The Road Warriors: Ayutthaya in 24 hours

The third class train rolled into Ayutthaya Station. If this was third class, the Yogyakarta to Jakarta train was like, 9th class by comparison. I wasn't sure if I was at Ayutthaya actually, but the stub puncher said I should get off. My train car was in the rear, far from the platform, so I hopped off and into a ditch. God forbid it was the wrong station, I thought. I would literally be in a ditch somewhere.

As I stated before, Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand. Encircled entirely by rivers, it made for an excellent location. it eventually got taken over and sacked by Burmese invaders so they made Bangkok the new capital. It was either Burmese invaders or dirty, lecherous backpackers, I'm not sure. But anyways, what remains of the city is a ton of ruins and a downright ridiculous amount of temples. I chose to spend a day doing some hardcore temple hopping.

It was about 9pm when my train arrived so my touring would have to wait until morning. My main objective was to find a meal and a bed. Somebody hollered at me as I walked past. It was a hotel owner offering a room for 100 baht, an excellent deal. See, I don't mind the touts if they actually have a good deal for you. The man's name was Toi, and he was of a very particular character. Upon sitting down with a menu, he handed me a piece of paper. "Write 8 countries that begin and end with the letter A, then 2 countries that begin and end with the same letter, but not A". Hot damn! Toi was a crazy geography nerd and he had no idea what kind of Pandora's Box he had just opened. Within three minutes, I had written down Australia, Austria, Argentina, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Angola, Czech Republic and Seychelles. From that point on, it was a hurdle of trivia questions culminating in what would be his final test. He handed me one of those wire puzzles where you had to separate the pieces. He showed me a chart he had on the wall of different countries, with stars showing how many people from each country had completed the puzzle. I knew I had to throw a star up there for Canada so I set about trying to figure it out. Took me about 15 minutes, but I earned my star on Toi's chart.

In the morning, I made it a point to wake up at a time that didn't make me vulgarly lazy. 10am was that time. Toi lenbt me a motorbike and I made my way across the bridge and into the old city. The distance between temples was nothing severe, but there were so many, so having a motorbike would prove invaluable in seeing as many as I could.

It was a very sunny and very hot day. Already I was wearing a glossy sheen and I hadn't even walked 50 meters. A lot of these temples were actually temple ruins. Vast expanses of half-formed structures, collapsed walls and strewn red bricks. No shelter from the sun. At times I was completely alone. At times it felt like a graveyard. Trees sprouted around long fallen structures, in one instance, partly enveloping a Buddha's head. Elsewhere, mock Buddhas were constructed, more closely resembling golems than dieties. Occasionally, a grand spire (called a stupa) jut out from the center of the ruins and required exploration. From the top, you could not only see the reach of the temple grounds, but other stupas which dominated the horizon from other parts of the city.

Some temples were still very much active. Massive golden Buddhas in carefully chosen positions, unmistakably the centerpiece for each area of worship. Practitioners held joss sticks and gave their prayers. Photographs were permitted and evidently so was selling souvenirs inside of the temple. For some reason, that scene from Jesus Christ Superstar where Jesus comes into the temple and starts trashing all of the merchants' shops kept coming to mind.

The rides between temples were at times attractions in themself. beautiful parks with lakes, lovely foliage. I wondered how many Thais came here when they retired.

After seeing a massive reclining Buddha, I decided to call it a day. I saw a total of nine temples and was cooking like a Christmas goose in the afternoon heat, so I made my way to the market where I ate my cheapest meal in Thailand. A bowl of soup with noodles, chicken and vegetables for 16 baht (48 cents). Delicious savings.

I returned the bike after spending about an hour trying to find the bus station in hopes of buying a cheap ticket for later. As an aside, maybe it's the language barrier, but it seems like any time you ask a Thai person where something is, they just gesture in a cardinal direction. Train station? That way. Gas station? That way. Australia? That way. Sometimes you get the broad gesture that sweeps from east to west. Anyways, I learned from many people that the bus station was "that way". I just kept going and asking people until I found it. It was very very far away.

Later on at the guesthouse, there was an older Aussie guy sitting by himself drinking Chang after Chang, tolerating the obnoxious reggaeton music Toi was blaring. I struck up a conversation with him and it was utterly painful. This guy never married and never had a career and seemed pretty content with it. It was odd though because he didn't act like a grown up man at all, or anyone who's ever had any kind of responsibility. Something about old dudes, you kind of expect them to be wise and authoritative. This guy was insecure, naive and all around hard to respect. For all those guys who say "never get married" or "don't get stuck in a 9-5", this guy was the living, breathing argument against those assertions. The least he could have done was turn to Toi and say "Can you turn that shit off?" like a proper old man.

That night I watched a group of four guys from England all try and fail at the wire puzzle. I had decided to take the sleeper train up to Chiang Mai. It was more expensive, but I had yet to experience one, so I booked the last available bunk. At around 9pm I boarded. I had been at the exact same spot 24 hours ago, arriving in Ayutthaya. One solid day of good, wholesome tourism. I felt quite pleased with myself. Chiang Mai, it turned out, would be the complete opposite.