If the skyscrapers of Bangkok are getting too much for you, it’s easy to reach the ancient ruined capital of Thailand; Ayutthaya. Some 85km north following the Chao Phraya River, Ayutthaya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s possible to do as a day trip from Bangkok, but we would advise spending several days to really make the most of the city.

Some history

Ayutthaya was founded in 135,0 and by 1700 it was the largest city in the world with 1 million inhabitants. Its strategic location between China, India and the Malay Archipelago made it an influential hub for world trade, with many foreign merchants setting up shop around the city. It also enjoyed a protected position, as it is an island flanked by 3 rivers. Ayutthaya’s dominance and glory ended in 1767 when it was sacked and burned by the Burmese. All that remains today are the stone temples and palaces that survived, but you can also see some extraordinary artefacts recovered from the temples preserved in the museum.

The modern Ayutthaya has grown up around the ruins, so you are not visiting a remote archaeological park. Along with the ubiquitous 7/11 shops on each block, you’ll also find an ancient wat!

Getting there

Getting to Ayutthaya is pretty simple, it takes around an hour and there is a plethora of trains, buses, private tours and so forth, all of which can be organised from Bangkok. Your guesthouse is the best place to get reliable and up to date information. We were using a rental car at that point and found Thai roads to be very well maintained (especially the toll roads) and Thai driving standards fairly good (especially if you’ve just come from India!).

Getting around

Ayutthaya is still a fair size and the sites are spread out. We did everything on foot, taking the odd Tuk Tuk when we felt tired (and they do look odd here!). Most guesthouses have bicycles that you can rent and it’s advisable to see part of the temple circuit from a boat tour.

How to visit

The Ayutthaya Historical Park ticket includes entrance to 7 sites and must be used over the course of 1 day. You can buy it at any of those 7 sites. You can also buy separate tickets at each site if you don’t have much time or prefer to space out your visits.

We recommend doing the 5 sites in town in one session:

• Wat Ratchaburana – a grand temple with a large prang (temple tower). Many important artefacts that are now housed in the museum were found here. If you climb up the prang and then enter in to it’s depths via a steep stairway, you can see some temple murals which have been preserved.

• Wat Mahathat – a grand temple where the Buddha relic (which you can see in the museum) was found. This complex is also famous because it has the iconic stone Buddha head suspended in the roots of a Boddhi tree. It’s commonly used on guidebook covers!

• Wat Phra Ram – another grand temple.

• Wat Phra Si Sanphet – in the Royal Palace area, this wat (Buddhist monastery or temple) has 3 pointy bell-shaped stupas (Buddhist shrines) with remnants of white coating.

• Wihara Phra Mongkon Bophit – was closed when we were there, but it contains a large golden Buddha image in the pose of defeating Mara.

Additional activities include:

Chao Sam Phraya National Museum – A huge amount of stunning artefacts from Ayutthaya and the surrounding areas are held in this museum, including the Buddha relic. Buddha relics are small pearl or crystal formations, said to have been found in the cremation ashes of the Buddha. The museum holds hundreds of Buddha statues, many exquisite votive offerings and a large collection of gold objects. Sadly no pictures inside!

The Chantharakasem National Museum – Housed in the Chantharakasem Palace, which is a royal residence, most of the buildings here today were built by King Rama V in the 19^th century. The buildings are interesting enough, but there are also many historical artefacts to browse through.

Boat Trip

At around 4pm, take an afternoon shared boat trip (organised by all accommodation) which loops all the way around the island, stopping off at 3 sights on the southern stretch:

Wat Panan Choeng – a temple which houses Thailand’s largest ancient (dated 1344) Buddha image. It’s a large seated golden Buddha housed in an opulent room. Take note of the gigantic elephants tusks in front of it.

Wat Phutthai-sawan – a very peaceful, almost deserted temple which we enjoyed very much as seemed more authentic. Check out the central part of the temple for a Buddha statue surrounded by offerings, and bats!

Wat Chaiwatthanaram – is the temple that is firmly recognised as the sunset spot.

In Ayutthaya you will also see many elephants including some strange-looking pink ones (no, we weren’t drinking Delirium Tremens beer at the time!) giving rides to tourists in the hot sun. The hub is near the ancient elephant coral and is quite an attraction, where the baby elephants are also working hard doing tricks and posing for pictures. We don’t condone elephant rides and would implore our readership to think twice about the industry and how the elephants are broken/trained for this purpose. We were there during the yearly Ayutthaya Fair where the elephants were also being used in a night-time spectacle-re-enacting historical events and battles. We did not attend so as not to support this, but it’s a difficult topic as elephants are clearly culturally important to Thais.

During the Fair we were however able to enjoy some street food, particularly at night-time. Be prepared to be confused as not many vendors speak English and we found that their offerings were slightly off our taste. Fortunately here is where we discovered that national jewel that we named the “Easy Thai”, that is, a simple plastic chairs-plates-glasses establishments that serve homemade food at ridiculously affordable prices. These are to be found all over the country and there is literally one in every street. Often families live in the backrooms so it easy to see several generations working in the same restaurant. It doesn’t get more ‘home cooking’ than that. Going to the toilet almost always means going to the family bathroom, and often you will see children scattered across various rooms doing their homework and Grandma watching TV or cooking. You can’t expect great variety in the Easy Thai, the usual Pad Thai, fried rice and tom yum soups are staples, but they are cheap, quick, safe and tasty.

Ayutthaya is probably the cultural capital of Thailand with its numerous wats and world-class museum. We certainly enjoyed all of that, but we also loved the easy vibe of the town and the cordiality of the people. The town is a must go for anyone visiting Thailand that is not only interested in beaches and go-go bars but wants to immerse themselves into the rich history and culture of this country. We are definitely falling in love with Thailand!