Top Tips for Enjoying a Top Time at Sukhothai

Enjoyed the lovely drive this weekend from Bangkok up to Sukhothai. You can belt up the #1 Highway in about 3 hours, or you can take a more scenic route via Phitsanulok and stop for lunches and coffees/teas along the way. Keep your eyes peeled for some really snappy coffee shops attached to some of the bigger petrol stations -- none of this Nescafe 43 beans in a polystyrene cup truck-stop nonsense. And some of the rest rooms wouldn't be out of place in a Hyatt Hotel, jing jing!

This is a particularly good time of year to do this, as the Flame trees are out in full orange bloom, and the rice paddies in this flat, flat central Thailand section are positively luminously green.
So here's my list of 'best ofs' from Sukhothai.

Listen carefully, as I'm only going to say this once: The gates of Sukhothai Historical Park are open from 6am but the tour buses don‘t disgorge their milling masses till much later. So, go early in the morning, beat the crowds, enjoy the spiritual solitude, and be awed by the first light glinting off the Buddha figures and temple roofs. You’ll experience the real essence of the Sukhothai era this way. Jing jing!  Bike rent os only 30 baht for the day.

Now, elsewhere around the town, make sure you check out as many of the following as possible:

Ananda Museum Gallery:

The 33-room Ananda Museum Gallery Hotel blends traditional dark woods and furniture with modern minimalist aesthetics to create a pleasing fusion. Located in the city centre, it has the Sanghalok Museum adjacent where centuries-old ceramics and weapons can be browsed.

Tel: 055-622428. www.ananda-hotel.com

Dream Cafe:

Both suitably stylish and tropical, Dream Café offers cozy indoor and outdoor dining options from 10 to 10 pm daily. Put energy lost from sightseeing back with their signature fondue hotpot of noodles, meat and vegetables. A little more expensive than other eateries in town, but worth it. Take mosquito repellant.

86/1 Singhawat Rd. Tel: 05561-2081

Chopper Bar:

Sukhothai is light on for night life by Thai standards, but the most popular watering hole is the rustic Chopper Bar where you can enjoy live music on the front terrace or open-air garden behind.

96/1 Prawet Nakhon Road, Sukhothai. Tel: 055-611190

Lotus Village Spa:

Temple-hopping can be hard work on the legs, so chill out at Lotus Village Spa in the heart of the city, with lotus ponds, tropical gardens and teak buildings taking you back to the golden age. Enjoy their signature 90 minute aroma massage for 1200 baht.

170 Ratchathanee St, Sukhothai. Tel: 55 621 484 http://www.lotus-village.com/

Next blog will be on the Thanaburi Hotel, adjacent the Sukhothai Historical Park. A charming little place.

Meantime, enjoy the tranquility ... Shhhh!

Driven to distraction in Hua Hin

To treat the drive to Hua Hin as a pedal-to-the-metal exercise is to miss the point entirely.

Depending on the traffic, it's about a two hour drive straight from Bangkok. But to me the beauty of it is a few of the key distractions along the way ...

Outlet Shops: Of great interest to the distaff gender are the factory outlet stores located near the Cha-Am area. Don't worry about missing them -- you'll see the signs for kilometres before hand: Premium Outlet, Factory Outlet, etc. They are shopping malls in their own right, with many brands of shoes, fashion, sports goods, etc, all set up with either the latest or run-out models (I'm not talking models of the human mannequin kind here). Plus coffee shops, etc. So it's very civilised.

We stopped at Premium Outlet at my companion's request, nay, insistence. I somewhat begrudingly followed her. But then soon perked up at the sight of a Pierre Cardin shoe shop selling smart leather shoes for about 3000-plus baht. And shirts: I had a field day, walking out of X-ACT with four new shirts, each of which cost 350 baht (a shade over 10 Aussie dollars!) Jing jing!

Adidas. Hush Puppies. Nike. Camel Activewear. Plus dozens of women's labels and kids stuff too.

The Wooden Palace: The next distraction or attraction is the Maruekatayawan Palace (try saying that after a dozen Singha beers!). More collquuially  coloqueal commonly known as the Wooden Palace it is the world's longest golden teak construction. It was designed as a royal retreat by Rama V1 himself in 1924, with three double-storeyed wings giving commanding views over the Gulf of Thailand. Open daily from 8am to 4pm, you can hire bicycles to pedal through the lush gardens too. Follow the signed turnoff to Rama V1 camp.

PlearnWan Village: And a new attraction that's a real eye-opener to traditional Thai life is just on the northern outskirts of Hua Hin. PlearnWan is like a living museum (they bill it as an 'eco-vintage' village), a recreation of Thai village life with two storey wooden buildings surrounding a lawn. There's a market place and souvenir shops. The facade of wood and corrugated iron is a masterpiece of modern design. Entry is free, so stop and have a good look around this charming place while you stretch your legs.

So, once you've taken in all of these, you'll find it's taken you at least half a day to get to or from Hua Hin. But that's fine, because -- in the spirit of the languid royal retreat that it is -- hey, take it easy, what's the hurry?