Here at World Capital Confidential, I don’t discriminate against any capital cities. They may be great or small; sweltering on the equator or nestled in the frigid arctic; on the tourist trail or far from the beaten path. Even former capitals are given honorary status: once a capital, always a capital. When I discovered that Ayutthaya, Thailand’s capital from 1351 to 1767 before moving down the Chao Phraya River to Bangkok, was only 80km (50 miles) north of the current capital, I knew a day trip was in order.
It’s pretty easy to travel between the two Thai cities by train: nearly 20 trains are scheduled daily to make the journey between Bangkok and Ayutthaya, with each trip lasting between 1.5-2 hours depending on the train speed. I recommend leaving Hualamphong, Bangkok’s main train depot, early enough so that you’ll reach Ayutthaya before 9am when most attractions open.
On my way to Ayutthaya, I paid for a second class seat, which cost 245 baht ($7.50 US). I didn’t purchase a return ticket at the time because I didn’t know how late in the evening I would be staying and with such a high frequency of trains running, I wasn’t afraid I of making it back to Bangkok that day. This sort of stung me in the end, as all the seats were booked on the later trains when I went to the ticket counter in Ayutthaya and I was forced to buy one of the standing room tickets in the third class cars. The price was right at 20 baht (60 cents US), but standing for 90 minutes on the train after a full day of walking around Ayutthaya took the last bit of gas that was left in my tank.
I was able to visit the highlights of Ayutthaya in a single day, but many people take 2-3 days to see everything; there are plenty of hostels in the modern part of the city if you wish to turn your stay into a multi-day affair. The heart of historical Ayutthaya lies on an island 4km wide in the middle of the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pasak Rivers. Because the former capital was so well fortified and completely surrounded by water, it proved very difficult to capture over the centuries until the Burmese overtook and destroyed Ayutthaya in 1767. Today, the island, as well as several sites on the mainland, comprise the Ayutthaya Archaeological Park, which was declared a UNESCO site in 1991.
The modern city of Ayutthaya was rebuilt on the mainland shores surrounding the island. The current population is around 50,000 people and the city caters to tourists that flock to its celebrated UNESCO-enshrined ruins. According to the official Ayutthaya tourist map, there are 98 points of interest within the archaeological park, making it impossible to see everything in a single day. You can purchase individual tickets at each site (some are free, but most charge admission) or there is a pass that is valid for up to 30 days that will grant you access to the park. If I had opted to stay for a few days I would have bought the pass, but with limited time, I chose the pay-as-you go option. Many hostels offer bike rentals, so you could really get some bang for your buck if you plotted out a cycling route and took advantage of the pass.
Wat Mahathat
Wat Mahathat, the royal temple built in 1374 to house some relics of the Buddha, is a natural starting point when visiting the park. It contains probably the most famous “attraction” in Ayutthaya and the bus and truck group-tour crowds will make this their one stop, so visit as early as possible.
When King U Thong founded Ayutthaya in 1351, he united several kingdoms into what we think of as Thailand today and laid the groundwork for an empire that would last for over 400 years. By 1685, Ayutthaya had a population of over 1,000,000 and it had established trade relations with many European powers, most notably the Dutch. The capital was a grand city with a royal palace, magnificent temples and enormous ordination halls all constructed in the distinctive “Ayutthaya” architectural style.
When the Burmese finally captured the city in 1767, they did everything in their power to raze it to the ground. The entire island was set ablaze. Almost nothing remains of the old royal palace; the richly decorated temples were reduced to piles of their underlying brick and blackened stone. Many structures completely collapsed, leaving us with only the faded renderings from long-dead artists to imagine what the city once was.
This was once the main temple at Wat Mahathat, with a central prang that stood 46m (150ft) high. The prang toppled over in the siege and is now left to our imagination. Some royal treasures have been unearthed and preserved in the National Museum in Bangkok, but much of the royal family’s bounty was looted and lost to the Burmese invaders. There was never any attempt to rebuild the ancient city on Ayutthaya’s island. The ruins simply weathered several centuries until active preservation efforts began to take effect in the mid-20th Century. Once the archaeological park was granted UNESCO status, it became one of Thailand’s pride and joys and attracts over 2 million visitors annually.
This sandstone Buddha head, which fell off a nearby statue during Ayutthaya’s destruction, was swallowed up by the roots of a nearby bodhi tree and has since become entwined and protected by the tree roots. The Buddha gained enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi tree, bestowing a religious significance upon the species ever since. The fact that this bodhi tree “rescued” this smiling Buddha head and has since cared for it for centuries is seen as an act of divine intervention.
The Buddha’s head has become of the unofficial symbol of Ayutthaya and everyone needs to hop off their tour bus to snap a photo before continuing on their merry way. (You can see a tour group leader holding a yellow umbrella in the top right of my photo, leading his sheep to their next photo op.)
Walking through the ruins is very atmospheric and (outside of Wat Mahathat) a peaceful and serene experience. I didn’t really get bogged down in the minutiae of, “This used to be library and this used to the armory.” Sometimes there was a building that stuck out and made an impression, but mostly I just soaked in the experience as a kind of “me day,” and relaxed after the hectic pace of Bangkok life. The mainland is your typical 21st-Century city, but the island is like stepping back in time. Cars honking are replaced with birds chirping as you meander from ruin to ruin.
I think what I’m also trying to say that I don’t have abundance to write about each one of historical sites within the park. I might give a brief introduction to each location and then the photos speak for themselves, just like the way I took each spot in. Perhaps some people could really make a meal of the archaeological park and spend three days here, but one day was the perfect amount of time for me. As spectacular as the ruins are, I don’t think I would need to visit each and every one of the 98 sites. Ayutthaya makes for the perfect city break, but it’s just that: a break. After recharging my batteries, I was ready to return to urban life again.
Wat Ratchaburana
Wat Ratchaburana was founded 50 years after Wat Mahathat in 1424. This royal temple was complete with cloisters for the monks, sermon and ordination halls and massive prangs that held items from the royal treasury. Murals were painted on the interior of the prang walls, but most of them were either destroyed in the fires set during the invasion or simply faded over time. The murals that have been preserved are cordoned off from the public; apparently too many tourists have ignored the “no flash” rule, contributing to the degradation of the artwork.
Wat Thammikarat
Wat Thammikarat is both a ruin and active Buddhist temple (as are some of the other temples on the park grounds). As travelers, we may look at places like Ayutthaya purely through an historical lens, but this sacred ground for many Thai Buddhists. The rebirth of of Ayutthaya as a UNESCO site has also caused a rediscovery of the city as a religious site too. Wat Thammikarat has some of the best preserved singha, or guardian lions, in Ayutthaya. The stone singha, having survived the Burmese fires, only has given more street cred to their strength.
Wat Na Phra Men
Wat Na Phra Men is located across a bridge on the northern mainland and is one of the few structures not destroyed by the Burmese. The temple was the first location captured in 1767 and became the headquarters for the invading army that was used to bombard and eventually overtake the island. Wat Na Phra Men sits directly across from what remains of the royal palace and the Burmese were able to set up cannons along the riverbank and then take direct aim at the royal residence. The main temple was completed in 1499 and the solid-gold Buddha statue inside is an original.
The Ancient Royal Palace
The royal palace was the primary target of the Burmese invasion and therefore very little of it remains today, save for the outer wall and a few piles of rubble. The palace grounds have been replaced with a field, a lake and a small forest of trees. Perhaps the most impressive structure in all of ancient Ayutthaya has completely been removed from the timeline. The Burmese didn’t simply want to run the Thai people out of town- they also wanted to make sure they never returned.
Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit
Another building spared from the invasion, Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit was completed in 1538 and houses one of the largest bronze Buddhas in all of Thailand. My pictures may not do it justice, but it is 12.5m (41ft) tall and at one point the icon was covered in gold leaf, but it still remains bronze underneath the veneer. This is also an active temple and the busiest with the locals who come here daily to pray.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the personal temple used by the royal family. Monks were not allowed to live on the temple grounds allowing the family members to use the wat as a kind of private chapel. These three stupas survived the fire remarkably intact; their bases contain the ashes of three of first kings of Ayutthaya. As you can see, after moving past the first few sites that are heavily visited, I felt like I had the park to myself. I know I was visiting during the height of low season, but being the sole person sharing the space with these astounding ruins added to their meditative effect on my mood.
Wat Phra Ram
The final temple I visited was Wat Phra Ram. Built near a “small” swamp, the drainage system put in place caused the swampland to expand and was then renamed the “large” swamp. Oops! By this point in the late afternoon I was well beyond feeling peckish. I’m so glad that Ayutthaya hasn’t been turned into a Disney World attraction with a restaurant and souvenir shop at the corner of every ruin, but if you do want something to eat, you’re either going to have to bring it with you or leave the island and head back to the mainland for a bite. I probably could have squeezed a few more sites in, but what I had seen was just the right amount of Ayutthaya for me.
Return to Bangkok
After devouring a well-deserved lunch/dinner, I made my way back to the Ayutthaya railway station and purchased by standing room return ticket. Ayutthaya may not have been the most powerful or exciting day trip I’ve taken, but it really provided the perfect juxtaposition to the frenzied pace of Bangkok. I can go, go, go with the best of them, but after a week, even I need a day of calm and quiet. I would always have visited Ayutthaya based on its former-capital status, but even if had simply been a “regular” city, I’ve learned over the years that these breaks are so important. If you go non-stop, week after week, you will burn out. As I prepared to leave Thailand for Laos the following day, I knew Ayutthaya was just what I needed to mentally prepare me for my next adventure.
(No standing room for monks; they always get a seat!)
