Ayutthaya

Leaving Bangkok to head north is like entering another country: quiet, calm, dignified. Southern Thailand was an education, but arriving in Ayutthaya provided actual, physical relief. You don’t realise how much you’re bracing against the noise, pollution, and odour until it lifts. All this to say, we loved Ayutthaya.

As the former capital circa ~1380, it is chocka with ancient ruins connected by wide, empty streets. Dan found a gorgeous little oasis of a hotel, and after some much-needed reading time, we jumped straight on a river tour around the island city to visit three of the ancient sites. We were permitted to wander around both working and defunct temples, seeing the daily working and prayer of the Buddhist monks. After a sunset exploring Wat Chaiwatthanaram, we had a swim and then the first truly spicy curry of our time in Thailand.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. After complaining about repetitive Spotify playlists in Bangkok, our restaurant in Ayutthaya decided to go one better: a single song on loop. Our meal was accompanied by 23 consecutive, uninterrupted plays of ‘Drive’ by The Cars.

The following morning we borrowed bicycles, chuffed to add a new mode of transport to our trip log. It was, however, an extremely muggy day, and we arrived very sticky to each consecutive Wat (four almost indistinguishable ancient temple ruins). There was one stand-out, a temple ruin populated by an army of chicken statues, Buddha as wing commander.

We only stayed one night in Ayutthaya, using it to break up our long journey northward. We are writing this entry at 5am from Chiang Mai, having caught an overnight train, this one with actual berths! Not much sleep in the rattling bunk, but it was very clean and at least one of us could stretch out (Dan was curled up tight and had to be hurriedly shaken awake on arrival). We’ll be in one place for a few nights now, and very much looking forward to catching up on laundry, calls with friends, and adding to our reading tally. Czytaj więcej