Sukhothai..

It's funny how time flies by... I am at the halfway point of my placement in Thailand. I have been here three weeks and I have three weeks left to go. We went out to dinner tonight to farewell a friend who is home to Norway then off to Sudan and were laughing about how small this town is and how quickly you come to know many of the people and the links and connections they have to others. But I digress!!

Sukhothai - was my first attempt at using the remaining weekends I have left to see some of Thailand. I had originally planned to go across with a couple of my Thai friends who work in the laboratory at SMRU but unfortunately they both ended up having to work!! So armed with instructions, warnings, reassurances, a pre-tour of the bus station and accompanied by my Americano traveling buddies Will, Erin & Lindsay, off we set. With all this assistance we managed to very easily navigate the mini bus system across the mountains to Tak and then on to Sukhothai for a night and a day of exploring historical ruins. Apparently The Sukhothai Kingdom existed from 1238-1438 and the historical site is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage historical park.

We took off from Mae Sot in a mini-van that was not designed for people of our size!! I felt like a giant sardine!! We had been warned about crazy mountain drivers who speed and crash but luckily we started our bus journey with a van that felt like it had a lawnmower engine - so there was no chance of speeding!! Tuk tuk tuk.. up the hills... rrroom, rroom, splutter, rrrrom.. down the hills. After two hours of putting along, we arrived in Tak where friendly folk were ready to direct us to the ticket booths and the right bus - after having had the run around in bus stations about the world - this was a very easy process!! An obviously well worn path. On we hopped to a bigger rattling bus that looked as if the interior was coated in aluminum foil and a little more legroom and heads that didn't touch the ceiling was happily received by all! I had a moment.. on this part of the trip and it went something like this...

I love being on a bus or a train or a tram, something that rocks and rattles along.. with the wind blowing in your hair, the dappled sunlight hitting your face, the music in your ears igniting a travelling butterfly in your stomach.. On this day it was Fat Freddy's dubbing away in my ears whilst I sat with a stupid grin on my face with silent giggles washing over me every now and then.. just thinking how very very lucky I am to be here, in this place and time. In this part of the world - it is easy to get lost in hopelessness and sadness and guilt, by virtue of who I am and what I'm doing. I quite often assess my movements, my actions and indeed the movements and actions of others; both environmentally and socially. But for this moment on the bus.. I was lost in the joy of seeing new things that remind you of old things and music that sweetens the scene and new friends and new experiences and the kindness of strangers. The thrill that comes from the fear of doing new things was buzzing away in my drumming fingers on my feet. And it felt real nice.

It turned out to be a day of niceness. Riding around the park, looking at the all-knowing cheeky smiles of the buddhas, enjoying a delicious dinner that I asked the waitress to recommend, introducing Will to mangosteens, finding a late night tuk-tuk to take us into the new town and finishing with Thai massages to sent us off to sleep. Then kicked in the humour... a Bollywood soundtrack erupting sometime in the night and continuing for seemingly hours.. accompanied by a chorus of roosters.. I kept wondering when the sun would appear.. Alas those roosters were night owls. Chuck in a bed that was more like a wooden block than a mattress and a ceiling fan that had a rotation point at which it sounded a bit like a cat being strangled and it didn't make for the best night's sleep. But in a room that cost 75 baht each.. we couldn't really complain!! It's given us a few more stories to come home with and we have the pleasure of going back to our more comfortable rooms and mattresses this evening!

Our drive back to Mae Sot - was slightly more terrifying.. something flew out of the engine as we screamed down and around a mountain corner. Our pace was reduced to a put.. put.. up the hill but a bit of bush mechanics and we were flying all over again. It seems our driver quite liked overtaking trucks on blind corners and as we passed a smashed up car being carted by a tow truck - I decided the best thing to do was to put my head down, close my eyes, listen to James Yorkston and the Athletes and let myself rock around the corners. Thankfully I managed to get home without motion sickness overwhelming me!!

Will and I bid adieu to the lovely Erin & Lindsay, we were reunited with our bikes and then pedaled back to our guesthouse to rest up and share our stories with fellow travelers. A lovely weekend, old memories aroused, new memories formed and another story to tell.

Luck, selfishness, inequity, privilege, exploring, excitement, plastic water bottles, understanding... words that are debating in my head. Now I shall put that head to bed.. time for a good night's sleep! Much love to anyone that reads.