A Day Trip to Ayutthaya

When I first began planning my trip to Ayutthaya, I did not think I would be able to see all its attractions in a single day. After all, this legendary city flourished for four centuries as the capital of Siam, one of the most powerful and prosperous kingdoms of Southeast Asia. However, with a bit of planning and a reasonable amount of cab money, a journey from Bangkok and back can take just around ten hours. At eight in the morning, Reese and I were getting breakfast at the Krung Thep Aphiwat train station just as the national anthem boomed from the speakers. When the national anthem played again at six in the evening, Reese and I were in front of the same train station waiting for our cab.

On a slight tangent, the etiquette that surrounds the playing of the Thai national anthem is quite interesting. Everyone goes silent, those who are walking stop dead in their tracks, and those who are sitting stand up – except for monks, who I assume are exempted by having an even higher allegiance than the state. This happens wherever there are speakers, such as government buildings, train stations, and parks, and of course the radio as well. Traffic, I should point out, does not stop, as that would probably lead to quite a few accidents, and as not all drivers are constantly tuned into their radio (a similar issue is true for pedestrians, since it is possible to miss the broadcast when one is wearing headphones).

Anyway, back to the narrative of mine and Reese’s journey: Having bought the twenty-baht third class ticket for the express train to Chiang Mai, Reese and I boarded our carriage some ten minutes before our scheduled departure at quarter to nine. I found that the seats in third class are not the most comfortable, and that sitting across from other passengers requires a tacit negotiation over leg space. However, the man who sat down opposite to me forestalled all awkwardness by turning so that his legs faced the aisle. The most salient feature of the third-class carriages is that they have no air-conditioning, which I can only assume can be a real nuisance in the summer months but was hardly a problem on a sunny day in late November.

Once we arrived in Ayutthaya, we ordered a Bolt cab to Wat Mahathat, one of the major temples at the heart of the ruined city. Looking at a map, one can discern that this historic centre is located on an island: Ayutthaya was built at the confluence of the rivers Chao Phraya, Lop Buri, and Pasak, which are connected a second time farther north by a manmade canal. The name Ayutthaya is an homage to Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It was officially founded in 1350 by Ramathibodi I, but the city and name date all the way back to a ninth-century Khmer settlement. For the next four hundred years, Ayutthaya served as the capital of the eponymous Ayutthaya Kingdom until it was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Following this defeat, the Thais moved their capital to Thonburi and later Rattanakosin Island in present-day Bangkok.

At Wat Mahathat we bought our combined ticket to Ayutthaya Historical Park, which comprises most of the old temples in the city. Wat Mahathat is but one among many, though it is notable for its haunting Buddha head nestled in the roots of a bodhi tree. Just north of Wat Mahathat, we then visited Wat Ratchaburana with its tall and distinctive prang. No less impressive than Wat Mahathat, it had far fewer tourists, which seemed to be the case for most temples throughout the city beside Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Reese said that last time he visited Ayutthaya, he rented a motorcycle at a restaurant directly opposite Wat Ratchaburana for 250 Baht. When we showed up, however, we found that the owner had upped the price by another 100 Baht (either that or she saw me and decided to apply a European tax). We figured that for this price, in addition to the fuel costs, we might as well get around by Bolt and Grab, which was a shrewd calculation. In fact, excluding the drive to and from the vicinity of the train station, we spent just under 350 Baht on transport.

We proceeded to explore the rest of the island on foot. Walking across Bueng Phra Ram Park, we arrived by Wat Phra Ram, where several pairs of tourists were taking rides on elephants decked out in the royal style. Only one of the pairs was European, indicating the resonance of animal rights discourse back home. We then continued to Wat Phra Si Sanphet with its three round chedis and – following a quick lunch – the reclining Buddha at Wat Lokkayasutha.

This last temple was where we began our cab hailing across the wider perimeter around the historic city of Ayutthaya. We first drove north to Wat Phukhao Thong, a fifty-metre tall chedi whose foundations were laid in 1569 by the invading Burmese. Following Ayutthaya’s recapture of the area, the chedi was completed in Thai style. From Wat Phukhao Thong we continued to Wat Chaiwatthanaram, an impressively large complex with eight large chedis symmetrically surrounding the central shrine, which itself has another four smaller chedis at its base. The temple is a favourite among Thai tourists, who like to take pictures there in rented traditional clothes and holding parasols.

Our next stop was Wat Phutthaisawan, another ancient temple with a more recent white prang. Towards the back of the complex stands a half-ruined shrine housing a reclining Buddha. When we visited it, we saw many people praying as they would at a temple, even though the roof and parts of the walls were gone. Finally, we took a cab to the giant chedi at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon and – walking past Chedi Wat Sam Pluem at a busy intersection nearby – made our way to the train station. This last leg happened in a hurry, as we were trying to catch the only express for the next hour and a half, but once we arrived at the station we found out it had been delayed by almost half an hour.