Sukkothai

As we are quickly running out of time in Thailand and since I had a couple of off-days while Jana was teaching, I decided to set off on my first trip outside of BKK without Jana. I chose to travel to Sukkothai, a former capital of Thailand in the 13th and 14th century. Sukkothai is visited mostly for its ruins; I spent the vast majority of time there biking around an historical park set up there. In other words, I rode around in a large circle for two days, hiking up to ruins, taking pictures, and sweating profusely.
The ruins are impressive (check out the photos); my personal favorites are also the main attractions--two wats called Wat Saphan Hin and Wat Sri Chum. The setting of the park--lush, tropical plant life, set against large hills--is also enjoyable. I spent a lot of time out in the middle of the countryside with no one around except for cows.
The large majority of the wats pictured have been restored. Many of the Sukkothai ruins were discovered in the 20th century and subsequently studied and re-built by Thai and Western archaeologists.
Besides the ruins there is a national museum with Sukkothai artifacts and additional eclectic items. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the museum, but I did take photos outside the museum. The main attraction of the museum was getting to see the evolution of the Thai writing system. King Ramkhanaeng created Thai script and I was surprised by how little the system had changed since it was first used. (Check out the picture of the King--he has a tablet in his hand and a sword at his side.)
Other than that, I'll let the photos speak for themselves; Jana and I are both anxious but excited to return home soon!