Ruins & Elephants

Ayutthaya's ruins

From 1351 to 1767 the town of Ayutthaya was the capital city of ancient Siam (present-day Thailand).  The heart of the city was a 4 km wide island where the rivers of Lopburi, Pasak & Chao Phraya converge.  Very much reliant on an extensive series of canals, Ayutthaya's population lived mainly on houseboats. This empire rose to great heights by taking advantage of the expanding trade routes between India and China.  Eventually Ayutthaya controlled a weathly empire and welcomed foreign traders such as the Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, Chinese and Persians who operated their own docks exporting rice, timber & spices.  Unfortunately this 400+ year golden age would come to a sad end.  

After centuries of discord, Burma would finally capture & decimate Ayutthaya.  Due to the extensive damage, the city was abandoned and rebuilt in Bangkok.  To preserve Ayutthaya's memory, the architects were assiduous  to replicate the layout of the former capital city.

the famous Buddha head

Ayutthaya is about an hour and a half north of Bangkok, and it presents a nice contrast to modern-day temples with their glitz and glamour.  The atmospheric brick ruins, with headless Buddhas, crumbling walls and leaning stupas, evoke a glorious & deeply religious past.  The vast number of temples & monasteries is astounding.  For the most part, the ruins are situated on large grassy spaces with occasional stands of towering trees casting much-needed shade.  It's become quite common to rent bicycles as a way to leisurely explore the site, and walking is certainly still an option.  But we found the temples to be sprawled over quite a large area, so it helped that there are plenty of tuk-tuk drivers willing to set up an impromptu tour ("one hour, only 150 baht.  Very cheap!")

Ayutthaya at night

One of the most quaint sites contains a Buddha head cradled in the tangled roots of a Bodhi tree.  In another memorable spot rests the giant "Reclining Buddha", restored in gleaming white in the 50s.  And don't forget the post sunset tour, highly rewarding with many of the key temples, monasteries and palaces being artfully illuminated.  From the shadows, the frenzied activity of bats is silhouetted against the night sky.  Far enough away from Bangkok's relentless lights, a dusting of stars speckle the blackness.  

elephant ride

The next morning was all about the elephants.  We'd always wanted to ride one, but were looking for something other than the usual zoo enclosure experience.  Ayutthaya would be the answer, with 250 year old ruins as a backdrop.    At the corral, there were a dozen hulking animals, each outfitted in a sarong with a two-person bench tethered around their girth.  The bench was just for starters:  we'd have the chance to ride "bareback" as well. Sitting on the powerful neck of this huge beast, we could feel muscles rippling underneath wrinkly, rough skin.  Dumbo-like ears flapped against our legs, the undersides of which were surprisingly soft as satin.  The bristly hairs on the elephant's head could almost pierce skin.  Occasionally distracted by a leafy morsel, their trunks would swing about, groping the earth for a snack.  From our vantage point, we could hear grasses & plants being eagerly stripped from the ground.  The elephants and mahouts (trainers) are perfectly attuned to each other; at no point did we feel uneasy despite our high perch.  We passed a horse grazing in a field and for the first time looked at it from a giant's point of view.