Ayutthaya Cosmonauts

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Ayutthaya boasts a burgeoning little guest house area locally referred to as “Little Khao San”. Thankfully, this street was far more charming and relaxed than its clammy, dry-heaving namesake. Little cafes featured LIVE JAZZ!, two sweet Thai teenagers earnestly crooning Sinatra era tunes and plunking away on their keyboard, bikes rentals were 30 baht a day (under $1), and most establishments offered free wifi. Yahoogle!

We rented said bikes for a trip back to Ayutthaya’s glory days, to the splendid wats that ring this moated city. We hauled our bikes onto our shoulders and hiked up the three stories to the top of the bloated uberfreeway spanning the moat and back down again, and looped through the burbs to Wat Yai Chai Mongkol. In 1593, King Naresuan erected this complex after beating the interloping Burmese prince on elephant-back into a puddle of pudding. Pesky Burma was always attempting to annex Thailand, but not without a fight. Naresuan pounded his chest and had his minions construct a gigantic chedi and a reclining Buddha on this ancient mediation site (established by Ramathibodi in 1357). See lovely pictures. Picturesque, eh?

One time, in 1569, the Burmese were successful in spanking the royal Ayutthayans, and promptly erected this monument to the spanking. Buddhist law prohibited the demolition of temples, therefore, once the Ayutthayans took the city back, they were stuck with the Burmese insult. This temple is set quite far outside the city, past rice paddies and the northern leg of the Chao Phraya River. Upon entering its gates, we are greeted by hundreds of porcelain roosters, organized in military file, increasing in size as we neared the monument. Lots of stories claim to explain the abundance of cocks on this ancient site- some say that Naresuan won a cockfight against a foreign enemy, other say roosters are symbolic thanks to Naresuan after he had provided them spiritual assistance from the other side, etc. The grounds of Wat Phu Khao Thong are kept meticulously by a motley crüe of gardeners: water buffalo, horses, Brahmin cows, and Elsies. This was our favorite wat thus far. From the top we had a magnificent view of the surrounding infinitude of rice paddies, highway and palms. A monk perched on a stone shelf meditating. A painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) soared below us. It is at this moment that we attained cosmic consciousness.

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Photos

Ayutthaya Guesthouse
30 baht = 1 dollar, so this should give you some idea of pricing!

Ely and his home for the night
isn't it lovely??

Reclining Buddha
constructed by King Naresuan in the 1590s

Roosters at attention
As far as I can tell, roosters are a symbol of pride for King Naresuan. This temple has thousands of roosters arranged in all forms of stately genuflection. Many are over eight feet tall, but these little guys arranged in such militaristic order is so great.

Interior of Wat Na Mane
Rough Guide's fave of the three, our least favorite, yet the most well preserved.

Green Sandstone buddha
Phra Khan Thavaraj Buddha, prized because he is supposedly from Sri Lanka, the source of Thai Buddhism.

Schannelhannelestenhauser in his new home across the street.
This place has a charming plant-filled downstairs and free wifi, but we found out at midnight....one am.....two am....that it's a huge party spot too!

This beautiful thing wandered off a side street,
cut us off on our bikes downtown, had to be shooed away from food kiosks, leisurely blocked traffic for a bit, before settling on the median for supper

carving at tony's
We've been seeing this lovely concept everywhere here. anybody know who it's supposed to be?