Sukhothai: the stone that says there are fish in the water and rice in the fields

In the Bangkok National Museum stands a stone column from Sukhothai, inscribed on all four faces and about 1.15 metres tall. It is generally dated to 1292, was found in 1833 by Prince Mongkut, then a monk, and was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2003. Scholars have argued over its authenticity, and the question has not been fully settled. The text describes Sukhothai under King Ram Khamhaeng, and one line has since become a common Thai saying: "There are fish in the water and rice in the fields."

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Sukhothai was the capital of an early Siamese kingdom. The old city is ringed by earth ramparts and a moat, and most of the temples left inside were built of red brick. They were once coated in stucco; much of it has fallen away and the brick shows through. In 1991 Sukhothai was listed as a World Heritage Site together with the nearby old towns of Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet.

Wat Mahathat stands at the centre of the historical park. Its main stupa ends in a closed lotus bud, the shape that marks the Sukhothai period. Standing and seated Buddhas surround it, some broken off at the waist, beside rows of columns of which only the bases are left. Ponds lie around the temple, and the grass between the stupas is cut short.

North of the old city, Wat Si Chum is a single square hall built around one enormous seated Buddha known as Phra Achana. The opening in the front wall is tall and narrow, so from a distance only part of the face shows, and the right hand resting over the knee comes into view only closer in.

The park is large, and bicycles can be rented to get between the ruins. Outside, small shops sell Sukhothai noodles: a clear, slightly sweet broth with pork, cut long beans and crushed peanuts. Sukhothai is also regarded as the birthplace of Loy Krathong, and on the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month the ponds in front of Wat Mahathat fill with krathong.