Bangkok wasn't always the most important city of the Thai region. Ayutthaya, about 80km north from there, was the capital of the former Kingdom of Siam from 1350 to 1767. It was a large and crucial trading point as it lies between China, India and the Malay Archipelago. For a period of time it was the largest city in the world until the Burmese raided Siam and almost entirely burned Ayutthaya to the ground. All the libraries, houses and some of the temples were destroyed, which is a big pity because the kingdom was very prosperous and advanced at this time.
Today a few ruins still remain on site. By "a few" a mean a complex of about 9 temples, all open for public sightseeing.
Yeah, because of the close proximity to Bangkok it's a very popular day-trip destination, and that's also what we did. Getting there by train is the most convinient. We chose the cheapest train and travelled in a 3rd class carriage for merely 15 TBH. The train had an hour of delay, it was loud, there was no air-conditioning and it was filled with salespeople offering drinks, food and stuff yelling loudly every 10 minutes. Undoubtedly, it was an adventure.
We got ourselves a combined ticket that granted us entry to all the temples. Starting from Wat Mahathat, Wat Rathaburana (probably my favourite), Wat Thammikarat, Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Chai Watthanaram. The latter was located apart from the rest, about 2km away.
We rented bicycles and rode around the site. This was a highly efficient mean of transport and it allowed us to enjoy Thai rural districts from a more domestic perspective. It was an unforgetable experience of cycling on the left side of the road on super busy streets and roundabouts (and forgetting about the left side traffic and dashing against the current a few times).
Enjoy the temple marathon!
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