Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is one of Thailand’s former capitals, was invaded by the Burmese, and is now a collection of beautiful ruins.

 We made the trip from Bangkok by local train, a supposedly 1.5 hour journey, which stretched out to 2.5 hours.  The train was jam-packed, not a seat to be had.  Vendors waddled up and down the aisles selling water, fruit, and snacks.  It was an interesting experience, but exhausting; we got into Ayutthaya knackered and ended up taking a 2-jour nap before heading out to the ruins.

The preffered mode of transport for going around the ruins is bicycle, although I can’t fathom why.  The streets leading to the Historical Park and chaotic and the bike paths in the park are bumpy, at best, non-existant, at worst.  Add in the rusting, granny-style bicycles and that makes for a sore butt at the end of the day.

Still, the ruins were beautiful, especially in the late afternoon.  The grounds were nearly deserted, except for a few small tours and a painting class.  Most of the ruins are red brick, mottled with black.  Sitting decapitated and amputated along the walls were rows of Buddha statues. One very famous photo-op is one such Buddha head, in eternal meditation in the roots of a tree. 

The ruins had me in awe.  Not so much their age or their design, but their there-ness, if that makes sense (which I’m sure it doesn’t.)  With the sunset behind them and the trees growing around them, they seemed to be a part of nature.  While I had no real expectation of the ruins we were to see – especially the great Angkor Wat – I’m now far more curious about them than when we first started out.