SUKHOTHAI'S UNESCO PARK

Our luck continued with connections from overhead train to local bus to highway bus and 5+ hours to the northern town of Sukhothai. A corner room with fan and ensuite at TR Guest House is $10. It's right on the narrow muddy Yom River in a bland town with a huge monk-ery. What draws culture-vultures is the nearby UNESCO World Heritage historical park. Cambodians get irritated, but the ruins of Sukhothai are a mini (and much more manageable 4 sq.km.) version of their massive iconic Angkor Wat. In fact, Sukhothai emerged as the Khmer empire next door crumbled. This became the new Kingdom of Thai, a city of temples and serene Buddha figures.

It's like you see one temple, you've seen them all but this walking zone was quieter, more spiritual, and even has cleaner air. Even allowing that we always go early, there were few visitors --- mostly small French tour groups. Remarkable, though, was a group of saffron-robed monks with cameras, I-pads, shoes, and spending money! Aren't they supposed to take vows of poverty??

Otherwise, the mostly brick buildings (plaster cladding has long ago been robbed or fallen off) are impressive in their devotion to Buddha, who shows up more often than Celine Dion in Vegas. Can you spot the three towers that signify Khmer origins?? The "park" is clean, laid out geometrically, pleasantly loutus-moated, with shade trees.Tempting temples!

In the meantime, Bangkok has been shut down by protesters who have a lot of support here and everywhere in Thailand. Locals are glued to their TV for the latest developments ---- us too!