Exploring Ayutthaya

With comments from Vicky in Bold and Italic

Is it just me or does every country have an “old capital” that for whatever reason they decided to change. In Vietnam it was Hue. It China, it was Xi’an and in Thailand it’s Ayutthaya.

Vicky and I arrived here via train and I immediately didn’t feel like doing anything (to be fair we were last on the train and did not even have window seats, aka did not get to stick our heads out the window in hopes of at least a hot gush of wind. The train was hot and sweaty and after only a 2 hr ride we were already tired. Then our tuk tuk driver couldn’t find our guesthouse and drove us around for 45 minutes trying to drop us off at random places that so obviously did not sound anything like what we were staying at). It was hot, we had woken up early for probably the 5th time in a row (no one told me that traveling would have so many wake ups between 7 – 8AM), and the main attraction here was temples, which we’d seen 101 times before.

On the first day I managed to drag myself to a museum and one temple – check that box!

The following day, in a very rare occurrence and true display of companionship, I told Vicky that it’d be better if she simply rented a bike and went off on her own – I was tapped out and wanted to lay in bed on the computer (yeah, I’ll admit it) (the reality is that when we went to head out for the day Dave was already throwing a temper tantrum about being in temple overload, which was only increased when he blindly walked into a pole sticking out from a nearby stall and his head started bleeding. At this point I made it clear I did not want his company nor his bad luck on my bike ride around the city). We’d been traveling in Asia for over 6 months and this city hasn’t had much activity in oh, about 500 years, so my danger meter was pretty low – Vicky would be fine.

 What Vicky did that day I can only fathom but I imagine it starts with T and ends with S (temples, for all those not intrigued by Dave’s riddles), but somehow I got stuck writing the article anyways.

 

 

However, we did manage to meet up at night for what can only be described as the highlight of the city (indeed) – a fantastic night market.

Who doesn’t love a night market, especially a Thai one. It’s pretty much wall to wall deliciousness. Vicky and I usually walk out with our arms weighted down by various goodies that we thought we’d be able to plow through for dinner but end up rolling over to breakfast and lunch the next day. Often, and I know this is terribly stupid, I walk around with my wallet overtly in my hand, simply because I get tired of reaching into my pocket every five minutes when I see something I want to buy. Who’s with me on this?

Perhaps the most interesting things we saw being sold were insects, specifically crickets. We rarely ever see insects being sold, with the one notable exception being Khao San Road in Bangkok, but there it was so obviously for tourists, which is why they charged for pictures. This was clearly for the locals, and oh man did they indulge.

I’ll spoil the surprise (or lack there of) and say that Vicky and I did not indulge. I just don’t have it in me, and I don’t think Vicky does either. In fact, we don’t want it in us, which is why we didn’t eat the insects. Still, I saw a few bold, young Thai girls walking around with a plate of those suckers as if to say “ya, I eat crickets – what up?”

Is it fair to say the night market alone makes this city a must-see? Tough call. If you add in a decently modern museum plus a few ancient temples for good measure – I think you’ve got a winner.

Logistics:

Ayuttaya is a short 2 hour bus or train ride away from Bangkok. We opted for the train which is said to be “more scenic” but we didn’t find it particularly interesting and it was rather hot in the train (as we did not get a window seat).

We stayed at the Ayuttaya Place Hostel and for $17 got a double room with private bathroom, wifi, A/C, TV and breakfast (just toast and bananas). The hostel was nothing special but fine for a couple nights.

We spent 2 days in Ayuttaya exploring the temples (by bike) and markets and felt this was a good amount of time for the city.