We’ve been battling a(nother) stomach flu for the last 48h as Ollie came down with the same bug as me the minute we arrived in Ayutthaya. Thankfully Siri Guesthouse where we’re staying have been happy to extend our stay by a couple of nights and we’ve been able to just bunker down in the bed to weather the worst of it. After a full day and a couple of nights locked up in an unfortunately windowless room, we feel like we really should get out and see some temples however - it’s what we came all this way for and we’re leaving tomorrow to meet up with my mum in Nong Khai.
Our original plan was to bike around the Ayutthaya historical park - most guesthouses including ours offer cheap cycle rentals and it helps cover the distance between the many temples on offer. We’re definitely not up for that yet and instead opt for a much easier boat tour, taking advantage of the river circling the main bulk of the monuments to cart us round three sites. We won’t see as much as we hoped but on the plus side, it’s late afternoon, which gives us another half day to keep recovering strength, and we will catch the sunset at the last temple we visit. We’re both still feeling pretty rough and even that very low level of effort is almost too much for us!
After another morning of napping we set out from the guesthouse in a couple of chartered tuk-tuks. Those are a blend of the tiny three-wheel fun rides from Bangkok with the converted pick-up passengers trucks from Chiang Mai - and incredibly, we’re expected to fit eight adults in the back of them, sitting in two facing rows in a space perhaps one meter wide and about one and a half long. If it sounds impossible, it’s because it is - at least with European frames, and if you want any level of not sitting on each other. Never mind, it’s only a short ride, and the fresh air coming from the open sides helps with our remaining nausea. Once at the river, we hop on a largish longtail boat holding eight rows of four - which is full to the brim once we all get in. Ollie remarks that those tours always seem to get completely booked out - there’s certainly an art to it.
It’s a lazy ride down the river to our first stop - with a surprising dearth of views along the way. With what I read of Ayutthaya I was expecting to see ancient chedis and temples all the way along the banks but really we only get a few glimpse of the now-familiar glazed roofs with gilded eaves of the more modern complexes - slightly disappointing but we’re just starting out. The first site we visit is Wat Phanchoeng, best known for its massive, nineteen-meters high golden Buddha statue. It’s an impressive tribute but as with Wat Pho, the idol is housed in a room just big enough to contain it and I do feel this takes away from the awe its size should inspire. In my view gigantic statues work best when you get the opportunity to approach them from afar and really get a sense of their size - otherwise I find it hard to get excited once I’m standing right at the foot of them: they just loom at you. The rest of the temple is almost more impressive with ancient, massive wooden pillars holding up the galleries, an entire courtyard of chanting monks (for what occasion?) and a spinning fount of water covered in lit, flower-shaped candles. It also houses a series of statues shedding (or perhaps accruing?) gold leaf - we’ve seen that in a few temples in Chiang Mai too and it seems to be a prop to ask for donations.
Our next stop is Wat Phuttaisawwan, which is conforming a bit more to my expectations with its weathered brick enclosure wall, ancient chedis and tall whitewashed prangs. Unfortunately, this one closes at four o’clock - way before we get there at nearly five! This seems to be a feature of the tour, and while we get a good look at the bigger structures from outside the temple it still feels very cheeky to include this as a stop. The only open part is a monument to the king and royal family, flanked by an army of rooster statues - it seems France and Thailand share a love for the symbolic bird.
Thankfully, our third visit makes up for this disappointing start: Wat Chaiwatthanaram is the postcard view of Ayutthaya. A massive, crumbling complex from the 1600s, the symmetrical spires of its ruined prangs and chedis outlined against the setting sun are a truly atmospheric sight and our entire group soaks in the moment. Not much remains of the carvings, sculptures and paintings that once adorned this royal temple - it was sacked during the Burmese invasion just over one hundred years after opening - but the size and majesty of the last standing structures is enough to convey the notion of a sacred space. Adding to the illusion, a few people are wandering around in traditional costumes: bright silks embroidered with gold and matching sun-shades. Despite the number of tourists it’s a big enough site to accommodate everyone, and very much makes the tour worth it. The twenty hours of travel to get here? Maybe less so.
After jumping back into our boat before the captain leaves before us (he really meant it when he said only thirty minutes, even though that actually made us miss the sunset!) we get a little bit of a river tour as we loop around the main island to come back to our starting point. It’s pleasant but again we don’t see many more temples on the banks. Lots of pretty, traditional wooden houses though with Thai people fishing, hanging laundry or having dinner on the river, and an impressive number of Noah’s Ark style boats - quite a few beached when not being used as evening dinner cruise transportation. We get back as night falls, and while we’re not quite up for a real dinner anytime soon we’re still a bit hungry and craving something more than bread and bananas (our food for the past couple days). This is the perfect occasion to finally try out the 7-eleven toasties we were recommended by other travellers in Pai as a cheap, easy meal - and it was a good tip. It’s perfect for what we need: calories, sugars, carbs and fat all in one tasty, artificial package - no food poisoning from that, and they even heat it up for you! All for under a pound.
We’re leaving the town tomorrow for another long train ride eastwards to Nong Khai, on the border with Laos - this time we’ve booked a day train though after our most recent experience. While it was a long way to come for Ayutthaya, I’m glad we checked it out: Wat Chaiwatthanaram was impressive, and I’m sure there’s more to see if we’d had more energy. It’s also been a window on a different type of Thai town yet again, a lot less touristy - it draws quite a bit of traffic but most people stay only one night or just do a day tour of the temples. The few streets we wandered around our accommodation as we went in search of (bland) food and drinks were a lot less polished and westernised than anything we’ve seen so far, and the people we saw were a lot more indifferent to us. It was messy, noisy, smelly, dirty, but this is what life is for many people here and it’s good for us to see this as well as the more curated facade on display in the tourist hotspots. And through it all, everyone we met was still kind, smiling and ready to help (including getting up at 4am to let us into our room!) regardless of the language barrier or any customs we may have infringed - this still holds as a staple of Thai identity.
Impressive, good to see the other Thailand as well!