Ayutthaya - Thailand

June 2nd, 2016

We began our day with a train ride out of Pak Chong where we ended up sitting in the 'Monk' section as there were no other seats, this is a carriage of the train with nice reclining seats as oppose to the hard wooden ones, that is reserved for the Monks who travel around Thailand. Most of them didn't seem too bothered but I heard some muttering and grumbling from one and eventually when other seats became free we were moved back a few rows into the elderly/disabled section instead...which was within the same carriage and had the same seats....so much for tolerance! Other than this the ride was quite pleasant, with the windows fully open we caught a nice breeze and were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of green hills and lush vegetation that surrounded us.

When we arrived at Ayutthaya we were able to rent out a motorbike very cheaply and were relieved that this one had a bit more guts than the electric one we'd had in Bagan! As we only had the day here we made some quick decisions on what to see according to the map we had been given and set off at once thinking to get some lunch en route at some point. Our first stop was Wat Phra Mahathat which was built in the 14th Centuary and is now mostly ruins but still quite an impressive site with many Stupas and Chedis (a dome topped version of the pointed stupas) still hanging on to some of their original stucco work despite the fact that they are now lop sided and looking ready to tumble to the ground. We walked around looking at different buildings until we rounded a corner and were confronted by the vision of something we've seen so many times in brochures, guide books, postcards etc....a serene Buddha head surrounded by the gnarled roots of an ancient tree...the epitome of Asia! Of course everyone wanted their picture with this, including us, so we had to wait around for our chance and got a few good shots before deciding it was time to move on.

Back onto our motorbike and negotiating the busy traffic, via a couple of wrong turns, we eventually made it to the Floating Market, which is something we had wanted to see in Bangkok but never got the time to go to. This one is on the original site and has been here for hundreds of years but clearly in recent times has been commercialised for tourists so that you really only get the impression of what it used to be like. It was also quite expensive to go in but apparently the entrance fee included a free ride on the boat around the market and a cultural performance, so we headed on in just in time to watch the show. We were very confused....there was some dancing and then some fighting in traditional costumes but absolutely nothing in any language other than Thai to explain what was going on or what was being depicted, which considering it's now only tourists who come here seemed a bit stupid to us. After the 'performance' which was pretty poor by any standards, we walked around the rickety wooden boardwalks and across a few bridges to the food court area where we ordered a Spicy Papaya salad platter to share, another thing on the list of things to try in Thailand, hoping that we weren't going to get charged more than we expected. When our dish appeared we were astounded at the amount of food, a huge pile of the delicious salad in the middle of a multitude of other treats, tempura vegetables, fried chicken, beansprouts, hotdog sausages, saurkraut, peanuts, boiled eggs, artichoke hearts, slices of chicken sausage and rice/glass noodles....we struggled our way through this feast along with a pint of iced coffee each and contemplated how long before we could manage to move next!

Leaving the Floating Market we headed across town to Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, still functioning and housing a colossal reclining Buddha by the entrance, this celebrated chedi was built to commemorate a decisive victory over the Burmese in 1593. The reason we chose to come here instead of one of the many other sights in this UNESCO World Heritage town was because of the long rows of Buddhas seated alongside the inner square surrounding the main chedi, each of which was brilliant white and draped in beautiful yellow gold cloth which fluttered lightly in the breeze. The dome of the enormous chedi was similarly covered and looking at the precarious ladder that must be used to put the cloth up there made me glad that it wasn't my job to perform! Having spent quite a bit of time here, we were just about to leave when we came across a small park filled with hundreds of brightly painted statues of roosters...no idea why or what for, but it was certainly different and a nice place to wander round before jumping back on the bike.

Our last stop was to a quiet park to while away the time before we had to get on the train again, we sat and watched local people playing croquet on the lawn, jog around the park and walk their elephants down the street!

Returning the motorbike we got some juice for the train and went to wait at the platform, filled with people we were lucky to get a seat by a fan and jealously guarded it until it was time to board and find our cabin for the night. Discovering the neat, clean, cool cabin with 4 bunks in which we were to sleep was a pleasant surprise to what we were expecting and we enjoyed a reasonably comfortable journey, arriving at Chiang Mai only 2 hours late the next morning.