Ayutthaya

The Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam existed from 1351 until 1767. In the mid-eighteenth century the Burmese invasion lay Ayutthaya in ashes. Today the countless old ruins of the former capital of Thailand can be visited. They let us divine how magnificent this city has been once.

From Bangkok it took us 1 hour up North by car to the temples. Unfortunately we somehow chose the hottest day ever for our daytrip. We just visited one temple and a half.. the second one we did not go inside. These days the rain season is here but back in beginning of May it was right before and therefore hot as hell. Don`t be fooled because you see no sun in these pictures. This kind of heat is the most exhausting one: muggy and heavy, pressing the air out of your lungs.

Wat Mahathat

Tree looks like autumn but it is high summer.

Around the Wat Mahathat they built a park for walking around the ruins area. Lots of bridges led us over the small river around the temple and sometimes I let Florian had the first turn because they looked really worn down and the planks were broken in some cases. I am so mean (love you, darling). Nails were not fixed too well and I pull off my hat for the Thais riding over them with their motorbikes fearless.

Is that a bridge or a trap?

Halfway round the Wat we saw a fisherman cast his net in the small river. We stopped fascinated. On one hand Thailand is such a modern country with gorgeous high skyscapers, shopping malls, smartphones and giant advertisement screens and on the other hand there is this lovely man fishing his dinner. This contrast makes Thailand so amazing.

fisherman in Ayutthaya

Diving across the river

After he had no success on the one bank, he plunged and crossed the water with his hand held high. You can even see the tattoos on his underarm. Like I said, somewhere between 21st century and Stone Age. Really intriguing!

Hello tree!

Neat shrine

Around the pagodas of the Wat we found lots of decorations. Small sculptures of Buddhas and phallus symbols. Do you see the one headless? In whole Ayutthaya you find tons of Buddhas with their heads off. The Burmese decapitated them during invasion. Nowadays it is considered more or less as art but back in these days it must have been a humble catastrophe for the Thais.

We saw on TV that Ayutthaya has a lot more to offer and we will come back for a more extensive stay when the weather calmed down. Once a year they stage a theatre about their history and simulate the War as warriors on top of white-painted elephants fighting against each other. This must be brilliant and is definetely on our list for Things To Do in Thailand.

Half-visited temple. Snap a shot and back to the air-conditioned car.