Ahhhh Ayutthaya

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What was expected to be an overnight visit to Ayutthaya, turned into 5 wondeful nights and some great experiences. It started with my journey from Bangkok. I caught a cab from Khao San Road to the Northern Bangkok Bus Station. It was 200 baht, which I considered to be fairly expensive, until about 3/4 the way to the bus station you could see boredom and slight frustration of my driver, indicating to me that maybe I got the better end of the deal. The bus station itself was busy, and it looked like i was the only foreigner in the place. As I waited for my bus, I spotted a very odd happening. A blood transfusion? There were two people, in the middle of the bus station, laying on stretchers with tubes coming out of them, but it really didn't look like an emergency situation. I never would find out the answer. I boarded the bus, and of course, I was again the only foreigner and say by myself the majority of the ride. The bus picked up passengers along the way, and eventually a university student who could speak some english came and sat next to me. She was helpful in letting me know where my bus would stop, and its a good thing, because later in Ayutthaya I would meet some travelers who weren't so lucky, who missed their stop coming to Ayutthaya from the North, and ended up all the way in Bangkok.

My bus pulled into the Ayutthaya bus stop early in the evening, and after consulting my guide book, I took a tuk-tuk over to the mini-backpacker strip. Apparently I've wisened up slightly, and didn't fall for the first offer I was given by the driver, as she offered to give me a private tour for the next day (which turned out to be a complete rip-off). I cruised the street, and of course, the places recommended by my guidebook were overpriced and under-quality. So, I settled for this place called Ayutthaya house. I'll be honest, I wasn't impressed. The room was cheap, but my single bed was pretty much a cement slab, there were no power outlets, a non-rotating fan, shared toilet, and absolutely no atmosphere with the staff (who were hardly even there). The only redeeming feature was that they had wireless internet, which would actually work out quite nicely for me in the days to come. That evening I went out to a nearby bar, the Chang Bar, and had a few beer Changs. I met some Canadians at one of the travel agencies on the strip, and the travel agent, the Canadian couple, and myself went to the bar together. The place had great music, and we added some dutch girls to the group. They had some funny stories, only 18, they had fallen to some of the most common scams in Thailand, like the tuk-tuk ride to the Tourist Authority of Thailand, where they handed over 1000 euros to be escorted around Thailand from hotel to hotel. The night was a blast, but ended on a soar note as a local expat got knocked out by one of the Thais in the bar, and just as soon as his head landed with a crack on the tiles, another Thai booted him in the head. He didn't look good at all, and it looked like they rushed him off to the hospital. So, with that, my partying for the night was over. I went back to my cell and passed out.

The next morning I woke up early with an aching back. Not able to fall back asleep I took to the streets to see if I could find some early morning breakfast. Just so happened that the adjacent guesthouse was serving up some grub. I took a chair and waiting for my food. As I sat, I was chatted up by a local Thai man, who was a local DJ, but offered tours once a month as well. There were others eating breakfast as well, and between them, and the Thai family that was running the guesthouse and cooking food, it looked like a pretty cool place to be. So, after a delicious breakfast, I asked if they had any rooms. In fact they did, with a large bed, power outlets, a rotating fan, a dresser, and all for 20 baht less than I was paying. I was sold. I moved rooms and the good times began.

After settling into my room, I grabbed my camera, my phrase book, and my other day-trekking necessities (which almost never includes map, as I'm totally useless with them) and headed off in the direction of the majority off temples in the old city.

I'll be honest. I like looking at temples, but I really don't care too much for specific history. From what I remember Ayutthaya is the former capital of Thailand before Bangkok. And, I believe, that most of the temples are a couple of hundred years old. I visited the majority of the temples in the old city over the next two days. Some were in very good shape, and I loved how a lot of temples were right next to neighborhoods. I definitely experienced some moments of awe. I'll post some pictures that will do the temples more justice than me trying to describe them.

On my third day I relaxed for the majority of the day, hanging out with some local expats who were from Ayutthaya and the other guests. I went on a boat tour of a few temples in the evening. The tour was great, and I got to see some temples that I would have missed otherwise.

That evening was a late one, hanging out in the Soi (alley) of the guesthouse with the other travelers and the guesthouse guesthouse owners son, Santos. Oh Santos, what a guy. He gave the place so much charm. I've never seen such a good illusionist in my life. He was just non-stop action, always a joke, or a trick, or doing something hilarious.

The next day I woke up relatively early and made my way to the train station for a day trip to Lop Buri (the Monkey City). The train pulled up, and I got on, "finally" I thought "My first train ride in Thailand!", but it was a short-lived trip, as I had boarded the wrong train. After some train swapping, and about an hour later, I found myself in Lop Buri.

Now, with any new place, people often recommend that I "just check it out". The only problem is, half the time I don't have a map, and eve if I did, I barely ever know how to use it. So, I prefer to take some sort of local transportation to get oriented. With orientation in mind, I haggled with a bike-cart driver (what else would you call a guy on a bike that pulls you along in a covered-seat...), and took an hour tour of the city. After about 20 minutes of riding, and a stop at a temple, with not a single monkey seen, I was less than impressed. I think he could tell, as he picked up the pace and brought me to the Monkey Zone. I soon realized that Lop Buri, the "Monkey City" was not really all it made itself out to be, or at least all I made it out to be. There's definitely not monkeys swarming the entire city, but...

But between one of the towns old temples, and another more contemporary temple there was truly hordes and hordes of monkeys. At the time of day I arrived, the contemporary temple was where the horde was primarily located. There were so many monkeys. Babies, Teens, Moms, Dads, tourists feeding them, monkeys running off with bags, monkeys jumping around, monkeys being aggressive. It was monkey mania. The monkeys were even in the streets, running across cable lines, hanging out on roof tops and terraces. At one point i saw a monkey steal a bag. I tried to stop it by taking a menacing step forward, but a hiss and a large set of revealed teeth let me know that I should probably be on my way. I finished my tour with bike-man, and came to the revelation that the monkey temple was about 200 meters from the train station where we had started. No worries though, as I probably would have headed off in the opposite direction.

I actually spent a good 5 hours in Lop Buri, with only about 1 of them being monkey oriented. I spent a couple of hours with a local Thai motorbike taxi driver. Between his english and my thai we were able to communicate. At one point a truck pulled up selling tamarinds, I bought a bag and he showed me how thais eat them, as well how to tell good ones from bad ones. I'm not sure what sparked this, but while eating them he starts pointing at nearby temple. He starts heading over to the temple grounds and I follow, only to stop at a gigantic tree. What is this tree? Well, its a Tamarind tree. He starts grabbing fallen tamarinds and offering them to me. I guess you can eat them when their ripe, or even when their still green. Actually, I kinda liked the bitter green ones a bit more. By now I was feeling hungrey for lunch, and he brought me to a nearby thai food stall where I had some delicious fried rice and egg and a glass of whiskey and soda. After lunch we parted ways and I made my way back to the Monkey temple for a second look.

I never made it however. Instead, I found myself sitting with the locals selling the food to feed the monkeys. These people we certainly Thai. They were loving that this foreigner was sitting on the meridian in the middle of the street with them. They asked me where I was from, and their random thai guy friend had me talk to a few of his lady friends over the phone, using the little bit of Thai I know. He was loving it, and after wards he showed me pictures of them, explaining to me these are his multiple girlfriends. It was getting hot, and one of the older ladies beckoned this young boy to come put an umbrella over me. It was ridiculous having this kid standing behind me with an umbrella over my head. But what was I supposed to do? I wasn't too sure, so I just enjoyed it.

Just as the monkeys started migrating from one temple to another, and the tourists activity seemed to pick up, a group of thai school children started to cross the street past where we were sitting. The local Thais began hawking food for feeding the monkeys, and what do I decide to do? Well, if your hairy, a foreigner, and you want a few laughs? You act like a monkey. So, I began ou ou ou'ing, and ah ah ah'ing, and jumping around squatting beatind my chest. Man, those kids were in shock and awe. Some looked mortified and some were in stitches.

With the sun heading down, I decided to catch a train back to Ayutthaya. The train was late from a previous deparuted and I pretty much stepped right onto the train as I arrived. Well, almost, but not before first having to walk past the entire Thai childrens class waiting for their train. Even monkeys get embarrassed.

That night was a pretty late one, despite having to leave the next day. The next morning I awoke early'ish, and packed up all my gear in a sleep induced stupor. Only to then decide that I would stay to the absolute last minute I was allowed (noon), and I went back up to my room and passed out. I woke at about 11:55, refreshed, and made my way to the train station. I was about to embark on a journey. My destination? Pak Chong, Khao Yai National Park.

Oh, as well, a few things about Ayutthaya. Probably one of the coolest cities I've been to. The people are friendly, there is a good mix of a small group of tourists and locals. This means the city is quite accessible while still charming. Its well kept, and there are immaculate temples all throughout the city. As well, there's a KFC....AND a Dairy Queen. You know what I realized? No one in Europe or Australia knows what a Dairy Queen is. Well, for those of you that do. Get this, I was getting the biggest size they had for only 45 baht. That's 1.50 Canadian. Was I in ice cream heaven? I'd like to think so.

So yeah....Pak Chong....

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Photos

My Room
Random Japanese Soccer Player Poster...

Comments

[Dad & Donna]

Great Read
Hey we really enjoyed reading your Blog and hope there are many more to come.....it's almost like we are right there with you...well not quite but you have always been very good at explaining places and things and your adventures....We are enjoying as usual so keep up the good work.....Be safe Love Dad & Donna xo P.S. Fantastic pics....

[Monique]

Beauty!
Okay, I'm seriously getting uber jealous now. Love the stories, Love the pictures. Miss ya! Mo