February 2016 | Angkor Photography Tours

Sukhothai historical park revisited

On February 23, 2016 / blog

I recently had the opportunity to revisit the temples of Sukhothai in Thailand I explored for the first time back in 2011. Leading photography tours in Angkor for more 2 years now and having walked hundreds of kilometers in the temples it gave me a new perspective about photography but also allowed me to appreciate better the architecture and influences, especially Khmer, present in Sukhothai.

The Sukhothai historical park, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1991, is located about 400 kilometers north of Bangkok and is home of the old temples of the Kingdom of Sukhothai (translated by dawn of happiness) which existed between the 13th (after being freed from the Khmer empire) and 14th century (after being annexed by Ayutthaya).

The park lies on 70 square kilometers and divided in two sections, the inner and the outer wall. The inner city is immaculately clean with cut grass, ponds and frangipani trees and certainly a model of management. While it is possible to visit the temples inside the inner enclosure of 2.5 sq km2 by walk (Angkor Wat temple is 1.95 sq km2) it is advisable to rent a bicycle.

The architecture in Sukhothai got many influences over the years from Ceylonese (modern Sri Lanka) and Khmer art. In the part, are ruins of two temples built during the Khmer empire. The largest one, just outside them main enclosure, called Wat Phra Pai Luang is the oldest of the group built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, but only one tower with the Khmer architecture remains.

Wat Si Sawai is another example of Khmer architecture subsequently modified with the Thai style with three beautiful towers (called prang) one of them still housing a pedestal which once held a linga, dedicated to shiva.

The main temple in Sukhothai park is Wat Mahathat with an imposing seated Buddha facing east making this temple it a perfect location for sunrise and sunset. As a bonus there is like in Angkor Wat a small reflecting pond.

Within the walled old city, on temple temple not to be missed is Wat Sa Si with a Sukhothai style walking Buddha and a main tall Chedi

Wat Si Chum outside the park has an impressive seating Buddha image quite enigmatic behind a tall square structure called Mandapa. In a crumbling state, the Buddha image and Mandapa were restored between 1953 and 1956.

If you already visited the temples of Angkor I would recommend extending your UNESCO world heritage journey by spending one or two days exploring the ruins of Sukhothai as this site has the advantage of being much less touristic than Angkor and great for photography.

Seated-Buddha-Wat-Mahathat-temple-Sukhothai

Seated Buddha at Wat Mahathat temple

Seated Buddha at Wat Mahathat temple at night

Standing buddha images at Wat Mahathat temple

Seated Buddha at Wat Mahathat temple

Seated Buddha at Wat Mahathat temple with sun

The impressive seated Buddha of Wat Si Chum temple

Wat Si Sawai temple

Walking pilgrims sculpture at Wat Mahathat

Walking Buddha Wat Si Sai Sukhothai style

Walking Buddha Wat Si Sai Sukhothai

Buddha feet at Wat Saphan temple

Buddha feet at Wat Phra Pai Luang

Spring Equinox Celebrations

On February 15, 2016 / Uncategorized

Equinox, an astronomical event that marks a change in season, is the time in which the sun passes over the celestial equator causing the length of night and day to be roughly equal. In the northern hemisphere vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring while autumnal equinox marks the beginning of autumn. Vernal equinox is usually celebrated in March while autumnal equinox in September. In the southern hemisphere, it is the other way around.

Spring equinox is not just any ordinary season celebration. In most cultures, it is a religious observance embracing a symbolic sense of spirituality. It has been celebrated for thousands of years in many countries with different traditions with almost similar themes, the start of new beginnings. For Christians, spring equinox plays a vital role in determining the Christian Easter and the same goes for the Jewish celebration of the Passover. While a tradition from ancient Chinese calls for balancing of eggs to bring good fortune and abundance. For Iranians, spring equinox marks their New Year or Nowruz established from the Zoroastrianism beliefs. St. Patrick’s day in Ireland is also an observance related to the spring equinox.

In Pagan traditions, spring equinox is a celebration in honor of the gods and goddesses. Ancient Romans celebrate in honor of the mother goddess of Rome, Cybele, who with some divine intervention and help from Zeus, resurrected her lover, Attis after he castrated and killed himself. Germanic tribes celebrate Ostara, originally from the word Eostre, the Germanic goddess of spring; while Ancient Egypt celebrate the Festival of Isis, the goddess of spring and rebirth.

The native Mayan people in Central America celebrates spring equinox for ten centuries in the Mayan sacrificial ritual pyramid, El Castillo or the Kukulcan Pyramid, in Chichen Itza, Mexico. The pyramid has four staircases and at the base of the stairs stands the carved head of a snake deity, Kukulkan. The pyramid is designed with quite an impressive precision that during the equinox, as the sun sets, shadows and sunlight plays an illusion of a snake sliding down the staircase. They call this occurrence as “The Return of the Sun Serpent”. At present, El Castillo is also one of the famous venue for equinox observance.

Stonehenge, a celebrated tourist attraction in England is another well-known venue for the equinox. One function of the Stonehenge’s blueprint is to serve as an astronomical observatory to forecast and calculate celestial occurrences. During the equinox, Druids and Pagans gather early in the morning to witness the sun rising above the stones. This structure has become a very prominent venue for those seeking some kind of an extraordinary spiritual encounter during the equinox.

Another remarkable site to experience the equinox is the Grianan of Aileach, a group of ancient structures on top of a hill in Count Donegal, Ireland, with structures believed to have been built in the 6th or 7th century AD. During the equinox, the beam of the rising sun is dividing the inside of the stone ring-fort which is the main structure, into a northern and southern part.

Mnajdra, a temple complex in the the island of Malta, is considered as one of the most ancient religious sites on earth. The structure is believed to have been built during the 4th Millenium B.C. During the equinox, a ray of sun pass thru the temple and lights up its main axis.

Finally, being considered as one of the shrines of the ancient world, Angkor Wat near Siem Reap Cambodia is the most popular venue in Southeast Asia to celebrate the spring equinox. The structure, aside from its magnificent design is also drafted to forecast celestial phenomenons. Angkor Wat temple features a very distinctive and spectacular sunrise during the equinox; the sun rises exactly behind the pinnacle of the central tower, the most sacred point of the temple rising 65 meters above the ground.

For this upcoming Spring Equinox we are doing a special photography tour, please visit this page for more details. Here are few pictures below of sunrise at the equinox in Angkor Wat temple.