Day 3: An early morning flight from Bangkok to Sukhothai found us at a sweet little airport flanked by enclosures of Giraffe, Zebra and Emus. How unexpected! We arrived at our hotel before check-in, so we dropped our bags and set off for the Historic National Park. An open bus with wooden seats on the sides took us from the new city to the old city for 30 baht (just over $1 AUD) where we were waved down by some ladies hiring bicycles for 30 baht/day.
We hopped on our bikes, paid the entry fee to the park gates and rode to the different temples around the old kingdom. Buddhas of all sizes, chedis, leaning pillars and old walls surrounded us, all silently screaming of centuries of history that we couldn't begin to understand. However, their beauty, despite their ruin was still clear. I couldn't help but think of the classic phrase "if these walls could talk".
After a bus back to the new city, a swim in the hotel pool was the perfect wind-down. After that, dinner and a cocktail at Chopper bar (a tourist favourite), while people-watching from the open roof restaurant and hearing the hundreds of starlings settle themselves on their power line roosts for the night was a lovely end to the day (for any biologist).