Ayuthaya is about 85 km north of Bangkok and was the capital of Thailand until 1767, when it was sacked by the Burmese. The Royal Palace and many of the temples in Ayuthaya were destroyed during the fight, and all that remains of the former capital is a small town and many ruins.

Betsy and Albert took the train from Bangkok to Ayuthaya to spend an afternoon exploring the ruins. The train ride was quite an experience by itself. There are very few signs in English in the Bangkok train station - it was a very strange feeling to be illiterate! Train tickets are not reserved, so when the train pulled in and opened it's doors, there was a mad rush to get on. Albert was able to claim a seat, but Betsy was not so lucky, so we took turns standing for the hour and forty minute ride.

We met a couple from New Zealand at the train station in Ayuthaya, and decided to share a tuk-tuk to visit some of the sites. The driver of the tuk-tuk took us to several sites and waited while we explored. The first temple he took us to is still in use. As it was the first day of the Thai New Year, many people were at the temple lighting incense, offering lotus flowers, ringing bells and gongs, and pressing new layers of gold leaf on the statues. It was fascinating to see so many rituals taking place. At another temple we visited, we climbed the stairs of the central chedi and discovered that it was populated with bats!

The most interesting ruins we visited were those of what we think was Wat Phanan Choeng. (Although the Thai government does a lovely job of maintaining these sites, there is not a lot of literature available. However, we think that is what our guide called this temple.) Both the picture above and the one to the right were take at Wat Phanon Cheong. It was really an amazing place - it must have been incredibly beautiful. It's situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, which is a much prettier river here, upstream from Bangkok. All along the walls, bits and pieces of Buddha statues can be seen. The two Buddha statues at right have orange cloth draped over them, which is another Thai New Year tradition.

The last site we visited was the ruins of the Royal Palace and the kings' private chapel. In the picture at left, Albert is sitting on the ruins of the palace wall with the three chedis of the chapel in the background. After visiting this site, our tuk-tuk driver took us back to the train station, where we just missed a train back to Bangkok. This gave us an opportunity to see a bit of the modern town of Ayuthaya, which is not high on our list of recommended places to visit! After surveying the local market, we decided to have a snack at the local KFC. The air-conditioning felt wonderful after a day walking around in the heat (around 100° ). Our train was delayed a couple of times, so we spent about two hours waiting at the station. We were very glad to have the company of Teeba and Russell, the Kiwi couple we met, while we waited!

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