Our adventures in Sukhothai continued. After exploring the ruins in detail, we had the afternoon free. One of the girls in the group said her Lonely Planet guide described how to get to several waterfalls in the area. She and others were going to rent motorcycles and go for the ride. My husband and I decided to skip lunch and join them.
We decided to rent a motorcycle each. I got my vehicle and everything but when we were ready to go I chicken out and decided to ride in the back of my husband’s motorcycle. The ladies running the rental shop were nice enough and they returned my money. Seriously, they don’t really care if you know how to drive this type of vehicle or not. When they were giving me instructions on how to operate (before deciding I didn’t want to ride one by myself), one of the ladies asked me if that was my first time driving a motorcycle. I said yes and she replied: “Cool”. Apparently, she didn’t care about her property that much. So we filled up our gas tanks and departed into the unknown.
![]( "Ruth and Oscar riding a motorcycle near Sukhothai, Thailand")
- Ruth and Oscar riding a motorcycle near Sukhothai
When I say we departed onto the unknown, it is not my intention to sound dramatic but as you may expect, everything went wrong. First, after riding for about 30 minutes and following the waterfall signs we found on the street, we got lost. We ended up basically, on the middle of nowhere. Second, we had the fantastic idea of bringing a very little amount of water. The heat was horribly intense. While lost, a lady with her ice cream car appeared. Don’t ask me what a lady selling ice cream was doing there but she appeared as an angel. She wasn’t selling water. She only had ice cream. We bought a cone each and tried to get instructions. Well, things cannot be that easy. She didn’t speak English but she kind of understood our signals and she actually pointed us in the correct direction!!!
At this point, one of the guys riding with us was about to faint. The heat was killing him. He and his wife decided to go back to town.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. The initial impression was great. We found a lake surrounded by lush vegetation. We were so thirsty and hot that we contemplated the idea of jumping into the lake and filling our water bottles. Well, that never happened. When we got closer, we saw some nasty animal droppings floating close to the shore. Totally disgusting!!!
Lake near Sukhothai
Ok, so we started to look for the waterfall. After experiencing the heat, I was pretty sure we were not going to find anything. The terrain looked sandy and the riverbeds were dry. We only lasted 15 minutes in the scorching jungle. We went back to our motorcycles and sat down under the shade of a tree to talk and joke. Even though we didn’t find the refreshing waterfall we were looking for, we felt like we were doing something great. We were there on an unknown place, under the shade of a tree and listening to the birds singing. It felt great.
Another View of the Lake
It was time to go back because we needed water. I mean, we needed water fast. I was feeling really weird and my body was kind of trembling. We stopped at a little shack and got the appreciated liquid. It was an odd combination of relief and disgust. I needed to drink that water but it was probably the hottest water I have had in my whole life. After drinking, I started to feel better.
Now the sad part comes. We had to say goodbye to our motorcycles. My husband dropped me at Seven-Eleven where I was going to buy cold drinks. He was going to meet me there and then we were going to walk to the hotel. Ok, maybe it wasn’t a Seven-Eleven but it was the perfect clone. I brought the drinks and waited for my husband. A girl from the group came back in her motorcycle. She said we were going to eat at the rental place (Thais have multitasking business). My husband sent her to pick me up. I had two slurpees (yes, they have slurpees in Thailand) and a bag full of drinks so I told her I preferred to walk. She insisted on giving me a ride. I jumped to the back while trying to balance all my stuff plus trying to hold for my dear life. Then, the unexpected happened. We almost fall from the motorcycle. It was really scary. She accelerated while making a turn. She did it fast because a car was rapidly approaching. She got used to drive by herself. It was a different story with somebody at the back. At least, we were able to react and didn’t make it to the floor. Plus, the car that was coming stopped. Because, what is the point of not falling when you are run over by a car later?
We ate, made it to the hotel and jumped into the pool. Good way to end a crazy day.
Hotel Legendha
We went to explore the ruins close to the hotel.
Elephant Temple
Close up of the elephants in one of Sukhothai temples
We watched the sunset.
Sunset in Sukhothai
We ate in the hotel’s restaurant.
Snake Head Fish Plate in Hotel Legendha
Green Papaya Salad in Hotel Legendha
They also had a Sukhothai style performance.
Peformance at Hotel
Sukhothai Style Performance
In summary, it was the perfect day. Amazing ruins exploration, hard core adventures, near death experiences, good food and wonderful friend. Now, the problem is how to make every day like that one.