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Published: January 18th 2013
I checked out of the T&T Guesthouse early and got Tok to give me a lift to Kanchanaburi bus station to make use of the super-cheap but often sluggish Thai public transport system. The journey actually went quite smoothly, as I rode the public bus to Suphanburi before changing to the aircon minibus to Ayutthaya. The journey overall took around 4 hours and cost 120 Baht (about £2.50). Autthaya is located on a natural island, bounded by the Pasak, Lopburi and Chao Phraya rivers. It was the previous captial of Thailand (formerly Siam) and one of the largest and wealthies cities in the East, until it was sacked by the Burmese in 1767. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, containing numerous ruined temples and the former Royal Palace.
On arrival, my first plan was to find somewhere to store my bag for the day. I was able to do this at Tony's Place, whose owner was very generous and incredibly camp. My next plan was to book my bed for the night, on the number 13 train to Chiang Mai. I decided to walk to the train station, which was on the other side of the Pasak river,
only to discover that the bridge wasn't designed to be crossed on foot. So I opted to take a tuk-tuk there and back for 100 Baht - I later discovered there is a ferry service across the river for 4 Baht and was gutted that I had wasted £2. Even worse for my finances, the only tickets left for that evening's train were first class, meaning I had to pay almost £40 for the near 400 mile journey. It's odd how one's perception of how much things should cost changes when in Thailand, as clearly this is ridiculously cheap by British standards.
With limited time available and having not done much research on what to see in Autthaya, I decided to take the tuk-tuk tour (200 Baht for 1 hour), immediately followed by the boat tour around the island (150 Baht for 2 hours). The tuk-tuk tour included the ruined temples of Wat Phra Mahathat and Wat Si Sanpet. Thankfully these were not duplicated by the boat tour, which stopped at two actively used and maintained temples: Wat Phanan Choeng and Wat Phutthaisawan, and the ruined Wat Chai Watthanaram. The latter was possibly the day's highlight, although sadly we
Wat Chai Watthanaram
Shortly before sunset.had to leave minutes before the optimum photographing moment with the sun setting directly behind the temple.
I was able to grab a shower at Tony's Place before heading across the Pasak (this time via the 4 Baht ferry) to catch the night train north. My first class cabin had a comfy bed which could be raised at one end, a fold out sink and a dated TV, radio and VCR, which didn't seem to work. Determined to make the most of it, I ordered a beer and Thai green curry on room service, which was surprisingly good. I got a decent amount of sleep, despite a loud banging sound which seemed to occur at random. It was interesting to occasionally look out of the window and see small villages or level crossings. When daylight eventually returned, the terrain had changed from plains to hills covered in dense vegetation. At around noon, 2 hours behind schedule, we arrived in Chiang Mai.
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Neil Allinson
non-member comment
Hello
Hi Greame... sat here reading your report drinking a bottle of Theakstons XB. All your pics take me back to when we were there, great country. When in Chaing Mai we did a jungle safari on an elephant which was great fun, might be worth a try. Camera seems to be working well keep um coming with plenty of sun on them as It's freezing over here and plenty of snow. Look forward to your next log.