We find ourselves about 7 hours north of Bangkok, in a town called Sukhothai, which was the originally capital of the kingdom in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. The area is definitely farm country, and from the bus we saw all manner of farms and fields growing mainly rice, but also with a smattering of sugar cane, tobacco and corn (why they grow corn here when we sometimes pay farmers not to grow corn is a bit of a mystery to me, but farm politics is murky the world over I guess).

The town is small-ish (30,000 or so) and home to one of the country’s World Heritage sites, the ruined temples of the old city. Thankfully it’s a bit cooler here, which was key during our all-day bike trip. Our tour was wonderful, providing a lot of very pertinent and interesting information about what we saw and the equipment was brand new Trek bikes.

Just a family, some bikes, and 700 year old ruins.

The ruins, which I had not visited during prior trips to Thailand, were terrific, and the sites well preserved and maintained. They reflect the varied religious history of the area: some Buddhist and Hindu influences, mixed from the periods of various neighboring civilizations’ rule over the centuries.

Charlie with a Hindu temple.

Jenn and I, not quite as old as our surroundings.

These were really cool.

Our guide, Miao, was awesome.

I got AJ to pose just one more time.

But eventually it was time to head home.

We are staying in another home-run find of Jenn’s, the Baan Georges guest house. We have a large, nicely decorated family room for a couple of nights, and the place includes a pool, a first for us on this trip. The Belgian proprietor spent a few minutes with us on his third floor balcony, sharing a bit of his story with us. He has a beautiful spot, and has done a very nice job outfitting his hotel.

Baan Georges- Belgian luxury at Thai prices