Here a Temple, There a Temple, Everywhere a ...
Needing to get out of Bangkok, we jumped on a local (and cheap; only 15B/C$0.50 per person) train for the two-hour journey to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand. Ayutthaya has changed hands several times from Thailand to Burma and back again, and is known for having some impressive Khmer ruins. Lee visited way back in 2000 with a friend from home and that, coupled with her not being that into big piles of rocks, meant she wasn't that keen on the trip. But she knew it was a must-see, she wanted me to see it, and she wanted to get out of Bangkok so she graciously agreed to accompany me. (Although I think I heard her mumble something under her breath about preferring to have her kidney removed with a rusty spoon ...)
Although it was only two hours, it was a long and dirty ride -- 3rd class trains only have 'natural' AC, meaning open windows. Although the breeze is nice the engine fumes blowing in your face is not. Our journey ended on a pleasant note though; to get to the old city from the train station required taking a short boat ride (3B/C$0.10) which was rather cool.
Locating a guest house took a little time as we're never willing to spring for a cab and, for some reason, seem to prefer to schlep our bags around in the hot sun. But after checking a couple of places, we settled on Baan Lotus (Home of Lotus), which is a beautiful and well-kept Thai-style teak house on a quiet lane. The hostess was even better (her name in Thai, which I can't remember, means 'lotus' hence 'Home of Lotus'). She is this tiny little older lady who is quite chatty. While checking us in she told us she had a Master's degree in Medical Research Science with specialties in haematology and immunology, and that although she's now retired she occasionally lectures at private universities in Bangkok. Although she was politely interested in what I did, she erroneously thought Lee was in the same field (Lee recruits doctors and nurses for hospitals in the Middle East), and in short order she was inviting Lee to join her on the prestigious lecture circuit! Lee said she would be sure to look into it. (It was easier to agree than trying to explain again that she wasn't a nurse.)
After getting some information from Lotus, we headed to the temple Wat Phanan Choeng, where pilgrims from Bangkok go on the weekend to perform an interesting ritual. Since we arrived at the temple on a Sunday, we got a chance to see it firsthand and it really was quite spectacular. Housed in the main building is a 19m tall sitting Buddha. Devotees kneel at its base and are blessed with sprinklings of holy water distributed by a monk. Many bring offerings of incense, oils, fruit, etc., which are left on a small alter in front of the Buddha. But the central part of the ceremony seemed to be the lengths of saffron-coloured cloth which could be purchased for 140B (about C$5.00). Devotees would pass their tray of folded-up cloth to a guy in front who, in mannerism, was sort of a cross between a southern preacher and an auctioneer. With much flourish and great style, he would throw the folded cloths up to a handful of guys standing in the lap of the Buddha statue itself. Once a satisfactory number of cloths had been 'offered,' the chanting and drums increased in tempo and intensity and the gathered crowd were whipped into a frenzy (well, since we're talking about Buddhists here it's probably more accurate to describe it as a state of slight excitement). Meanwhile, the guys on the statue had secured the cloths to the Buddha's neck and shoulders and threw the free ends of the cloth back out over the praying crowd. People quickly handed the cloth to waiting hands behind them so very soon the lengths of cloth extended from the Buddha's shoulders, over the heads of the devotees, and out the entrance. At this point the drums reached a sort of crescendo, and within a few seconds it was all over. The cloths were collected. The devoted departed. And a few minutes later the whole ceremony started again with a new group. It quite a spectacular display to witness.
The following day we decided we had had enough of walking around in the heat, and instead opted to bike around in the heat. We were able to rent a couple of rickety and well-used bicycles (the old-style cruising kind) for 40B (C$1.30) each for the day. Ayutthaya has a plethora of great temple ruins, so it was just a matter of picking some. We began with Wat Phra Mahathat where I saw one of the most famous religious sites in Thailand: the sandstone head of a Buddha encased in the roots of a banyan tree. I had to do most of the exploring on my own as Lee had visited these ruins before and decided instead to hide in the shade. We also took a quick look at the Old Royal Palace and Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
After returning the bikes and enjoying a small break in front of the fan, we joined a tour arranged by our intrepid hostess. Along with three other couples, we were taken by túk-túk (a sort of motorised three-wheeled rickshaw; although they usually seat only two, the ones in Ayutthaya were 'sedan'-types that could seat up to six) to see some of the outlying temples and monuments. Because this was an evening/night tour, several of the temples were lit by spotlights which made for some nice visual affects. In addition to the temples, we also stopped at an elephant kraal (where we got to play with some baby elephants) and the local night market. It was all really interesting, but after half-a-day of sight-seeing on our own followed by a three-hour tour, we were both suffering from a bad case of temple-fatigue. We were more than happy to return to our cosy guesthouse for some rest before heading back to Bangkok the next morning.
For more photos, see our Thailand photo album.
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