Day 4, 24th April, Ayutthaya

A half-day trip to Ayutthaya, Thai capital for several centuries until the Burmese sacked it in 1767 after a two-year siege, melting down the golden Buddha and burning many temples.

Bangkok Station is very tourist-friendly. I was looking at departure times and was approached by a colour-coordinated tourist-hostess, who directed me to the right ticket counter to buy a ticket to Ayutthaya for 20 baht, about 50 Euro cents. Then a uniformed man grabbed me and hurried me to platform 8, where the train was just about to leave. “Run”, he said, “that one”.
This is third class, not a problem for the two-and-a-half hour trip:

It seemed a fruitless exercise, as the train arrived in Ayutthaya half an hour after the Lonely Planet said most temples closed.
However, a moat-ferry ride
and a bike-rental later, I was admiring chedis, prangs, stupas and buddhas in the cool of the evening, also discovering hidden temples and graveyards in the back streets of Ayutthaya.

The old temple area is extensive, so I was glad to have the bike, which I had to heave over some barbed wire to get out of the grand palace compound, as I had not taken the prescribed route. In contrast to a similar situation in Italy, where I was threatened by an irate householder, today I was offered help by three friendly Australian cyclists.

The bike rental lady gave me back my passport copy and suggested I use their toilet, very practical, and helpful as so many Thais are.

Back in Bangkok, I sought out a Chinatown seafood market alley recommended by Lonely Planet, walking around for an hour in the back streets near the river until I found it. Shrimps with lemon grass, galangal and coconut sauce.