The ancient UNESCO-listed city that’s considered the cradle of Thai culture

By Karla Cripps and Kocha Olarn, CNN

(CNN) — Every year in Thailand, on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar – usually in November – thousands of locals and tourists head for the nearest body of water to celebrate Loy Krathong.

As part of the festival, people release small floats – krathongs – that are commonly covered in decorative banana plant leaves and topped with flowers, incense and candles. These are set adrift as offerings to the water goddess, an act many people believe brings luck.

Loy Krathong falls on November 15 this year, and events will be held all over the country, but the biggest celebration takes place in the city of Sukhothai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Featuring traditional parades, light and sound shows and fireworks, the week-long Festival of Lights gives visitors a rare chance to see the city’s ancient monuments dramatically lit up as it celebrates the historical park’s impressive heritage.

But even if you can’t make the journey to Sukhothai for its Loy Krathong festivities, from November 8-15, it’s worth visiting any time of the year.

The birthplace of Siam

Sukhothai was the first capital of the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand’s former name), in the 13th and 14th centuries, before it was conquered by Ayutthaya, which became the new capital in 1438. Today, several impressive Buddhist monasteries and other examples of early Thai architecture can be explored in the Sukhothai Historical Park.

UNESCO, which added the city and its associated towns to its World Heritage list in 1991, credits Sukhothai with developing many of the unique identifying characteristics that represent Thai culture today, including language, religion and architecture.

“The great civilization which evolved in the Kingdom of Sukhothai absorbed numerous influences and ancient local traditions; the rapid assimilation of all these elements forged what is known as the ‘Sukhothai style,’” says its inscription.

Sirawee Lamsudjai, who was born in Sukhothai, is a cultural officer at the city’s Ramkhamhaeng National Museum. She says what surprises many tourists isn’t just the beautiful architecture and Buddhist monuments, but the slow-paced way of life.

“The first impression for many tourists visiting Sukhothai is how peaceful it is, how the local lifestyle coexists harmoniously with the historical sites,” she says.

Though compact, there’s a lot to see here. Wat Mahathat sits at the center of the historical park and features a grand pagoda. Sirawee says another top highlight is Wat Traphang Thong, or Golden Lake Monastery, which is the main location for the Festival of Lights.

Wat Si Chum is also a popular site, particularly among photographers, that’s not to be skipped.

“Tourists are impressed with its giant seated Buddha statue, which is housed in a building with no roof,” says Sirawee. “The statue looks beautiful, especially when the sunlight touches it, giving a feeling of serenity.”

A city of innovators

Sukhothai might be renowned as a place where arts, language and religion flourished – many scholars refer to it as the cradle of Thai culture – but it’s also lauded for its innovation.

“As people walk around the Sukhothai historic sites, they will find manmade ponds that are systematically linked together,” says Sirawee.

“The city is known for having the most efficient water system in Siamese history.”

UNESCO also highlights Sukhothai’s strides in the development of hydraulic engineering in its inscription, pointing out the kingdom successfully modified the local landscape by constructing reservoirs, ponds and canals to control flooding and bring in water “to serve a variety of agricultural, economic and ritual functions.”

But while historians are certain of Sukhothai’s water management successes, questions about its connection to Loy Krathong remain unanswered. Many people believe the former capital is the birthplace of the festival, but the reality is a bit murkier given the lack of concrete evidence and varying historical accounts, claim experts.

Sirawee says it’s not clear when Loy Krathong activities were first adopted in Thailand, but notes Sukhothai records do mention candle and fireworks festivals.

Tongthong Chandransu, a well-known historian and scholar who has conducted extensive research into Thailand’s legal, political and cultural history holds a similar view.

He tells CNN there was no mention of floats being released into the water written on Sukhothai’s famed Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, a stone monument covered in Thai script that includes descriptions of what life was like in the kingdom under the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng.

“The origin of Loy Krathong culture is still a subject of academic debate,” he says.

“But (we do know) the activity has been practiced by Thais for over 200 years since the Rattanakosin era (1782–1932).”

The most commonly agreed-upon theory is that the floats were originally a symbolic way of expressing gratitude to the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha.

“Thai people’s lifestyles were heavily dependent on water, from general consumption to farming. In the past the river was the main transportation route – everything was carried out around water,” says Tongthong.

Because of this, some historians believe the offerings were made as an apology to the goddess for disturbing her with so many activities.

Over time, Tongthong says people began to associate the release of krathongs into the water with the release of bad fortune, though in recent years it’s been impossible to ignore the environmental impact.

“Releasing flower krathongs made out of banana plant stems and leaves was never a problem until recently, when the population increased drastically. Of course it creates a mass of krathongs and pollutes water,” he says.

In response, many people are now choosing more sustainable ways to honor the tradition, such as making their krathong bases out natural materials.

Others just light a digital krathong online, or release them in bodies of water that don’t have wildlife, such as swimming pools.

“It is a very charming festival,” says Tongthong. “The timing is perfect, the water level is at its peak on the rivers and it happens at the transition period of the rainy season to winter season. Moreover, the moon is full. It’s very beautiful.”

Getting in and around Sukhothai

Regardless of whether Sukhothai is the birthplace of Loy Krathong culture, it remains one of the best places to experience it.

The city is about a six-hour drive from Bangkok, while flights take about 80 minutes. Bangkok Airways offers daily flights to Sukhothai Airport from the Thai capital’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Sukhothai is filled with a range of hotel options to suit all budgets and tastes, many within walking distance of the historical sites. Bike rentals are widely available and an enjoyable way to see the major highlights, while guided tours offer added insights.

For those who would like to learn more about the city’s impressive history, the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum – right outside the historical park’s gates – features a wide variety of artifacts discovered during a series of excavations in the 1960s.

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