Discovering Ayutthaya Thailand

Corey and I had a rare weekend together before he took off for India and I for the Philippines.  We met in Bangkok, and made our way 90 kms to the north by train, to Ayutthaya. We spent the weekend exploring the ancient city and then took a minivan back to Bangkok.  If you are looking to travel to this wonderful spot, I highly recommend these options to add a bit of flavor to your adventure.  You can also take a boat, which we wanted to do, but it is more time consuming.  Since we only had the weekend, we had to narrow our choices.  We bought the "cheap seats" on the train and brought our own snacks.  It's an open- windowed sweat box, but a fun way to see the countryside.  

Ayutthaya was founded in 1351 and remained the capital of Thailand for over 400 years.  The Kings of Siam ruled from this location until it was brutally sacked by the Burmese in 1767.   The Burmese actually attacked the city in 1569 as well but the second attack put the city into ruin.  Ayutthaya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and well worth a few day's visit.

Ayutthaya was a primary trading port as although it is in the centre of Thailand, it was accessible by rivers. It is located on an island surrounded by rivers, including the Chao Praya.  The city and region became highly populated, some say up to a million people lived in the area at it's peak.  Buddhism was the primary religion but tolerance was the norm.  During the second Burmese sacking, the city was basically burned to the ground.  There are many temple ruins that remain, similar in some ways to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  We found it very intriguing, particularly because it is a tourist destination but truly had a Thai flair and really did not tend to cater to other languages.  This is different than the beach side tourist areas such as Phuket and Samui.  Although it made exploring more challenging, it had an authentic vibe and remains a truly spiritual place.   Here are some of our pics!  Please OPEN in a BROWSER to see the slide show!!!   

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya thrived and became the "Venice of the East" due to it's criss-crossed canals and river system.  In addition to Thai, the population included Chinese, Mon, Khmer, Malays, Indians and Persians.  Outside the city the trading posts of Dutch, English, French and Japanese were located.  The foreign nations and colonialism were kept at bay and Siam maintained independence until it was overwhelmed by the two separate Burmese attacks.  

If you are making your way into Thailand, take the time to explore this amazing place.