TEMPLES, STRAY DOGS, STREET FOOD AND MORE TEMPLES
Having left Bangkok, I headed out on a train to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. The journey took a couple of hours, through the beautiful countryside of Thailand and gave me a chance to experience travel with the locals. The journey cost an incredible 30 Bhat!
Once I arrived in Ayutthaya I checked into the hostel, where I was sharing a dorm room with 5 others, dropped off my things, grabbed a Chang from the downstairs bar and got chatting to some of the other travellers.
I quickly got the feeling that there wasn’t much in the way of nightlife in Ayutthaya and that all restaurants were most likely closed. A little disappointing, as I had to make do with a toastie from a 7/11 that night.
After having a decent night’s sleep at the hostel, I decided to explore the area and the many ancient temples that the place had on show.
First off, I headed to Wat Ratcha Burana, Wat Maha That and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. These ancient temples, which are all within a stone’s throw from each other are something to behold and definitely worth getting my camera out for!
These were also the temples where the Jean Claude Van Damme 1989 film Kickboxer was filmed. Bucket list item, ticked!
Having wandered around these temples for a few hours, I decided to get off the beaten track and walk to another which was a few kilometres away. This gave me a chance to explore the more residential and suburban areas of Ayutthaya, which was an interesting change of scene and certainly an eye-opener to see how the locals from Ayutthaya lived.
Heading back from this temple, it was starting to get dark and I retraced my steps back through a large park where a ceremony for the late King was wrapping up. I walked back through the grounds of one of the temples, as twilight fell and through the main public park.
One thing that I’d noticed as soon as arriving in Ayutthaya was the number of stray dogs roaming around and this made me a little nervous that they could at any moment choose to take offence to your presence. Throughout the day I’d come across dozens of stray dogs and had no real problems with them, but as I entered the park I noticed lots there were many roaming around and this made me feel a little uneasy about walking through the park on my own at night in case they started to become territorial!
I took a slightly longer route around the edge of the park area and back towards the hostel, walking through a vibrant street food market on the way. Pausing to try some of the street food, which I must say was ace and then heading back to my hostel to grab a beer or two and catch up on the photos I’d taken that day.
I decided that I needed a break from dorm rooms for a bit and some me time, so I booked myself a private guesthouse in Lopburi for the next two nights. To be continued…
