Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya used to be the capital of Thailand (then known as Siam) until the Burmese invaded and ransacked it in the 18th century.

An overnight stay there proved to be quite enchanting. The bus only took about one and a half hours even with stop offs to catch stray passengers. We headed off to the old city which has relics of temples centuries old dotted next to roads and shops. You get around by tuk tuk, motorcycle taxi or bicycle. We hired some bikes and it was wonderful to cycle around and suddenly come across ruins of Buddha statues clothed in yellow/orange/saffron robes, or dilapidated stupas, or large red brick columns supporting air.

We also visited the historical study centre - a very modern, concise museum tracing different aspects of Ayutthaya in its prime: trade, foreign relations, daily life etc. Very interesting.

We also took a longtailed boat around the island for 2 hours. A chance to have a good gawk at riverside homes, reach some of the outlying temples and watch the sunset. There are a zillion photo opps I missed - including a classic sunset behind one of the ruins. But I like the one above of 2 girls feeding fat (cat?) fish at one of the Chinese temples. Boy, those fish sure were plump!