Wat Phra Mahathat

17:30
We both sleep the sleep of the just. It’s the first time I’ve slept well without chemical assistance on this trip, and I wake up with a real spring. I was conscious of feeling a little chilly overnight. Felix reports that he had to play around with his A/C unit to find the Goldilocks point of perfection. We’re both foregoing breakfast this morning, and keen to get out and about. We’re starting at Wat Mahathat, one of the foremost temple complexes in Ayutthaya. It’s only 600m down the road, but we’re both feeling the heat by the time we get there. As early as 11:00, the heat index is already showing 43C. It’s gonna be a melter.

The temple complex is fascinating. It was largely destroyed during the second Burmese / Siamese war in 1767, yet still we can sense the size and scale of this Buddhist monument. We both find ourselves wondering what it would have been like before its razing - how would it have sounded? What would we have smelt? How many people would there have been? We also find ourselves discussing the nature of religion. Both of us have largely rejected our Christian upbringings, and agree that Buddhism is probably the closest thing to an organised religion that either of us could tolerate. I guess there’s something about living a life that values all around you, that encourages constant self-reflection in the search for enlightenment, that doesn’t offer a get-out-of-jail card for the acknowledgement of sin - all of these seem like a good thing. It’s immaterial - neither of us is in the market.

We stop in at a very air-conditioned café for a brief sharpener, and hatch a plan to seek shelter for our next cultural pit-stop. We head for the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, a collection of artefacts and relics from the countless temples that once stood around Ayutthaya. It’s a 20 minute walk which, in hindsight, was perhaps a little foolhardy. We’re constantly scuttling between shady areas to keep out of the sun’s rays. Arriving, we walk into a high-ceilinged atrium that smacks of conditioned air. It’s a joy.

The museum itself is a great. The exhibits are largely focused on gold, and the many uses during the Siamese kingdom age. There are some examples of jewellery, and some somewhat more extravagant uses - including a gold whisk, a crown made from gold thread, and a gold plated umbrella. Very glam. Felix briefly befriends a group of American women, then runs away. It’s a pleasant diversion for an hour or so.

It’s 13:00, and we’re both getting peckish. We head to the other side of Ayutthaya old town, to the riverside, and to a lovely little restaurant by the water’s edge. We’re the only guests there, and are warmly welcomed. Felix orders some soft-shell crab in black pepper, and I have some freshwater prawns with a herb sauce. Both are spectacular. The very best of shellfish, treated simply. Lip-smackingly good.

We head off in search of the main market of Ayutthaya, and find a place that’s all but deserted. Later investigation reveals that it starts early (5am) and finishes early (about ten minutes before we arrived). We grab a cab to the Japanese village instead. Ayutthaya was something of a multi-cultural hub from the 16th century onwards, attracting traders from across Europe and Asia. There are museums for several of these, including Holland, Portugal, and the one we’ve come to - Japan. There’s a picturesque garden by the riverside, with some pretty Japanese influences. There’s also a ‘study centre’ which is inside, and therefore brilliant. As we’re about to leave the study centre, we’re ushered into a little cinema theatre to watch a quick (we think?) film about this period of time. It reminds me of the occasional ‘educational’ video we’d watch at school in a history or geography class. It’s coming up on 16:00, and we’re both steaming. We agree to repair to our guesthouse for a couple of hours chill time before heading out later.

23:00
We head out at 19:30, aiming for the night market - which is closed, though we’re not sure why. We head for a street side restaurant a few hundred metres down the street, which specialises in boat noodles - a delicacy of this region - and that is also closed. We start to wonder whether Wednesday is the new Sunday. There’s a street food market on the road in front of us, which is NOT closed. We spot some very tasty looking, some frankly weird looking food, and some stuff that we’re not 100% sure counts as food. There’s a stall selling chicken - all of it. Chicken ass anyone? We buy a sausage each, and it is DELICIOUS. Pork, minced with lemongrass, coriander, chilli and some other shiz.

We carry on up the road, which it transpires is called Bang Ian, and stop in at a bar called Khao San. It reminds me instantly (and obviously) of the Khao San road in Bangkok. In fairness, I suspect that’s what they were aiming for… There’s a strong and pleasant smell of Thai weed in the air, and a frankly astonishing playlist on their TV. We hear Eminem, Green Day, Nirvana, Van Halen, Lil Jon in the space of 20 minutes. We play a few games of Connect 4.

While we’ve been in Khao San, there’s been a rain storm. A big one. We were only in there about 40 minutes, but there are huge puddles of muddy water all over the streets. I’m more than a little disappointed I wore my flip-flops, as I’m sliding all over them. We decide to head for a bowl of noodles, only to find the place no longer serves noodles. Strange. The power of Google Maps takes us instead to a really good Vietnamese place. Felix orders something the likes of which I’ve never experienced. We *think* it’s some rice noodle wrappers stuffed with some prawns, but couldn’t swear to it. Banging though. I have some grilled pork with sticky rice, and we share some Summer rolls. All really good, and a more than decent feed for less than a tenner = WINNING. Time’s getting on. We head back to our guesthouse via a 7/11 to grab some supplies for our journey up to Khao Yai tomorrow. The heat dictated that we leave the A/C on in our rooms when we went out, and we’re both very pleased to have made that decision when we arrive back…En savoir plus