Still not used to the changed hours, I tend to wake up sometime between 2am and 3am in the morning and won’t go back to sleep. If I was about 8 stone lighter I would probably start to resemble Al Pacino in „Insomnia“… Today though this was quite useful since we needed an early start anyway. After a quick breakfast we got picked up at 6.45am from the hotel and after gathering with other people from other hotels took off in a coach going North, to Ayutthaya, about 1 hour from Bangkok. On the way we stopped at the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace which was somewhat disappointing (at least if you don’t know what to expect) – when you arrive at the (pleasantly cool) former summer residence of King Rama V you feel like being zapped to Europe – the garden has a French feel to it, there is one bridge sporting a number of statues that looks like it was ripped out of Rome and plunked there, some buildings reminded me of Colonial and Victorian counterparts and to top it all off, the last building you get to is clearly influenced by Chinese architecture. If you are reading this and if you have been there and if you actually understand architecture you are now probably tearing your hair out because I got it all wrong!! Anyway, see for yourself whether this looks Thai to you:
We then went on to Ayutthaya, which is mostly a large collection of ruins (thankfully much cooler than Mi Son in Vietnam, also much more widespread). Some temples are reasonably well conserved, others resemble a large pile of bricks. Unfortunately the Burmese were quite thorough in destroying Ayutthaya in 1767, and serious floods a few years ago didn’t help things either – as a result the biggest Chedi (dome-like structure with a long stretching pointed top – see pictures) as well as some other structures are now leaning (a bit like the Pisa tower) and with ongoing erosion and the recent earthquake in Burma, people are afraid that some of the buildings could actually collapse. Ayutthaya is over-populated with rather aggressive souvenir sales people which is a bit of a shame. You also have the option to „enjoy“ a brief elephant ride, which is a bit of a shame, given that there are more and more responsible Elephant „villages“ where the majestic animals can spend a few more years after a long hard working life without having to do Circus tricks or carry tourists around the block for a completely pointless ride.
We returned to Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River by boat, where we were promised a tasty lunch buffet. To be honest, I expected the food to be forgettable at best, but it was anything but: I won’t be able to forget the sorry sight of chicken wings in red wine sauce (that’s what the label said, looked like tomato sauce to me), pork fillet in orange sauce (one guy who was covered in cheap tattoos and looked like he had an ulcer already managed to stuff his face with six pieces of said pork loin) and – wait for it – Spaghetti Bolognese (Welcome to Thailand!!) anytime soon. The Tom Yam Kung was just about edible although the shrimp must have been in there since we left Bangkok in the morning and the standard selection of fruit (watermelon, pineapple, papaya and cantaloupe) saved the day for me!! Word of advice – if you have the choice to return from Ayuttahya by boat, food inclusive, or by some other means of transport, even on the back of a camel – don’t take the boat!! The river views were okay though, to be fair.
One more remark about the hotel we’re staying at: I was saying in an earlier blog that it was quiet – this is mostly true, if you ignore the International school next door (I don’t mind children at all, so that was absolutely fine) and more importantly the band that was playing last night to accompany the outdoor buffet dinner – how that man could play Western songs (including – of course – the all time classics „Bessa Me Mucho“ and „My Way“) on his violin and make it sound like a dying cat in absolute agony at the same time is beyond me, but probably a special skill that took weeks to acquire…
Tomorrow we will be leaving Bangkok and travelling to Koh Samui, so the next blog entry may not be before Monday.