Football Fest..... It's game day and time for what I've come for, but the entertainment is not here in Phitsanulok. We will be heading into the next province for that, one hour away. With the game not kicking off till 6.00 pm there's just the question of filling in time today. With that in mind, I search around for options but in vain. We really have covered this area well in the past. What's on offer today will be like the BBC; all repeats.
The first repeat is a welcome one though, as I head for the railway station and time things perfectly to catch the 112 from Den Chai. This is the very train and also engine that took me from Ban Takhli to Ayutthaya on Monday. This time I have other things planned as I record its stop in Phitsanulok. Well, that didn't take long. So let's try another repeat.
Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Woramahawihan..... I last visited this famous old temple in December 2016, so why is it on my re-visit list? Well, this temple is a place of pilgrimage and has been for a very long time with former kings paying homage here right back to the 14th Century (the age of Sukhothai). The subject of such reverence in the temple is the famous gold-covered statue of the Buddha, known as Phra Phuttha Chinnarat. It is considered one of the most beautiful Buddha figures in Thailand. It was created along with two other images at the same time as the temple was founded in 1357 by King Lithai of Sukhothai. It's doubtful whether I paid so much attention to detail on my last visit, but I certainly did not visit the temple museum here. Expecting a display of religious artifact, I'm surprised to find a lot more than that. In the museum you will learn how various kings in different dynasties over more than 650 years have added to and enhanced the reputation of Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, Phra Phuttha Chinna Si, and Phra Si Satsada. You simply cannot be king without visiting here.
This visit has taken an hour and a half and to understand Thai history from the late Middle Ages, there's no better place than to visit here.
Lunch on the Nan..... It's now lunchtime and I check back in at the train station without success and now head along the Nan riverbank with two objectives. We need lunch, but I have in mind another revisit too. We take that lunch at Phae Pitlok. 'Phae' refers to a raft and that's where we will eat on the bank of the Nan River currently high with floodwater. Here, we over order but that's OK. We only need snacks later. The other reason I'm here is to view the ongoing work at Wat Chan Tawan Tok, a temple we visited in February this year. Regular celebrations have been held throughout the building of this new temple and on our last visit a ceremony to hoist 'chofah' (moldings) onto the temple roof was in progress. Not so today at this golden cathedraleque temple glowing in the sunshine. I'm here to check on progress and see there is far less scaffolding visible. It's nearly finished, but today certainly isn't, and it's now time to head to Sukhothai.
Reaching Sukhothai takes just an hour and the plan is to settle in at our selected accommodation well before the evening's entertainment.
Teerada Resort.....Arriving at these rural resorts is always a bit of a lottery. When we arrive near Teerada Resort it takes a moment to realise it's located behind some shops along Road 1195. Here is a block of bungalows or rather two blocks, and we need to get a key from the coffee shop. So let's see what we get for 500 baht. On the outside the bungalows are completely faced with vegetation, a sort of vine so that it blends in naturally with its surrounding. The theme continues inside too with the walls being of brick and render. I would say the building is not that old with adequate and modern power points. This is always a plus but doesn't help here as there is no table, just a breakfast bar which is not that practical. However, before I say more, remember this is just 500 baht, and it's location next to the convenience store and mobile vendors is a whopping plus. As for the lack of table space, we carry a table around with us these days and I did remember the extension lead too.
Flood Affected.....As we've arrived mid-afternoon, there is the advantage of having a rest for a hour before we head to the game. Then we can buy what we need to take from 7-Eleven. It isn't always convenient queuing up for food at the stadium. We depart with plenty of time before the game, but there's a problem ahead. We use the obvious route to the stadium which is Road 125 but it's flood affected. We know from reports and visual evidence that the Yom River which flows through the province, has burst its banks. We soon hit the floods affecting the road in several places. The water isn't hanging as such but is streaming over the road. We press on carefully, but I'm concerned: Where is the traffic? We are close to the stadium here. It's a worrying moment as a vision appears of yet another missed opportunity. We head towards Talay Luang and soon find a feeder road and here is your traffic. Local knowledge comes up trumps. We head into the stadium and all is set. The floods seem to have affected attendance though. There is no queue for tickets, and we can park anywhere ending up directly in from of an entrance. We could have revved the car up and drove straight into it. Then with time to spare, we find a table and consume what we bought earlier. There are no long queues here either. We've been overcautious. There's no rush to find a seat too as the stadium isn't full; indeed it looks almost empty.
Game On (Sukhothai v Nakhon Ratchasima).....The game kicks of at 6.00 pm and the setting is perfect for a game and the pitch in great condition. The other great surprise is the wall-to-wall sunshine. I don't remember any day like this after 5 weeks here. The two teams playing today are evenly matched according to table positions, and so they are as the first half is goaless. You can't see where a goal is coming from. Into the second half though Sukhothai build some momentum and get the goal they deserve. Nakhon Ratchasima though are tough nuts to crack and there is no further score. The crowd of just 1,700 can go home happy after their team's deserved win but for us, we need local advice to avoid floods on return to the resort.
We return via back roads as advised but that doubles the time needed. However, this has been a great occasion apart from that, and the relaxed atmosphere in the stadium and the conditions have been excellent. I just loved it. All that remains now is to cap that off with a beer from 7-Eleven, but I have one eye on tomorrow and another long drive.

Source: Visit