When you come to Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok and ask for a ticket to Ayutthaya (1,5 - 2 hours depending on the train), a very friendly customer service will first offer you a ticket for 240 baht per person (12 Euro for two one way) with air condition and seat reservation. But you can also travel for 20 baht (1 Euro for two one way) in the 3rd class. There we met Nhung from Hanoi and her two colleagues of Japanese origin. They also traveled back to Bangkok on the same train with us which left from a wooden platform.

Ayutthaya was Siam’s capital from 1351 to 1767 when the Burmese army destroyed it leaving some of the ruins that can still be seen today. Around 1700 it was one of the biggest cities in the world with 1 million inhabitants (see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_%28city%29 ). Traders from China, Vietnam, India, Persia, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and France did business with Ayutthaya. Today, the Ayutthaya historical park (a UNESCO world heritage site) is a friendly place with little canals and bridges. You can rent a bicycle to get around.

Since Ayutthaya is located at the junction of the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers, the park is surrounded by water and it takes a ferry or bridge to get there. We also tried a Chao Phraya ferry more towards the outskirts of Ayutthaya. It was hard to find behind some houses, the pier looked adventurous and the ferryman was asleep on the other side.

There are numerous wats (temples, the city map distributed for free by the tourist police lists 40 of them), most of them ruins. When you cycle through the historic park, you come across the ruins of many wats. In this way, Ayutthaya reminds a little bit of Angkor, the temples resembling more Angkor’s early ones.

The cosntruction of Wat Maha That started in the 14th century. It was the royal temple and the monastery the residence of the supreme patriarch. The central chedi (tower) which collapsed twice during the centuries used to hold Buddha relics (they are now in Ayutthaya’s national museum). The chedi in the photoes above is the one of neighboring Wat Ratchaburana. Being close enough to Bangkok for a day trip, Ayutthaya attracts a lot of Thai and foreign tourists.