Being the victim of my best planning, I’m able to report that if you have never ridden a 3rd class train in Thailand,you owe it to yourself to do so. However, let me suggest a short trip, perhaps an hour or so just to get the flavor. The other day I realized that if we went to Buriram in time to catch the 8:30 train we might get seat in one of the air-conditioned cars. (We had pre-existing tickets for a 10:30 train). At 6:15 Thursday morning, we’re at the bus stop in Nang Rong. The bus comes at 7:00, not 6:30 as we thought. No problem we’re in Buriram at 8:00. The train station attendant informs me that there are no seats in the 8:30 air-conditioned cars, but we can go 2nd class fan (that’s the ticket I had for 10:30) Great. A 20 baht trade fee and we are on the way. We get on the train; this isn’t 2nd class dear reader, this is third class. Welcome to the real world! By the time we get to Ayutthaya 5 hours later we both smell like diesel and sweat. An hour would have been fun!
The people around me. Yes the little boy was my favorite
Ayutthaya (translated means “undefeatable city”) is on island located at the point where three rivers merge. During the 16th and 17th century this ancient capital was a major trading center for merchants from all over the world. English, French, Portuguese seem to have dominated the European presence. There was also an abundance of trade with China, India and the Malay areas. The Khmer empire was evident here leaving many wonderful temples and other historical sites. However in the mid 1700’s Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese. Most of the artifacts were taken or destroyed. Still, Ayutthaya is a photographer’s paradise.
We were blessed with a great Tuk Tuk driver (actually a man and his wife) who carried us around to various sites. Yesterday was day one, we went to 4 Wat’s and what I thought was going to be an old elephant corral. It’s been converted into an elephant ride park. O.K. I’ve now had my first elephant ride. By the way it’s hot in Ayutthaya. I’m pretty sure it cracked 100 Fahrenheit yesterday. This morning we set out again. Today we managed to visit another four before we gave up and headed back to the air-conditioned comfort of the Ayuthuya hotel.
There will be a slew of photo’s posted on Photobucket when I get back to Chiang Rai. Mick Connolly, please know there are Jerryscapes to be seen, but we’ll just have to wait till next week. Below is a sampling of the most interesting places.
Wat Maha Tat was our first stop. The place is abound with old ruins, but the tourist attraction is a Buddha head that is imbedded in a tree. “Everyone” gets their photo taken there. I took one for a couple from Europe and they reciprocated with the one below:
Wat Ratchaburana was almost next door. Fascinating story about this one. It seems that When this king died his oldest sons had a battle to see who would be the next king. Both of them perished and their younger brother became the king. He built the Wat as merit for his two deceased brothers. Family feud, what a thing!
After a stop for lunch and an elephant ride we went to Wat Yai Chaimongkhon. The main prang is still in great shape and people are allowed to climb up for a spectacular view. By the time we finished tromping through these ruins we were just done for the day.
Our first elephant ride
This morning we started out at 9:00, first start was Wat Naphramera. Thai’s find this to be one of their favorite wats to make merit, Tamboon. What I found most fascintating was a Chedi with a tree grown around it. To the Buddhist this is very significant as it demonstrates the connection between man and nature.
Tree / Chedi at Wat Naphramera.
Wat Thammarikat was a very strange experience for me. When I entered the old ruins of the grand hall I got this eerie feeling that I’d been there before. You know me gentle reader, I do believe in reincarnation and know I’ve had past lives. Anyway, the area is really very beautiful.
Wat Chai Wattahana is just absolutely amazing! The temples are in pretty good shape. As you approach the grounds the view is breath taking. Walking around is really an adventure. (I’m positive I’ve never been to this one before, I would have remembered). We went to a couple more today, but in many ways they are a bit redundant so I’ll spare you today and you can see all the images when they are posted later in the month.
Wat Chai Wattahana
Tomorrow it’s a stop in Lopburi and the night train to Chiang Mai.
Abundant Blessings!
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