Travelbeat Editorial Review THE KINGDOM OF AYUTTHAYA Thailand: a journey back in time Story and photos by Kerry Hennigan Time travel isn't a fantasy that exists solely in the minds of inventors of science fiction. Anyone who has visited the site of Thailand's famous former capital, Ayutthaya, has journeyed into the kingdom's past. No gothic H.G. Wells time machine is necessary - the journey can be made by train, coach, car or a luxury vessel along the Chao Phraya River, highway of kings. The one essential accessory is a camera loaded with film to capture the past. Like most who visit this famous archaeological site, Travelscene International's journey began in Bangkok, from which we travelled northwards by coach to the central plains. Here at last is a sense of the 'real' Thailand. Not that Bangkok, with its noise, traffic, commerce and teeming millions isn't quintessentially Thai. But in the rural countryside, the small towns and villages, isolated temples and gold-coated chedis peaking above the trees, leave no doubt that one is approaching the heartland of Asia. Ayutthaya lies 76 km north of Bangkok, and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most impressive and most often visited ruins are scattered over a broad area. For most of its history as capital of the old kingdom of Siam (a period lasting 417 years) Ayutthaya was larger than any city in Europe. On the western edge of the town of Ayutthaya, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, is the restored Wat Chai Wattanaram (1630 AD). The central prang (pictured above), built in the Khmer corn-cob style, is surrounded by smaller chedis. Statues of the Buddha abound, including those that gaze serenely over the great river. Wat Chai Wattanaram provides an opportunity to examine the remnants of the once-mighty capital at close range. The architecture, reminiscent of Angkor Wat, is breath-taking. Climbing the steep staircase of the central prang is not recommended for the faint hearted! Wat Mahathat (right), more centrally located, is another 14th century ruin, of which the once 50 metre high central chedi has collapsed. This is a large site to explore, and the cooling shade of the trees near the car park is most welcome after a walk down the unshaded avenues between ruined walls and chedis. Many visitors comment on the headless torsos of the Buddha statues found here and elsewhere throughout Ayutthaya. Our guide explained that, while the Burmese forces that sacked and burned the capital in 1767 were also of the Buddhist faith, they wished to rob the Siamese kingdom of its power, spiritual as well as physical. One head, broken off and dropped by the invaders, has, in more recent ages, become entwined in the roots of a fig tree (at right) on the outskirts of the ruined Wat. Devotees still leave offerings here and on other statues at the site. Ayutthaya may have been ransacked, and her magnificent idols looted or destroyed, but the faith of the Thai people has never waned. Next door to Mahathat is Wat Ratchaburana (pictured right) which dates from the 15th century. The central prang has been restored and is an impressive site indeed. In 1957, robbers discovered and looted a huge cache of gold artefacts here. Only a handful has been recovered. The magnificence of this once resplendent, cosmopolitan city, with its enclaves of foreign merchants, cannot be sufficiently stressed to modern, particularly Western, visitors. Yet, despite the wealth and the physical splendour and the power of its kings, Ayutthaya was destroyed by its enemies. It's a history lesson that has been repeated time and again, by many cultures, in many lands. Empires rise and they inevitably fall. The message is as relevant today as it was in the era of old Siam. And the evidence is plentiful for the visitor to explore and imagine the glory days of the once great Ayutthaya. For further information on Ayutthaya, visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand web site: www.tourismthailand.org Recommended reading: · Lonely Planet: Thailand · Thailand: Eyewitness Travel Guide, Dorling Kindersley/Penguin · Han Suyin's epic novel "The Enchantress" contains an excellent recreation of the final days of the kingdom of Ayutthaya. Back to Archive Index