Phitsanulok

A day in Phitsanulok from Wat Yai to the King Naresuan Shrine

One day covers Phitsanulok's main sights. Start at Wat Yai for the Chinnarat Buddha, then visit the Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum, the Buranathai bronze foundry and the King Naresuan Shrine in the Wang Chan palace ruins, and finish at the market south of the train station or the riverside night bazaar.

Be at Wat Yai soon after it opens, when monks are chanting and the Chinnarat image catches the morning light. Walk across to the city pillar shrine on the opposite bank, then take a tuk-tuk south to the Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum, where rice-farming tools and bamboo traps fill several wooden buildings.

The Buranathai foundry is close by; you can watch workers finishing bronze images, and the aviary next door has hornbills and parrots that talk back. After a rest through the hottest hours, head north past the government offices to the King Naresuan Shrine among the Wang Chan palace ruins, the birthplace of the king who freed Ayutthaya from Burmese control in the 16th century.

In the evening, eat at the market south of the train station, where grilled chicken and fried noodles are the reliable orders, or walk the night bazaar by the river for flying morning glory and a browse of the stalls.

Gai yang by the station and flying morning glory at the night bazaar

Phitsanulok eats at markets. The market just south of the train station is the most dependable place for gai yang and fried noodles, and the riverside night bazaar is known for pak bung loy fah, flying morning glory tossed across the road to a waiter. Some houseboats on the Nan River serve dinner.

The market just south of the train station is a day market that turns into a busy night market as the light fades, and it is the most dependable place in town for a cheap, good meal. Order gai yang, chicken grilled over charcoal and eaten with sticky rice and a sour-hot dipping sauce, and kuay tiew pad Thai, Thai-style fried rice noodles.

Along the river, the night bazaar has more of a tourist air, with souvenir stalls between the food. It is where you find pak bung loy fah, flying morning glory: the cook flash-fries water spinach with garlic and chilli, then flings it across the road to a waiter who catches it on a plate. The stunt is the point, so watch before you order. A few of the houseboats moored on the Nan have become restaurants and cafes, good for river breezes at dinner.

Vegetarians have a hard time; dishes described as meat-free often turn out to include chicken or beef, so be explicit. For cakes and coffee, the cafes on Phaya Lithai Road near the river are a pleasant break, and the Topland mall food court is reliable in the midday heat.

By bus to Sukhothai Historical Park and round it by bicycle

Sukhothai Historical Park is an easy day trip from Phitsanulok. Air-conditioned buses leave Bus Terminal 1 about every 45 minutes and take about an hour for the 58 km to new Sukhothai, where songthaews continue to the park. Rent a bicycle at the gate and see the central and northern zones before the midday heat.

Phitsanulok is the easiest base for Sukhothai if you arrive by train, since Sukhothai has no railway, and it works just as well by air: flights from Don Mueang reach Phitsanulok Airport in about 50 minutes. Air-conditioned buses leave Bus Terminal 1 roughly every 45 minutes through the day and take about an hour for the 58 km to the new town.

From new Sukhothai, songthaews run on to the historical park, the ruined capital of the 13th-century Sukhothai kingdom. Rent a bicycle near the gate and start with the central zone, where Wat Mahathat's lotus-bud chedi and the seated Buddhas between the columns are at their best in the early light. Ride out to the northern zone in late morning for Wat Si Chum, whose huge seated Buddha fills a roofless hall.

Eat lunch near the park, then catch an afternoon bus back to Phitsanulok. Between March and May, when highs reach 37C, plan to finish at the ruins by late morning; in the rains from June to October, carry a poncho and expect storms after lunch. Allow a full day.