Arcane Candy

Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Sukothai, Thailand

Two of the ladies who run the PU Guesthouse in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

This morning, as I left the PU Guesthouse to climb in the back of a songthaew to take me to the bus station, the sky unleashed an absolute torrent of rain right as I stepped off the front porch. Not only did I get damp from that, but a rip in the tarp roof that covered the back of the songthaew allowed a bunch of water to spray all over me, so I got another involuntary shower.

The doomed bus from Ayutthaya to Sukothai, Thailand.

A few miles outside of town, I got dropped off at a little bus station where all of the northbound buses stop. After about an hour’s wait, I finally climbed aboard one headed six hours north to Sukuthai, the first capital of the Sukothai kingdom. Oddly enough, we stopped after only an hour for a bite of food that was included with the price of our tickets. It was a buffet, so of course the grub was cold and bland.

The all wood interior of the Dream Cafe in Sukothai, Thailand.

We were no sooner back on the road when the bus engine started stalling every so often. Every time it did, the driver would pull off on the side of the road and coax it back to life, accompanied by a huge thump from the transmission. After that, we never got going over 35 mph. Around 4:00 pm, we got dropped off at another bus station somewhere out in the boonies. Luckily, there was a Thai woman onboard who also spoke English who translated what was going on for me and the eight or so other western travellers. She said the engine in this bus wouldn’t last much longer, so another bus would stop for us in a half hour.

The all wood interior of the Dream Cafe in Sukothai, Thailand.

In the interim, we were treated to a complete deluge of rain that was so heavy, it made a deafening roar as it hit the sheet metal overhang. Sure enough, after 30 minutes, another bus showed up. The only problem was because there were already some people on board, we came up two seats short. Then the English-speaking That lady said one of the two extra travelers could have her seat soon, as she was scheduled to disembark in 30 minutes.

Massaman Curry at the Dream Cafe in Sukothai, Thailand.

A little while after dark, we finally arrived in Sukothai an hour or two late, where I caught a songthaew into town and moved into a nice little bungalow at the Gardenhouse. For dinner, I walked a half mile down to Dream Cafe, which boasted a very atmospheric, rustic, all wood interior filled with wood carvings, paintings, sculptures and the like. The Massaman Curry I ordered was different in that it contained only potatoes in curry sauce without the usual vegetables; but it was delicious. The mattress in my bungalow was the stiffest on this trip so far. It felt like I was sleeping on a hard floor with carpet on it.

Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.

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