Cycling for Stupas
- Feb 3, 2020
- 3 min read
A day trip to Ayutthaya
About 2 hours north of Bangkok lies the ancient city of Ayutthaya, one of the most popular day trips in the region for tourists. Wikipedia covers the interesting highlights of the city's history better than I can, so I'll just paste that here:
"Ayutthaya was founded in 1351 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya kingdom or Siam. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 had a population of about 300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 around 1700, making it one of the world's largest cities at that time, when it was sometimes known as the 'Venice of the East'.
In 1767, the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The ruins of the old city are preserved in the Ayutthaya historical park, which is recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of the city's past splendor."
I'm always skeptical of tourist hot spots, but Ayutthaya turned out to be an essential stop in our opinion. The temples are beautifully preserved and there is valuable curation throughout the ruins. With Thailand tourism down 50% this month due to coronavirus, it was not at all crowded - so results may vary under normal circumstances.
We walked about 25 minutes from our hostel to the nearest train station. This is where we learned that in Thailand cars are king, crosswalks are meaningless, and sidewalks are a luxury. Unlike the main railway hub in Bangkok, this station was a series of ramshackle buildings, primarily serving locals. The next train available was a third class train that would take 2 hours to reach Ayutthaya, and cost about 50 cents. Compared to first and second class trains, third class trains generally run more frequently, make more stops, and don't have air conditioning. To our surprise, it was a remarkably comfortable, clean, and uncrowded ride. There is a strong breeze since all the windows are wide open, and the rhythmic clickety-clack of the tracks was rather relaxing.
Once arriving at Ayutthaya train station, we dismissed the badgering tuk tuk drivers and headed to the 15 cent ferry to cross the river into the center of the city.
We rented a couple bicycles for $1.60 each. Similar to pedestrians, cyclists also receive zero respect on the road. Biking in NYC was good practice for me, but Deana was less comfortable alongside the aggressive drivers. Regardless, she was very brave and we completed the day smiling and unscathed.
We explored Wat Mahathat and Wat Ratchaburana before stopping for lunch. We then explored Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, and Wat Phraram. The aforementioned temples are located on 'the island', the central area of the city enclosed by a bend in the river. Next we biked to the only temple we visited outside the island, Wat Chaiwatthanaram. It was a 3.5 mile ride to reach the temple, and with fast traffic and narrow shoulders, it was easily the most nerve wracking leg of the ride. We concluded the self-guided temple tour with Wat Lokayasutha before racing back to the bike shop, returning the bikes 7 minutes before close. And here's a bunch of photos!
Comments