Sukhothai
Our art history class went on an excursion to Sukhothai over the weekend. The 5 hour bus ride was rough and bumpy but it was great to travel a bit and see more than just Chiang Mai. It's famous for being the first kingdom of Thailand (13th century). The king built his temple and palace at Sukhothai and it is amazingly elaborate. Today, it's a historical site that's frequented by tourists.
Our bus trip:
Sukhothai Historial Park:
Our hotel, Orchid Hibiscus Guest House and the delicious breakfast:
We were also lucky enough to participate in a Buddhist holiday on Saturday night. The beginning of Buddhist Lent is marked by a candle festival called Asalha Puja. We helped make the giant candles and listened to a Buddhist sermon at a local wat. Then at sunset we lit the candles and incense and walked around the stupa three times (per local tradition). After our third trip around, we placed our candles and offerings of incense and lotus flowers at the base of the stupa. The experience was very surreal and beautiful:
Overall, it was an awesome experience and I'm so thankful we got to see such a rare piece of Thai Buddhist tradition.