Getting to Sukhothai

I actually had a flight booked from Bangkok but I missed it when I decided to fly to Chiang Mai for their Yi Peng Lantern Festival instead.  Since I was not in a rush, instead of booking a flight from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai I decided to take the 5 hour air conditioned bus ride.  Buses from Bangkok are also available but it takes much longer than 5 hours.

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Once you arrive in Sukhothai you will most likely want to take a bus or taxi into the town but you can also stay at accommodations which exist near the airport.  The reason you could want to stay near the airport is because it is located in between Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai Historical parks.  Since Sukhothai historical park was more appealing to me I decided to stay closer to it.

Where to Stay in Sukhothai

I actually made paid a reservation for a hotel on Sawadee.com for a hotel which was close to the airport.   Immediately upon arrival to the bus station I was approached by touts for J&J guest house who told me the hotel I booked was away from Sukhothai so I stupidly followed their advice and went to J&J guest house which was in the new Sukhothai town.

While J&J Guesthouse was a pretty nice set of Bungalows along a river I was awaken by bed bugs so I decided to change hotels the next day.  I switched to Pailyn Hotel which seemed to be the largest hotel in Sukhothai and was a lot closer to the Historical Park which is where I would be spending most of my time.

I noticed some guest houses a bit closer to the historical park so if you’re into that style of accommodations you may want to look into it.  If you want to stay in a legit hotel with all the standard amenities then Pailyn Hotel is probably the best place to stay in Sukhothai if the historical park is your prime interest.

Things to Do:  Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai is not Bangkok.  Most people who decide to go to Sukhothai are going there to visit the 2 historical parks.  Sukhothai Historical Park is a very large park which has numerous sections.  There is an admission for each section of 50 baht.  The park was a very peaceful and quiet place the time I went (End of November).  There was a fair amount of tourists but the park was so bit it was easy to find a place without tourists.

The reason I always mention areas without tourists is because of my interest in photography.  If you’re not a serious photography enthusiast you may be content to snap a few shots of the temples & Buddhas  even if the overweight western guy with the red “Same Same but Different” shirt in your shot but I am not.  It doesn’t bother me if people are sharing the tourist attraction with me as I can wait to get a shot without them in it, but it does bother me if there are so many tourists that getting a shot without any people is impossible.

Other than a few instances of large tourist groups and fellow photographers with their tripods at sunset, I was able to get all the shots I wanted weather permitting.   Sukhothai Historical Park is a fabulous location for any photographer and anyone interested in history.

Sun Setting Behind one of the many temples in Sukhothai Historical Park

Getting Around in Sukhothai

You can get around Sukhothai and the historical park on foot, bicycle or motorcycle.  I opted for taking my scooter I rented from the hotel.  In order to take the scooter into the park there is another fee of 20 baht which didn’t bother me.  There are numerous bicycle rental places very close to the entrance of the park which you can see when driving from the town.

Your main “problem” with going to Sukhothai is going to be deciding your mode of transport around the park.  If you would like to spend all day in the park, and like to move around at a leisurely pace a bicycle would probably be your best option.  You can either ride it to the park from your hotel/guesthouse if it is nearby or take a form of public transportation to the bicycle rental places close to the park.

I personally opted to take my motorbike in the park because I wanted to try to get numerous shots from different vantage points during sunrise and sunset.  The motorbike allowed me to go from one temple at the beginning of sunset to another shortly after sunset.  While this is not the best method for getting the best photo possible, it allowed me to get more photos in my couple days there.

Overall Impression

Sukhothai was exactly what I expected.  It was the average small Thai town with historical park and of course temples, waterfalls, nature treks, caves and more in the various areas surrounding it like most of Thailand.  Unlike the newer shiny gold temples of Bangkok and other part of Thailand you can really sense the history in the temples around Sukhothai.

Anyone staying in Thailand for an extended period of time should plan a trip to Sukhothai .  I would say 2-3 days in Sukhothai would be sufficient for 99% of travelers.  In addition to the Sukhothai Historical Park the nearby Si Satchanalai Historical Park is another must-do for anyone who travels to Sukhothai.

Read Part II:  Places to Visit from Sukhothai – Si Satchanalai Historical Park

For More Photos from Sukhothai and all around the World Visit:

Pick your Location

I had watched Muay Thai at both of the 2 primary Muay Thai stadiums in Bangkok when I had visited for the first time over 5 years ago.  I remember having a great time at Lumpini (often spelled Lumpinee) Stadium which had exciting fights and even a Muay Boran demonstration.  Muay Boran (Muay means ‘boxing’ & boran means ‘ancient’) is the ancient style of Thai boxing in which competitors wore ropes around their fists instead of gloves.  I also remember my night of Muay Thai at Rajadamnern stadium not being as fun so obviously I wanted to go to Lumpini Stadium.

It turns out picking the location to watch Muay Thai in Bangkok really depends on the day you wish to view it.  Lumpini Stadium has the fights on Tuesday, Fridays and Saturdays while Rajadamnern stadium holds the Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday fights.  On a side note, there are also Wednesday night Muay Thai which is free, often has women fights and is located at the MBK shopping center.  The major stadiums do not have women fights and women are not even permitted in the ring.

2 Girls Duking it Out at MBK's Muay Thai Fight Night

Getting There & Buying Tickets

I knew that Lumini Stadium had the fights on Friday night so I planned to go there after my trip to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho I planned to take a taxi all the way from the old section of Bangkok to Silom during rush hour to catch the Muay Thai event that started at 6pm.  I told the taxi driver to take me to “Sanam Lumpini” (sanam means ‘stadium in Thai) and he told me there was no boxing there that night and I would have to go to Rajadamnern Stadium which was very close to the Grand Palace where I had just been.

I thought the driver had a commission arrangement w/ Rajadamnern Stadium or something so I continued to argue until I realized that it was Thurdsay and not Friday.  The taxi drivers are usually more than happy to take you to a Muay Thai event which suggest they get a commission.  Most farang (Caucasian foreigners in Thai) are offered the front row seats at a price of 2000 baht ($60 USD).  I had planned to sit as close as possible to get some photos with my Nikon D700 and assorted lenses so paying for the “better” seats was no problem.

Orono Wor Petchpun - Famous Muay Thai Great

The Event

It turns out that the ringside seats were not really great at all for taking photos as every shot had the ring ropes in the way.  You can view on the slideshow on the bottom of this post.   Rajadamnern Stadium has 3 main levels of seating (refer to the photo at the top of the post).  The floor level has seats mostly foreigners, boxes for the judges and standing room for the fighter’s crew.  The secondary level of seating has mostly Thai people from what I saw.  This is where the people place bets on each fight with hand signals like the New York Stock Exchange.  Then there is a top row of seating which is inside a chain linked fence.

One side of the 2nd level is completely devoid of people as it holds the TV cameras.  Other than being able to put the camera through the ring ropes, like the paid event photographers, this middle section which is elevated over the ring ropes would probably be the best place to take photos.  I am not sure how much it costs or even if non-gambling foreigners are allowed.  The event had mostly young kids with the exception of  a Muay Thai boxer I had heard of by the name of Orono Wor Petchpun (Muay Thai fighter’s last names are actually the names of their gym) who is one of Thailand’s best boxers.  He has 2 KO wins over the great Yodsanklai Fairtex and 2 decision wins over the K1-Max  international superstar Buakaw Por. Pramuk.  Check out this YouTube clip with him in action.

To me, most of the fights were pretty boring.  I remember the first time I went to Lumpini Stadium the fights were all exciting which makes me want to go back there and check it out again.  Not a single fight had a KO and there was a LOT of clinching.  I’m not sure what the exact rules are or how to score the fights, but it seemed that clinching and throwing was happening more than striking.  The event got lively for what I believe was the main event.

The championship fight pitting what appeared to be a couple 13 year-olds got lively when both entered the stadium with their entourages.  One was dressed with a pointy medal hat (see in slide show) while the other had a whole “hype crew” of a painted face guy, a huge fat guy waving a flag and of course, a Chinese-style dragon dancer!  The crowd was especially rambunctious for this fight but it ended with one being crowned champion, and of course, like all the other fights that night, I had no idea who was going to win the judges decision.

Scenes from the Championship Fight

Overall Impression

While I didn’t have the best time at this Thursday night event at Rajadamnern Stadium I still would highly recommend anyone who is visiting Thailand to check out a night of fights.  Like I stated before, I remember having a better experience at Lumpini Stadium but any place you watch Muay Thai in Thailand you will see a different side of Thai people.  People who are generally reserved and quiet are going crazy in a raucous crowd which had a few scuffles amongst fans likely over gambling.

For tourists, also keep in mind that Rajadamnern Stadium is very close to Khao San Road, Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, some of Thailand’s major tourist attractions.  For those who live in Thailand and have never been to Muay Thai it is worth going as well.  I would be willing to bet a night of the real championships would be a very fun night to attend Muay Thai fights at Rajadamnern Stadium.  For those who don’t care to see fighting and especially don’t want to pay 2000 baht to do so, head to MBK shopping center on Wednesday evenings and you can see what Muay Thai is all about for free.

The 3 Headed Elephant

I saw photos on Flickr of amazing looking interiors and I had to check it out.   It turns out the Viriyaphant family, the same family responsible for creating The Ancient City (Ancient Siam) created the Erawan Museum.   Erawan is the Thai name for the Airavata which is a white elephant who carries the Hindu god Indra.  Upon arriving the unique appearance of the museum is apparent.

Exterior of the Erawan Museum

Getting to the Erawan Museum

The Erawan Museum is technically not located in the city or province of Bangkok but it is very close.  Like Ancient Siam (Muang Boran) the Erawan Museum is located in Samut Prakan which is right next to Bangkok.  It is actually located right off Sukhumvit Road.  I hailed a taxi from my apartment at Sukhumvit Soi 13 and he charged me 200 baht ($6USD) plus 40 baht ($1.20 USD) for the expressway toll to get to the Erawan Museum but this is not the best way.

The best way for anyone to get to the Erawan Museum is to take the BTS as far east as possible (currently On Nut Station) then hail a cab from there as the Sukhumvit Road traffic is almost always completely congested in greater Bangkok.  On the way back from Samut Prakan which was around 30 minutes with good traffic the driver actually used the meter which totaled to be around 170 baht.  Just like going anywhere in Bangkok, if you want to spend the least amount of money, make sure you only get in a cab once they agree to use the meter.

Traditional Thai Dancers performing in front of Erawan Museum

Exploring In & Around the Erawan Museum

The museum is only a portion of the experience you will get when going there.  Assuming you are “politely dressed” i.e. no tank tops, shorts, bikini tops or minskirts you pay the entrance fee of 150 baht ($4.50 USD) and are allowed to roam freely in the large gated area which amounts to a nice garden and park with a couple temples and more.  I chose to go directly in the museum to see if it was free of people for some good photos.  Upon entering the main museum I was ushered to the bottom where I was told no photos and entered the air-conditioned basement museum.  This basement museum had mostly old Chinese and Thai pottery as well as a bunch of information.  I spent around 15 minutes walking around looking then I decided to go into the main museum.

After taking off my shoes I walked into the main museum which was a site to behold (see photo at top of post).  It is difficult to describe but one word that comes to mind is breathtaking.  There are many various sculptures and staircases which are a work of art themselves (you can see more of the sights in the slideshow at the bottom of this post).  The main hall was not air conditioned so after taking my fair share of photos I made my way to the top of the stairs where I found the (air conditioned) spiral staircase which leads up to the belly of the elephant.

Spiral Staircase Leading up to the Top Floor (Inside the Elephant)

Up to the Belly of the Beast

After climbing several flights of the spiral stairs (note:   There is a also an elevator) I made it to the top room and WOW.  The room was shaped as an beautifully painted arc which surrounded by several encased Buddhas.  The Buddhas had no photo signs so I didn’t take any shots of them.  I had a chance to take a bunch of photos as the occasional tourist or Thai would come up to pray to the main Buddha.  I literally stayed in this air conditioned room for 30 minutes shooting photos and just absorbing the ambiance.

The Final Room at the End of the Spiral Staircase

Overall Impression

I thought the Erawan Museum was Awesome with a capital A.  I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Bangkok.  Erawan Museum was not at all crowded and I only saw one other western tourist there.  The visitors seemed to mostly be Thai and Chinese.  Every square inch of the museum is a site to see and once you exit there are plenty of other attractions including a temple with an Indian monk w/ dozens of doves, the aforementioned Thai dancers and I even got a chance to use my new Nikon 105mm Macro Lens to take photos of flowers, insects, birds and a frog.

If your time in Bangkok is limited, it is good to know that Erawan Museum is located within a few kilometers of Ancient Siam (Muang Boran) which is definitely a few hours worth of your time as well.  Plan a good day excursion from Bangkok and arrive at the Erawan Museum around 9-10 spend an hour or 2 there then procede to Ancient Siam for another 2-3 hours and you just had a good day of tourism to immerse yourself in the Thai culture.