Phitsanulok & Sukhothai

Had a stop over in Phitsanulok to see the most beautiful Buddha in Thailand. It was gold all over and the mirrored things around it made the whole interior sparkle. Patterned black and white columns lined the sides with people covering the floor praying between them. The monk with a microphone seemed to enjoy spraying me with water thrown from a handful of incense sticks. I really wanted a photo of the monk seated in between a long row of seated Buddha statues, talking on his cell phone!

Mon, my first female rickshaw driver wrote my name in Thai, it looks pretty cool. I love Thai characters, I think it is the most beautiful written language. Oooo, I like Japanese caligraphy too, but Thai has these little circles and curves that look amazing when hand written. So after the most beautiful Buddha, I went to the old capital of Thailand, Sukhothai "Dawn of Happiness". This is where the Thai alphabet originated, derived from India. There is massive World Heritage site about 800 years old. The park is filled with wats (temples) and shrines with Buddhas sitting, reclining, standing and walking all over the place. A couple have some Hindu and Khmer influence which is interesting. Met Danny from Guelph of all places and admired the ruins while talking about his adventurous trekking in China, Tibet and getting some good advice for Laos. When the sun began to lower, an orange glow enhanced the colour in the bricks so I made a lot of use of the "autumn" setting on my camera! And I had forgotten about that black and white option, also put to good use today. Way too many photos and only one speedy sketch. P