Frogger (revised)

I revised the frogger blog, as the original one was written in a internet cafe and I was pressed for time. I re-wrote the blog with more details....enjoy!!

Crossing the main street in Sukhothai is like playing frogger. You have to cross in halves or even thirds since you will even have mopeds coming at you in the opposite direction on the sidewalks. Plus since they drive on the right hand side everything is reversed.

We had a 9.5 hour door to door journey from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai. We took a sawngthael (basically a converted pickup into a taxi cab with benches in the back) from the hotel in Chiang Mai to the train station. Took over a 6 hour train ride to Phitsanulok (train ride was nice and served us a lunch better then airplane food if that is saying anything), then a one hour bus ride to Sukhothai, and then another sawngtheal to our ghetto ass guest house. The guest house was a recommended pick in Lonely Planet which both Jenn and I did not agree with.

It was very shady from the get go. First when we got dropped off at the guest house by the sawngthael, he sped away and did not collect his 50 bhat. But then after we got into the guest house some little girl and another guy ask for the 50 bhat. So we paid them. Then we get into the guest house and it’s another little bungalow with one little 30 watt light and the bathroom with shower is about the size of my closet in my bedroom back home (which is not exactly big). We both did not really feel that place and decided to look for other places for the rest of the time in Sukhotai. We found a nice place up the road for a about 3 bucks more a night and checked in next morning, which was not in the Lonely Planet.

So why did we travel 9.5 hours to this little city? For the old city ruins that are scattered about a 45km square within the old city. Sukhothai was the first capital of Thailand and actually means ‘Rising of Happiness’ and the architecture is to be the most classic of thai styles. The ruins were very impressive and is basically the only thing that brings in backpackers and tourists from all over. So after taking a a sawngthael to the old city, we decided to have lunch at one of the many restaurants that pack the main road leading to the old city. Another bad decision (more to come)! So we rent bikes to tour the old city and as we get to the first ruin, Jenn is not feeling well. We spend sometime wondering around taking photos and then head off to the next one. She decides to sit it out in on the grass and in the shade as I wonder around the old city by myself.

Since the ruins bring in lots of tourists from all walks of life, the city has a different kind of vibe then all of the other cities we have visited thus far. It just seems a tad bit shadier here then others. Like the people are out to try and get over on the tourists. Being a tourist/traveler in other parts of the world, you start to get a little jaded as people try to get over on you for a maybe 10, 20, 30 bhat. Yes, that’s only 25 cents to a buck which probably means a lot more to these people in these parts of the world but hey, if everyone were to do this to me, it adds up quickly. Or, if I let them get away with it, then they know its ok to go ahead and try to get over on the next tourist. I think it just starts to wear on me, as locals try to rip you off.

So after the ruins we came back and then our bellies started to explode yet again (for me at least)! Dam, in all of my travels I have never gotten sick like that. Yes, Lou and I got a case of the Delhi bellie, but that’s pretty much a guarantee when traveling in India, they way we traveled it. But to get food sickness and pi** a**, two times in a row sucked. Luckily we had a nice bathroom facility at this guest house and plenty of toilet paper, which can be seen as luxury here as they are used to using the bidet. I think we can point this case of food sickness to Jenn’s noodles that she ordered since I only had a few bites and did not get as sick as her. So today she rested as I wondered around in the heat for a bit.

So tomorrow we are set to take a bus to a city called Lampang, which will be about a 4 hour bus ride and will leave us 1 hour out from Chiang Mai!