Thailand #4: Ayuthaya

Due to train schedules, we followed our hostel's advice, and took one of the many van shuttle services back to Bangkok. We'd been warned about the shadiness of these services, but our hostel assured us that the one they used was reputable. It was cheap, and worth a chance so that we could catch our train out of Bangkok that night. The driver picked us up in a 12 passenger conversion van equipped with rims, a nice sounding exhaust system, and super tinted windows. We were the only ones in the van for about 15min. Then we picked up a few elderly Thai couples. I fell asleep about 25min into the drive only to awaken at what appeared to be a gigantic flee market/carnival. Our driver and several of the Thai couples were outside smoking cigarettes and conversing. Christy and I were the only westerners in sight. I had to use the bathroom and after 30min of sitting around, I decided to ask what was happening, and if there was a bathroom around. The driver said, "Everything...okay! Toilet...." and pointed to a waste high concrete structure that appeared to be the old foundation of a shed. Sure enough there was an open air trough system. As I stood and did my business along side several Thai men, (the women were squatting at a similar structure about 100ft away) I took time to look around at all of the pleasantly strolling, apparently indifferent, Thai couples who were just feet away. It was a rather awkward experience. Anyway, despite the fact that our driver wasted the better part of 45min at this place, we did manage to make Bangkok 20min ahead of time. How, you might ask? Little did we realize that all such drivers were aspiring Formula-1 drivers. How a 12 passenger conversion van can manage speeds and corners like that one did, I have no idea. We were passing cars like they were stopped, and despite being rush hour in Bangkok, they were clearly moving. The rest of our transportation that night would not be so rapid or exciting.

We arrived at the Bangkok train station at 8:30, and booked a 9:00 train to Ayuthaya. The ride would be about 1.5hrs. 9pm rolled around, and there was no train. 9:30 came to, and still no train. At 9:45 a message came across the speakers (in Thai...one of the information staff translated for us) stating that, surprise, the train was late. It should arrive in 15min. 30min later the train came. We got on...then we were told to get off. It was apparently not in condition to make the trip. We watched as it rolled away with several dozen Thai locals on board. We have no idea what happened. The next train was to arrive in 15min. We finally left Bangkok at a little after 11pm...in a hot, crowded, and stinky 3rd class train car. Luckily we got seats. The train was dreadfully slow, and made frequent unexplained stops. After an hour a group of Thai teenagers sat down on the floor a few feet away from us (totally blocking the way). They were playing some kind of drinking game, and had beer bottles, ice, and plastic cups strewn about their human circle. This was all done in front of train personnel, a monk, and two police officers. Nobody really seemed to care. They invited us to join in a beer, and after 20min of broken English and a cup or two of beer, we arrived in Ayuthaya. It was a 12:30am.

As with everywhere in Thailand, especially train stations, the tuk tuk drivers were there to greet us. Unfortunately, none of them had any idea where our hostile was located. We had made reservations at a cool, river front hostile and were to be meeting a friend named Maggie there in the morning. We had told the hostel we'd arrive around 10pm. We had the address, but none of the drivers knew where it was. Two motorbike taxis decided they knew where it might be and charged us a reasonable flat fee to take us there. If nothing else it would be in the right vicinity...or so we thought. We got dropped off at a hostel that had a very similar name to the one we'd booked. It was just that unfortunately...very similar. We were in downtown Ayuthaya, and the bars were beginning to close. The tuktuks disappeared, and call-taxis stop at midnight. We talked to some local expats, and they too had no idea where this mysterious riverfront hostel was located. After 30min of walking around, we found a hostel with its doors open. They were fully booked, but let us use their internet for free. We found a map to our intended hostel, and got a phone number as well. Nobody answered the phone. We began to walk. We really had no idea how far it would be. We guess quite a ways, since it took awhile to make it from landmark to landmark (as seen on the map). Finally we stopped at a 7/11 to see if they could help. The girl behind the counter was as friendly as most Thai, and spent a good 30min trying to call friends who might know where we were going. No luck. Eventually, an off duty police officer came in to fill up with gas, and offered to drive us around until we found it. Sure enough, it would have been quite the walk.

The hostel did exist, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, there was nobody around. We went in through the gate, and sat down in their open-air lobby/dining area. It was a very cool little place, and the well-lit temple across the river made for quite the backdrop...but nobody was home. We gave more than a few "Hello!" shouts to no avail. We resigned to sleeping there in the lobby...outside. After I had washed my face and taken out my contacts, we heard footsteps come down the porch staircase. It was a friendly-faced, middle-aged Thai woman who said, "OH! I knew YOU would come! Something must have gone wrong!" She quickly took us to our beds (with AC, TV, and fully functioning hotwater!). I fell asleep before turning on any of them.

In the morning we emerged at around 9:30 to find our friend, Maggie, an English teacher in China, waiting at the desk. She had been told of our situation, and that we might sleep in late. I can't say enough good things about the woman that ran that hostel. We decided to leave Ayuthaya that night...and head straight down to the beaches in the south. We made the appropriate arrangements, and went out to ride around the town. For a dollar each we rented bicycles to make the day's trip a bit easier on us. The bikes were in pretty lousy condition, but still quite ride-able ...even with the flat tire that mine sooner developed. Ayuthaya is a relatively quiet little city. It was the capital of Siam until the Khmer wars in the 18th and 19th centuries. The old ruins are often compared to Anchor Wat, but they are in much worse condition. The capital of Ayuthaya was mostly destroyed during the wars, and the kingdom moved its capital to Bangkok. It is still quite impressive by any standards. One of the most famous attractions is a giant reclining Buddha that is on the southwest side of the city. There really isn't much to say about the city. It's hard to describe it in words, and once you've seen part of the ruins, you've essentially seen them all. I felt like I saw pretty much everything during the 12 daylight hours I spent there. For the long-term backpacker looking to chill out for a few days, it might not be a bad place to park. Otherwise, it's just a nice day trip from Bangkok. I'm certainly glad we had Maggie along that day, because I think Christy and I would have gotten quite bored without the new company.

Christy and I left that night at around 7pm on a train for Bangkok, which would begin our overnight journey south to Surathani (essentially the hub for all Thai beach travel). There we would meet Maggie (traveling by bus), and bus to Krabi, and finally taxi to our beach destination of Au Nong.