Thailand's Ancient Capital City - Ayutthaya

The prospect of squeezing a tour of Bangkok's ancient city into a 24 hour layover, after only arriving in the city after midnight, wasn't thrilling at first. Anna, one of the crew, insisted though that these half-day tours are great. So after minimal sleep I'm downstairs at 6:50am with puffy eyes and ready for the 'Ayutthaya' tour.

Riding along in the coach with 'real' tourists who are on a 'real' holiday is refreshing. "See, its like a mini-holiday for us," Anna encourages.

As soon as we head out of Bangkok and escape the garlands of electrical lines, I don't need much encouragement to be enthused. Instead of the bustling streets, and bucket-stool stalls, we soon drive past lakes and lush paddy fields.
The countryside quickly becomes rural and green.

We arrive about two hours later at Ayutthaya - the former capital city of Thailand. Sedately we explore the ruins that remain.

The ravaged ruins of the palaces of Ayutthaya stand in stark contrast to the prim pagodas and manicured lawns of the Bang Pa-In Palace. This summer palace has been polished to a fine-comb degree and is uncanny it is neatness. It reminds me of Wisteria Lane or Disneyland, and in its attempt at grandeur, the historical significance of the palace seems to be lost.

Stray dogs sporting coats of legions, scabs and bald patches case the Wat Lokayasutharam area - the next stop on our tour. In keeping a safe distance from the mangy, but harmless, 'hyenas' I'm thrust into the path of the more aggressive hawkers selling lotus flowers and incense. I hurriedly take some photos of the reclining Buddha and am relieved to soon be back on the coach.

We also visit the ruins of another temple where tourists are seen huddled not around the piles of bricks, but grouping around a tree. Closer inspection reveals the tree bears a carving of a Buddha face at its trunk. Beautiful!

The cruise along the Chao Phraya River delivers my first proper meal of the day. The little boat was quiet for a good 15 minutes as everyone tucked into the Thai buffet, so my guess is that many people too skipped breakfast.

By 4pm we were back at the hotel for a few hours sleep before the flight back to Dubai.

I'm glad I took the tour and got to see some of Bangkok's historical sights. It made for refreshing change from the usual sights and sounds I experience in the 'city of smiles'.