The ancient city of Si Satchanalai

[PeteC]

The ancient city of Si Satchanalai is a testament to the efforts of King Bhumibol Adulyadej to resurrect Thailand's glorious past.....

Many photos at link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/1809 ... s-restored

HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej spent much of his 70-year reign travelling the length and breadth of the Kingdom, mainly to learn about the plights of his people and find out how to help them in a sustainable way. At numerous towns and villages, his royal visits are remembered as a major event in local history. Si Satchanalai in Sukhothai province is no exception.

On March 1, 1958, during their well-documented tour of the North, King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit travelled by car from Phitsanulok to the ruins of the ancient city of Si Satchanalai. Not long after the royal couple crossed the provincial border into Sukhothai, the dusty dirt road became so bumpy that the exhaust pipe of their car came off, forcing the entourage to halt until the problem was fixed.

On the rest of their way to Si Satchanalai, King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit dropped by the towns of Si Samrong and Sawankhalok. Everywhere the entourage stopped, the townspeople would lay pieces of white cloth, each about the size of a handkerchief, on the ground for the monarch to step on. The locals then kept the cloths as souvenirs. The old footage of the royal trip is pretty blurry but the utmost love and respect that the people had for their king was crystal clear.

I was overwhelmed as I watched the film on the internet recently. Those people had known the young monarch for only 12 years. I wasn't born until a decade later but, like the majority of Thais alive today, got the chance to know how the king continued to serve his people throughout the rest of his remarkable life. I felt the happiness of the lucky villagers -- the proud owners of those handkerchieves -- and at the same time, I envied them.

The royal couple arrived in Si Satchanalai in the afternoon. They crossed the Yom River on what appears to be a makeshift bridge to visit the ruined temples of Wat Chang Lom, Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo, Wat Nang Phya and Wat Phra Prang which was outside of the city walls. They travelled back to Sukhothai to spend the night and visited the ancient city there the following day.

At the time, Si Satchanalai and the surrounding area was not yet designated a historical park. The monuments themselves were yet to be restored. The royal trip in 1958 played an important role in making that happen.

King Bhumibol made two more visits to Si Satchanalai, in 1966 and 1972.

The historical parks of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai were officially opened in 1988 and 1990, respectively. Both were collectively listed by Unesco as World Heritage sites in 1991.....

[Gregjam]

Visited there recently while in Sukhothai and would recommend it. Unfortunately bad timing meant that the Sukhothai historical park had transformed into a Loy Krathong market and general money-making loud celebration typical of Thailand which made Si Satchanalai all that much better a place to go. Easy to get around and worth renting a cycle or sorting out transportation to get you around. Cheaper and plenty of information in English too.