Escaping Bangkok: A Spontaneous Trip to Ayutthaya

Several weeks ago, I began to get cabin fever. The intense workweeks were taking their toll. I started researching online, asked for time off work, and decided to leave Bangkok. When the weekend arrived, I promptly took the BTS to Mo Chit station, weaved through Chatuchak Park, and crossed the busy highway to get to the bus terminal. This was my first time traveling by bus in Thailand. I bought my ticket for 60 THB (1.80 USD), and in less than 10 minutes, I was crammed into a white van. In about 45 minutes, I was there! The van dropped me off in downtown Ayutthaya.

I was hustled by tuk-tuk drivers from the moment I stepped out of the van. The tuk-tuk drivers were offering outrageous prices for tours, but I knew from my experience that tuk-tuks overcharge foreigners in Thailand. Therefore, I looked for other options. I saw numerous bicycle rental places, but seeing as I was pressed for time and it was an unusually hot day, I looked for something else. I walked into a hostel and asked the receptionist for recommendations about the best way to get to the ruins. She offered to call me a tuk-tuk from her hostel, which, fortunately, was significantly less expensive than the tuk-tuks at the bus stop (this time, only 200 THB / 6.20 USD per hour).
I spent the day at the ruins and saw five different sites. The 600-800-year-old temples were built of red brick and were beginning to crumble with age. Although many were in disrepair, the government had impeccably restored many of them. At the site of Wat Ratchaburana, I was able to enter the main temple by taking a steep, dangerous staircase deep into the center. I’ll admit it was a frightening feeling scaling 4-inch steps, but it was worth the danger to see the belly of this ancient “wat.”

As my tuk-tuk driver faithfully drove me around the beautiful city of Ayutthaya, we passed the river, lined with more old temples and interspersed with modern, golden temples. I soon realized I could not begin to see them all in the short time I had, which left me wishing I had more time and longing for a second trip to Ayutthaya. Even though I was only able to spend a few hours exploring the ruins of Ayutthaya, I felt like I was finally seeing the Thailand that I had traveled 14,000 kilometers from an entirely different world to experience.