Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Sandstone Buddha head, Ayutthaya

Sandstone Buddha head, Ayutthaya

Sandstone Buddha head, wide shot

Sandstone Buddha head, wide shot

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya

Wat Si Sawai, Sukhothai

Wat Si Sawai, Sukhothai

Wat Sorasak, Sukhothai

Wat Sorasak, Sukhothai

Garden statues, Sukhothai

Garden statues, Sukhothai

Sukhothai

Sukhothai

Kids' alley, Sunday night market, Lampang

Kids' alley, Sunday night market, Lampang

Thanon Talat Khao, Lampang

Thanon Talat Khao, Lampang

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Nui, Sukhothai

Nui, Sukhothai

Thailand

Northern Thailand

February 2010 • For better or worse (emphasis on the latter), I followed the tourist trail from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the north, stopping along the way in Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, and Lampang. Outposts of KFC and 7-11 were in abundance, yet I did sometimes manage to find traces of a unique cultural heritage, much of it fenced off in tidy, multiple-ticket historical parks. Thailand is a good example of what happens to a country when it's a cheap tourist hot spot for 20 years. Don't let it happen to you, Myanmar.

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Sandstone Buddha head, Ayutthaya

Sandstone Buddha head, Ayutthaya

Sandstone Buddha head, wide shot

Sandstone Buddha head, wide shot

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya

Wat Si Sawai, Sukhothai

Wat Si Sawai, Sukhothai

Wat Sorasak, Sukhothai

Wat Sorasak, Sukhothai

Garden statues, Sukhothai

Garden statues, Sukhothai

Sukhothai

Sukhothai

Kids' alley, Sunday night market, Lampang

Kids' alley, Sunday night market, Lampang

Thanon Talat Khao, Lampang

Thanon Talat Khao, Lampang

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai

Nui, Sukhothai

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai