Ancient Ayutthaya

Our first stop after the hustle and bustle of Bangkok was the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. It's only about 80 km north of the city, but on the budget commuter train, it takes a bit of time. But the windows are down, the city, suburbs, and countryside are rolling by, and vendors make their rounds selling snacks and drinks. All the food comes in bags: eggs in a bag, meat in a bag, rice in a bag, other mystery things, all in bags.

Our guesthouse had bicycles for rent, and that was definitely the best way to explore the various ruin sites. There is no buffer between the modern city and the ancient capital. Sagging and crumbling wat walls, chedis, stupas and pillars rest alongside vendor stalls and diesel-choked streets. Cycling between the sites was a bit of an adventure, but it was nice to be on our own--albeit rickety--wheels.

Having seen the Grand Palace in Bangkok, you could really visualize the former splendor of these massive complexes. Most structures were made of brick, and then covered in plaster, and would probably have had colourful mosaic tiles on top of that. Next stop, Lopburi for some monkey business!

Yes, that is a hole in the wall beside me. What do you expect for 15 baht (about 50 cents)?

Bought these peanuts on the train thinking they were roasted peanuts. They were not. They were wet, and on the inside, they were... chewy. The flavour actually wasn't bad, but the damp texture didn't do it for me. Mark liked them though, to no ill effect.