Si Satchanalai is the quieter sibling of Sukhothai, and many riders prefer it for exactly that reason. It sits on the Yom River in northern Thailand's lower north, in a bowl of low hills, and what remains of the old city is spread across a park of trimmed lawns, laterite walls and big shade trees. The kingdom of Sukhothai used this as a sister city in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the monuments here, in a style that mixes Khmer, Sinhalese and Thai ideas, are some of the earliest Thai Buddhist architecture you can still walk among.
The most striking shapes are the chedi at Wat Chang Lom, the elephant-ringed temple whose bell-shaped stupa stands on a square base held up by thirty-nine stone elephants, and the ridge-top Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng, from which the whole valley is laid out like a map. Climb there in late afternoon when the heat softens. Nearby, the old kiln sites made the glazed celadon known as Sawankhalok ware, shipped across Southeast Asia long before Europeans arrived.
The riding in the lower north is not dramatic but it is pleasant. Highway 101 and the smaller roads along the Yom run through rice flats, teak plantations and fruit orchards on gently rolling land. The tarmac is good and wide, the bends are mild, and the main hazards are trucks, dogs, and sudden flocks of schoolchildren on bicycles. Temperatures are fierce between March and May, comfortable from November to February, and in the rainy season the afternoon storms arrive on schedule, so aim to ride in the morning.
The park has cycle hire, which is how most people cover it, and stalls at the entrance sell noodles, coconut ice cream and iced coffee. Si Satchanalai town is about eleven kilometres away and big enough to have fuel, a market and basic lodging, while Sawankhalok, a little further, has more choice, and Uttaradit is the nearest proper city. A ticket is required at the main gates, usually with a separate fee for riding a motorbike inside. Bring a hat and water, since shade between the monuments is thinner than you hope.