7th Dec 2016 - Sukothai to Mayyawaddy in Myanmar

7th Dec 2016 - Sukothai to Mayyawaddy in Myanmar



Our stay was at Paylin Hotel, Sukothai for the night. Not much in turns of facilities but quite neat. The food as would be in any rural Asian Country.

We were packed and ready by 7 AM and ready to go to the Sukothai (Kingdom Historic Park), this was the Capital of the Sukothai Nation and the ruins here go back to the 13th and 14th Centuries. 

One gets to go around in trams which have now been refurbished and have electric motors installed. We were provided with a guide and also received black sticky rice a new type of organic rice called RiceBerry as souvenirs / gifts. 

Here is something about Riceberry, click on this link ---Riceberry - to know more click here

Here is something from wikitravel about Sukothai

The city is a popular tourist destination because it is located near the ruins of the ancient city of Sukhothai, which was the Thai capital during the 13th Century C.E. The historical Sukhothai was the first capital of Siam founded by King Ramkhamhaeng. The province's temples and monuments have been restored and Sukhothai Historical Park is an area with numerous sites of historical interest which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other interesting places include Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, Ramkhamhaeng National Park, Sri Satchanalai National Park, and The Royal Palace and Wat Mahathat.

History

Sukhothai was capital of the first kingdom of Siam established some 800 years ago. The exact year is unknown but according to the Fine Arts Office it was between 1238 and 1257.

Established in around 1238 to 1257, Sukhothai literally means “Dawn of Happiness.” Phokhun Si Intharathit was the founder of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, Sukhothai’s first dynasty. For 120 years as the capital of Siam, Sukhothai was ruled by many kings. In this connection, the most dynamic monarch being King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, who created the Thai alphabet, laid the foundation for politics, monarchy, and religion, as well as, expanded its boundary of influence. Though the golden era of Sukhothai no longer exists, tourists should bear in mind that respect and admiration for the renowned ruined twin cities of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai is highly valued.

With little time available to us we completed the ruins and the museum in less than three hours and were on our way to the Myanmar border by about 11AM.

In about 3 hours we reached MaeSot which is on the border with Myanmar. Myanmar is across the river Moei from Thailand (MaeSot). 

At the ruins of the Sukothai Historic Park

Map of the historic park

Face of Buddha at the museum.

Seed pods in a rural Thai market. Large eh???

Dried mushrooms? With the language barrier I could not find out what these where.

Entering Myanmar on the Thai side.

Entering Myanmar, on the Myanmar side of the border. Note the cars are now on the right side of the road.

Temporary registration of the car I was driving in Myanmar

Going to the duty free shop housed in a  Casino cum Hotel

Waiter at Grade One Hotel - Myawaddy.

We crossed into Myanmar and everything went without a hitch, we were expected and were given temporary numbers for our cars. On top of the bridge when you cross into Myanmar one has to switch to the right side of the road as traffic moves on the right side of the road in Myanmar and against the left side in Thailand. So we now have to contend with driving right hand drive cars on the right hand side of the road in Myanmar. The traffic was rather chaotic, not many care here for traffic rules or for their lives. We went to a Hotel cum Casino cum duty free shop where we all bought a few essentials and in about 90 minutes we were driving towards our Hotel - Grade One Hotel in Myawaddy. Again one of those Hotels in a small town in Myanmar, reasonably clean with not so smart decor and taste.