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the surrounding countryside reposing in the benediction of its large standing Buddha. The museum of Sukhothai also displayed a number of very fine pieces, not least the magnificent walking Buddha, phra lila, a purely Sukhothai invention.
The sister city of Srisachanalai is further to the north of Sukhothai but of the same period. It is famous for the Sangkaloke variation on Sukhothai celadons, and it is from there that the Chalieng wares came. To get to the site one has to cross the river Yom in a boat below the rapids; the ruins are visited on foot. The entire spread of the area was seen from the top of Wat Khao Phanom Pleung. Wat Chang Lom, with its stucco-on-laterite elephants around giving it its name, dates from the beginning of the Sukhothai period. Wat Chedi Chet Tao has among other chedi the characteristic lotus-bud finial which was also seen in Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai; as in that temple, too, there were also some good stucco remains, here, of a Buddha seated under a protecting naga. Wat Uttayan Yai is another ruined temple, and between it and the high city wall still remaining are the ruins of Wat Nang Phya, the walls of the chapel containing some delicate decorative stucco work. In the ruins of the palace is an interesting covered arched sanctuary,
The site of Kampengpetch lacks the hills of Sukhothai or Srisachanalai but is surrounded by denser secondary jungle which adds to the attraction of the area. Wat Chao Awat Yai has little of particular note apart from the deep rectangular pool before it from which the blocks of laterite were cut to erect the building. The elephants surrounding the central section of Wat Chang Rob are better preserved than at Srisachanalai and finer in their detail, and there is a stucco decoration of Bo trees and demons on the walls between them. Wat Phra Si Irayabot has in the middle of the jungle a vast laterite platform for a vihara and behind it a most unusual construction with four Buddhas placed round a high core in standing, walking, sleeping and seated positions. The first two are still in good condition but little remains of the last two. All these temples lie outside the old city walls, inside which are to be found the ruins of Wat Prathat and Wat Phra Keo, with their bare outlines of laterite Buddhas and fallen chedi. The new museum at Kampengphet was also visited by special arrangement and contains some exceptional pieces, notably an U-Thong Buddha and some torsos of Hindu deities which seemed to have found more favour in Kampengpetch than in the other cities of Sukhothai.