Before heading by land to Northern Thailand from Bangkok, Ayutthaya Historical Park makes an excellent stop and a visit on the way. Even if not heading on towards Northern Thailand, being only 80 km north of Bangkok, it is possible to make a day trip to Ayutthaya. Personally, I opted for a train, which I caught from  Bangkok Hua Lamphong Railway Station. The one-way ticket costs only 15 TBH (0.40 €) and it takes about 1.5 hours to get there.

Ayutthaya Kingdom

Ayutthaya is an ancient capital of the Siamese Kingdom which existed from 1351 to 1767. It became the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai. Throughout hundreds of years, the ideal location between China, India and Malay made Ayutthaya the trading capital of Asia and even the world. By 1700 it had become the largest city in the whole world with more than 1 million inhabitants. The city was attacked by the Burmese army at 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced inhabitants to leave the city. Today, only a small part of the great capital city can be seen. The main buildings that survived the attack and have been preserved are temples and palaces, as they were the only buildings made of stone at that time. In 1991, the Historic City became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting around

When arriving in Ayutthaya, I was honestly surprised to see that there is a functioning city surrounding the ruins these days. The ruins have been integrated between modern buildings and streets. The easiest and cheapest way to get around in the city seemed to be by renting a bicycle. It is possible to rent one for a day for as little as 40 Thai baht (about 1 €). The bikes are poorly maintained though, so keep your fingers crossed it doesn’t break down during your trip. The city is located between three rivers, which makes it an island. All of the most popular sights are located on the island but there are many ruins outside of the island as well. Due to having rented a bicycle in a bad condition I did not dare to exit the island though. The entrance to each temple varies from 20 to 50 TBH.

Wat Phra Mahathat

A large temple with several stupas that seem to defy gravity. Rows of headless Budhhas gives an interesting experience for sure. Besides that Wat Phra Mahathat is home to the famous tree that has grown around Budhha head.

Wat Ratburana

The centre of this temple is one large and tall stupa (prang). It is visible from further away and has recently been restored. It is also possible to climb inside the stupa, which is not usually a thing in other stupas in Ayutthaya. First, a couple of staircases lead up the stupa from where you can capture good views of the temple grounds. From there it is possible to take the really steep staircase down to the deep centre of the stupa. There are two small unrestored rooms with original paintings on the walls.

Wat Thammikarat

Wat Thammikarat is still being used as a working temple. Large brick columns of what used to be a temple are still standing on its own at weird angles. The general area of Wat Thammikarat is smaller than on the previous sites mentioned.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet

This is the largest temple in Ayutthaya. It is known for its distinctive row of three chedis (stupas). Besides observing the chedis it is also possible to take a walk around the surrounding ruins.  The grounds also host a temple with hall of worship (Wat Mongkhon Bophit), which is home to a gigantic Buddha (17 m high). Wat Mongkhon Bophit is still being actively used so there will be many people around. After the entrance to the area, you will encounter many food stalls and shops for souvenirs, so this is probably the best place to get some gifts to take back home.

Wat Phra Ram

The temple hosts one huge prang(stupa) and several smaller chedis. King Ramesuan (r. 1369-1370) ordered the construction of Wat Phra Ram after his father died and the temple was constructed on his cremation site. It is a quiet and nice place to visit since there were only a few people there beside me.

Controversial tourist attraction – riding elephants

Between Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Phra Ram temples is situated Ayuttayah Elephant Palace. They offer to ride on the back of elephants through minor temple grounds. While I was riding the bicycle pass the temples I noticed tens of elephants with loads of tourists on top of them. The elephants were walking on the asphalt/concrete sidewalks and roads. It is pretty clear to see the pain and suffering in the eyes of the animals. It is obviously pure animal abuse. For the tourists to be able to ride the elephants they are captured at an early age and taken to camps to “train” them being humble and obeying. Although this has been going on throughout history then during our times this kind of behaviour should not be okay anymore. Years and years ago the elephants were used for farm work and transportation. This is not the case anymore because other kinds of motorised options are being used. So these days the elephants are captivated for the sole purpose of tourism attraction. Opposing the camps, many elephant sanctuaries have been created. The aim and purpose of the sanctuaries are to rescue and help mistreated and misplaced elephants. As it turns out, there are different types of sanctuaries as well and not all of them are as pure gold as you would think. Most of the sanctuaries are still not 100 % good for the animals. I met two volunteers in Pai who had been working in an elephant sanctuary for a couple of summers. They explained passionately how the trainers (mahouts) need to make the elephants obey them in the sanctuary as well. Tourists are being sold a “tour” where they can visit, help to take care and wash the elephants. In order for the tourists to be able to bath with them, the mahouts need to order the elephants to head to the water at certain times of each day. So it is still not the complete freedom that animals need. Most probably some actual sanctuaries exist, which purely help the elephants and let them be free. Personally, I have decided not to visit any of those places. All of this information above is based on what I have heard from other people and the research I have made online. I have never visited the camps/sanctuaries myself so this is purely my subjective opinion. Everyone should do their own research on the topic and decide for themselves.