

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Despite this most welcoming feeling the temples do not touch my soul as the churches and cathedrals of South America did and I am unable to talk away my thoughts as I do in the chapel

So here I was the Mother Country of SEA, Thailand.  I woke up bright and early and made my way to the bus station ready for another long trip which decided to take a different turn but which was no skin off my nose.

I got to the bus station in a nearby town (I say nearby but really around an hour away, but once you have done 12hr plus journeys anything under that is nothing).  There were only bus journeys to Chaing Mai late in the afternoon, meaning I would get into Thailand biggest city of the North extremely early in the morning and wait another day doing nothing. So I decided to look for the next nearest city which was on my route and there it was Phitsanulok (which funnily enough sounds like pissandulook, no really, I felt terrible saying it at first, sorry guys I’m not being rude) leaving at 2.30.  Perfect, and there it was, my first destination in Thailand, and how lovely it was.  The town Phitsanulok wasn't up to much but the nearby historic town of Sukhothai was amazing.  There is an historic park full of Wats, which are temples, and only a short ride away.  As soon as I made my way to the local bus station in Phitsanulok I was outside the gates of the historic park of Sukhothai.

It’s really difficult to describe temples, not what they look like of course because everyone knows what one looks like, similar to a Chinese style house which a budda inside, probably covered in gold.  But what I’m talking about is the feeling.  Anyone who’s been to SEA knows the feeling of Temple overload, yes they are beautiful but there are so many it’s difficult to get the same wao! factor.  I have therefore minimised my temple sightseeing to a select few and the first was this historic park.

The park is like a park, trees invariably scattered about, with a few ponds, but what made it different from you average park is the oldest, crumbling watts which stand bold as brass throughout the park.  It was just heavenly to be able to just walk at your own pace looking at these miraculous buddas, who look so content, with just the sound of the wind flowing through your ears and the occasional crackling of the bike chains, which is another option of getting around.  But best of all the clean air, beautiful, really was what I needed.  Surrounding all temples and holy places of Buddhism is a bubble of calmness, your whole body feels as light as a feather and your mind as clear as day.  Despite this most welcoming feeling the temples do not touch my soul as the churches and cathedrals of South America did and I am unable to talk away my thoughts as I do in the chapel, but nonetheless these places which are in abundance in SEA bring me clarity of mind which is much needed when you are constantly on the go deciding what to do next, how to get there, what time you will arrive etc..  It was a truly lovely day, where I was getting to grips with the timer on my camera, fed up with just face shots, being fascinated with everything I saw and taking a deep yoga breathe every five seconds followed by the slight turn up of the corner of my mouth.

The next stop was Chiang Mai, the cultural city of the North and arguably of Thailand.