Ayutthaya or Sukhothai

I have read in the guidebooks that Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are much the same. As I have limted time which one would you suggest for me to visit? I am planning on going to Chiang Mai anyway so traveling north is no problem.

[Panrit "Gor" Daoruang]

I have been to both Ayutthaya and Sukhothai and they are both good in different ways.

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Wat Phananchoeng



Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Ayutthaya is nearer to Bangkok and so I have been there 3 or 4 times on day trips. I went once with my school. You can see most of the sites in one day though if you stay overnight you can see the temples lit up. I believe there is a tour from Bangkok that allows you to travel there by boat and then come back by coach.

Click on the following link to see some of my pictures I took in Ayutthaya:

http://www.thailandguidebook.com/a_index.html

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Wat Mahathat

Sukhothai is much further away in the north of Thailand. Maybe about 6 hours by car. I went there once and had a bad experience with the weather. A flash flood came during the night and my guesthouse room ended up under two feet of water.

However, the place is much quieter and if you hire a bike you can easily cycle around the temples in the old city. The picture of me with Wat Mahathat in the background is one of my favourites.

If you have time, do Ayutthaya as a day trip from Bangkok and then stop in Sukhothai on your way up to Chiang Mai. If you only have time for one then I think I would choose Ayutthaya.