(Mis)adventures in Ayutthaya
Going to Ayutthaya, we had some misadventures. Our host in Kanchanaburi suggested that from Kanchan, we do not have to go back to Bangkok to get to Ayutthaya. Instead, he suggested to take a bus to Suphan Buri and from there, there'll be buses bound for Ayutthaya. (It'll save us several minutes and money.)
Upon coming back from Erawan, we quickly went to get our stuff we left at our host's and then took a bus to Suphan Buri which left at around 4 pm. What I expected to be a short ride turned to 2 hours. And the thing is: we missed the last bus to Ayutthaya by 30 minutes. (It's my mistake for not researching. I assumed there'll be trips until late night since Ayutthaya is a popular destination. 😅)
We waited at the terminal for about 30 minutes without realizing that the last trip has already left. It was only when I went to look at the counters that I learned that we're waiting for nothing. Having no one to ask help from because no one understands us and vice-versa. We just sat there for several minutes, still hoping that a bus will park anytime at the spot for Ayutthaya. But it was also starting to get dark, and the terminal is starting to get deserted. There are no 24-hour trips there so we can't possible wait there 'til the morning or something. I went to ask a driver of another minibus. He answered in the Thai language, and from what I understood (just by trying to read his actions add the facts that I know so far), he said that there were no more trips to Ayutthaya and that we should take a taxi instead, which will cost us 8 something (he counted, with his fingers, in English from 1 to 8 to show me). I thought 800–that it will cost us 800 bahts to get to Ayutthaya, which is expensive. The trip to Ayutthaya from Suphan Buri costs only 40 bahts. But the thing is, we already paid for our accommodation in Ayutthaya. Originally, I planned to just kill time at the terminal/train station or a convenience store once we get to Ayutthaya, but that was when I thought it'll take us longer to get there. When we realized that we'd arrive earlier, we booked a hostel.
Earlier, we also asked a vendor about Ayutthaya trips and she answered us in Thai so we did not really get what she said. She even gestured for us to go to the other end–where the Ayutthaya bus is supposed to park. Perhaps she told us that the last bus has already left, we just didn't understand her.
So from Suphan Buri, our options are: 1) to go back to Bangkok and see if there are still trips to Ayutthaya (there was a minibus at the terminal bound for Bangkok), and, 2) take a taxi to Ayutthaya, which will cost us more but will probably cut the travel time. I thought it'd be more convenient to just take the taxi, just try to not mind the fact that we'll have to pay double the price of our accommodation. 😂
As we were walking away from the terminal, the driver I asked earlier shouted, "Ayutthaya! Ayutthaya!" to get our attention. I looked back, and answered, "Ayutthaya?", and he answered back, "Ayutthaya!" and gestured for us to get into his bus. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how I mastered the correct pronunciation of Ayutthaya. With just one word, we were able to communicate! 😂
So I misunderstood him. Apparently, earlier, he suggested that we can take his bus (bound for Bangkok, but we're not so sure. I just assumed so because the sign says BTS which is one of the trains in Bangkok. I did not bother asking where his destination.) We got into the bus, thinking that we'd have to pay 800 bahts and the driver would probably just drop us in Ayutthaya because it is along his route.
We were right. But instead of 800, we paid 80 bahts each. And indeed we were dropped off in a busy highway somewhere in Ayutthaya after an hour and a half. But at least, we got there, right? It was already 8 pm then, which is still quite early or me. But apparently, Ayutthaya is a city that sleeps early. There were a couple of taxis parked right where we were dropped off, but I was still being choosy (and untrusting, blame Manila taxi drivers). I wanted to book a Grab instead. Meanwhile, our host kept telling me to take a tuktuk. We went to a nearby convenience store to get something to eat while deciding which ride to take. And then we crossed to the other side, at Robinson's mall, because I thought there'd be more taxis or tuktuks in there. But there was none. I approached a tuktuk when I saw it was taking passengers, but the driver either said that he doesn't know the address or he won't be passing through that direction. The mall closed at exactly 9 pm. By that time, there were very few people left outside the mall including us. The others were also just waiting for their sundo. There was also a group of Filipinos (we heard them speaking Filipino), and Bangs so wanted to go to them to ask for help. By that time we were still waiting for a cab or tuktuk or anything that will take us to our hostel. If it was just me, I wouldn't mind waiting even longer, but I thought maybe my friend was already tired from all these misadventures I've caused 😂 so I took out my last card and called our host to send a car to pick us up. Earlier, he also offered to send a car to pick us up for 200 bahts. I was just thinking it'll be faster if we just book a grab because the car would still be coming from 11 kilometers away where the hostel is. As it turned out, it was our host himself who pick us up. (We were checked in at Moradok Thai Guesthouse, by the way.)
We were indeed dropped off in the middle of nowhere, because we took a totally different route to get to the hostel. When we got to the hostel, everyone already seemed to be asleep. Our host had to wake up their helper so we could check in. When our host told their helper about what happened to us, a look of pity was all over her face. Yes, somehow I resented myself, too. But moments such as these are the real fun parts of every travel, no?
Come morning, we met Siplan, Moradok Thai's furry housemate.
First order of business that day was to go see the temples. Lest we forget, we were in Ayutthaya because Bangs wanted to see even just one temple in Thailand hoping for
Our fellow guest at the hostel, Helena, told us we could just walk from the hostel and will be able to see a few temples nearby. Because we were trying to save some money, we did do as she said and started the way taking a walk outside. Then while talking a photo of a lake, we were approached by a tuktuk driver and offered a temple tour for 800 bahts for 4 hours. It would've been really nice to just go around walking but it was already hot at only 9am! We took the offer of course. (And later on, we cut the tour for an hour because it was too hot I got drained off of energy. People, it is important to have your breakfast.)
First temple stop: Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol, the Great Temple of Auspicious Victory.
With the establishment of Ayudhaya as the capital city in 1350, King U-thong proclaimed this temple the "royal" temple. At that time, it bore the name "Wat Chao Phya Tai". The temple had been the place of many important historical events. It was the seat of the Buddhist patriarchs and monks of the Forest Tradition (Aranyavasi School), which was noted for the practice of meditation and insight. Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol derived its name from the chedi built to commemorate the renowned victory of King Naresuan the Great over the massive Burmese invasion in 1593. (Source: the entrance ticket that costs 20 bahts)
Temple #2: Wat Panan Choeng
Inside Wat Panan Choeng is an impressive giant golden Buddha. Our tuktuk driver volunteered to take a photo of us by the door, but it's quite small and people were going in all the time. Inside and outside the temple, there are people who are praying. No entrance fee for this temple.
Still in the temple's compound is this dock by the river where people go to feed the fishes. As a result, plenty of big fat fishes perpetually flock in this dock.
I was smiling while throwing food into the water but I don't think it's fun for them. This part of the river is clearly overpopulated with fishes, and also the water is murky. I asked our tuktuk driver if these can be caught and cooked (everything I think about is food-related, okay). He said no because it is within a temple. At least I learned something new.
The 'guard dogs' of Wat Panan Choeng. Didn't ask permission to take their photo. Can't tell if that's an angry look (woman, take that camera away from my face!) or just serving a fierce look for a tourist who just wanted to takr a souvenir photo. Meanwhile, the other one at the back seemed to be working a commercial-worthy smile. He probably just maintains a good facial expression in case a random camera snaps away.
Temple #3: Wat Mahathat, which, by judging from the ruins, is most probably a beautiful temple in the past. Entrance fee is 50 bahts.
Some parts of the Mahathat temple ruins are undergoing restorations.
Wat Mahathat is also the temple where Buddha's head is in the roots of the tree. Such a unique sight.
And of course, Wat Mahathat is also the setting of my version 2.0 of "Who Wore It Better" in Ayutthaya.
Them 'guard' dogs at Wat Mahathat are sleeping on duty.
Temple #4: Wat Thammikarat
The bell shaped pagoda stands on a square base which is decorated with 13 lions stucco in khmer art.
Wat Thammikarat is situated in the north of Ayutthaya, adjacent to the east of the Royal Palace. It is stated in the Northern Chronicle that this temple was built by Phraya Thammikarat, son of Prince Sai Nam Phueng, before the establishment of Ayutthaya City. The temple had been called Wat Mukkharat before it was changed to Wat Thammikarat. The temple is believed to be important in the Ayutthaya Period because of its location. It was destroyed and abandoned during the war in the second fall of Ayutthaya (1767). The temple was once again restored in the reign of King Rama V. (Source: entrance ticket which costs 20 bahts)
A monument for one of Thailand' beloved leader King Naresuan at Wat Thammikarat.
That tolda (tent) affects the temple's aesthetics 😆 but it shows that people still come to the temple to offer and pray.
Temple #5: Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Our tuktuk driver said we have to option to go inside (pay ticket) or just look from the outside and take photos (free haha). By this time, it was already very hot, so we opted to not go inside anymore and just take a few snapshots. After this, I requested the driver to take us to the temple of the reclining Buddha, and that should be the last one. (I think we crossed out all the temples in his list and we still had an hour left because we refused to go to the floating market and elephant ride.)
Temple #6: Wat Lokayasutharam
This is the small version of the reclining Buddha infront of the big Buddha. When people buy flowers to offer, they're also given incense and a gold sheet to be pasted in this reclining Buddha.
We asked the tuktuk driver to drop us off at the hostel so we can get our things and travel to Bangkok. But first, lunch. Upon arriving at the guesthouse, we learned that the restaurant/bar infront of the hostel wasn't open yet to serve lunch. There was another cafe but they only serve coffee and breakfast food. After several minutes of pondering where to go to eat, we tried asking Somsri, the perky helper of Moradok Thai, if they serve food (because they have a small cafe at the guesthouse which was closed). She said she can prepare chicken pad thai for us. By this time, we just wanted any food before we leave for Bangkok so we won't have to go around looking for a place to eat. I can't remember what came to us while waiting for lunch because Bangs and I suddenly decided to just stay another night in Ayutthaya since we do not have anything planned out yet in Bangkok anyway.
Somsri's version of pad thai + Thai coffee by Inthanin Coffee to perk me up. We hadn't had breakfast which was why I was irritable during the temple tour. After, probably a couple of hours, this was us. 😂
It wasn't even near 5 pm, but there was this guy who was already there hanging at the hostel yard even before for lunch and who had beer shortly after. Since we decided to stay, we might as well just walwal. 😎
When night fell, we went to the night market to have dinner. When we came back, there was a group having a drinking session at the garden. (When we arrived during the other night, we also saw a lot of empty liquor bottles at the table in the garden. We learned later on that they were the same people who drank that night.)
They asked us to join but my introverted self kicked in so I told Bangs I wouldn't. But just to be polite, we said yes to them so Bangs was so bothered she went out to explain why we couldn't be possibly joining them. She said we had some work to do, but I didn't know about this alibi, or the fact that she went out to excuse ourselves. All along I thought she went out to join them. From our room, I faintly heard her speaking to them, and then I heard someone speak in Filipino. I thought there was another Filipino in the group so I quickly went out to see who it was. Someone offered me a seat and in a matter of seconds, I was already seated and ordering two bottles of beer for myself and Bangs who was so bewildered. Apparently, I (unintentionally) made her into a liar because she just told them we couldn't join, but there I was, ordering beer. 😂 There was no other Filipino in the group, just a Kiwi guy who happens to know some Filipino words. Nonetheless, I was glad we extended for one more night because it was one hell of a night.
