A little Thai history anyone?

While taking a break outside of a ruin in Ayutthaya, a young Thai woman who had been educated in the US stopped and chatted with me for a bit. She indicated that Ayutthaya was the 2nd capital of Thailand (Siam). Sukhothai was the first, Thonburi the 3rd and Bangkok 4th. She said there was some talk of moving it yet again since Bangkok is so congested - hard to imagine but I guess time will tell. From what little I've read, the real history of the area is much more complex and dynamic than her brief synopsis. But there is no doubt that Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are unique and interesting places.

Arriving in Ayutthaya by bus was pretty exciting. The history of the area is readily apparent - there are ruins everywhere. Old mixed with new and streets simply built around ( often unidentified) ruins. The city is actually an inland island. There are rivers on all 4 sides.

A random ruin in the middle of the road

Ruin complexes were all over - mostly Wats

According to a sign at the site of the Grand Palace, the traditional Thai belief was that where ever the King stayed was the center of the universe - "the center of supreme power and divinity". As such, a Wat (temple complex) was built in each of the 4 directions of the palace grounds. Interestingly, the Wats comprised the vast majority of the visible ruins. They were made primarily of brick and stone where the palace buildings apparently were mostly timber. When the Burmese finally succeeded in sacking the town (after 20 some unsuccessful attempts), they looted and burned the palace grounds destroying untold amounts of art and history. There was a large model speculating what the palace grounds looked like based on historic accounts, piles of rubble and traditional architecture but the grounds themselves were mostly a beautiful park with some low brick walls and foundations.

Speculative model of the Palace grounds

By contrast, the ruins of Sukhothai are separated from the modern day town (new Sukhothai) by about a 25 minute bus ride. I rented an amazing old bicycle that practically rode itself and tooled around the ruins and beautiful grounds.

There is a statue of Ram Khamhaeng the 3rd ruler of Sukhothai and acknowledged "father" of the Thai alphabet. An inscribed obelisk next to the statue tells of the area during his reign in a great deal of detail. There's an interesting write up about it on wikipedia (just search on Ram Khamhaeng). Even though the story was a bit utopian, I was disappointed to read that it's authenticity is in question. Dunno if this can be zoomed in on and read or not but here's the bulk of the translation that was in the on site museum:

I've spent the last 3 days in Sukhothai mostly resting and am feeling better. Chiang Mai tomorrow! The buses I've taken here are literally never on time so I thought it might be easier to plan a night in a hostel for my first night so probably won't see Sean and family for a day or two but I'm really looking forward to it.

Travel like a Thai

I found Bangkok to be an infinitely interesting city and could've spent several weeks there. Unfortunately for me, interesting usually equates to exhaustion and the accompanying illness which I yet again am fighting off.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok was indeed grand. The amount of detail put into the beautiful buildings was amazing and the entire place left one with a lofty opinion of a successful state.

Many beautiful buildings

Up close you realize they are adorned with tiny mirror tiles

The most boring job in the world...

There are many inexpensive options for transportation in Bangkok including my favorite of course - walking. For any kind of distance, the local river boats seemed to be the best option. For 14 baht (less than .50c) you can go to any one of 35 or so piers including ones on the other side of the river, thus bypassing all the congestion on the roads. There are also some trains that crisscross the city but they were a fair ways from backpacker central where I stayed - infamous in some circles I suppose - Chao San Road. At night, Chao San Road is literally the noisiest place I've ever been. Bars right across the narrow street from each other compete to drown out the music of the other - it's crazy. Thankfully I was in a nice quiet hostel a few blocks away.

The King's birthday was on the 5th and in the evening I went to a massive park area with some hostel mates to see the fireworks. We sat central/back from where I thought the festivities would be only to find that we were right in front of the fireworks launch pad - the first couple scared the hell out of me. I've never been so close to fireworks and was grateful nothing went wrong cuz the whole thing was a recipe for disaster. But oh so cool!

3 nights ago I took a local train to Kanchanaburi. When I got to the train station it was full of police security types and the press. I have no idea why - one of the frustrations of not speaking any of the language. At one point, right before the train before mine left, a guy was rushed in amid a flurry of activity from the press and loaded onto the train. He spoke from the platform in a manner that could only make me think of Caesar Chavez. I saw it on the news later in a shop in Kanchanaburi. I'd like to know what it was all about but probably never will.

I met a lovely man on that train - he translates new age (I told him, my church calls it new thought and he seemed to know what I was referring to) religious books from English into Thai.  I have to say, the number of deep spiritual connections I've made with random people has been extraordinary. It cheers me.

The main draw for Kanchanaburi was the history that took place here during WWII. The Bridge on the river Kwai is located here. During WWII, the Japanese brought prisoners of war to the area to build an overland railroad. Many local people were hired as well with promises of high wages, they came from all around. Conditions were horrendous and many, many died. I took a local bus the 80 km to the memorial museum next to Hellfire pass. It was a somber place and very moving.

Hellfire Pass

Am currently waiting for an air conditioned van to Ayuttaya. It should be arriving soon so I will have to postpone pictures - will try to update this posting soon. The plan is to be in Chiang Mai by the 21st. I'll be staying with Sean for a couple of days and looking for a small apartment - I'm feeling a need for an extended break and CM seems like the perfect place. I'm looking forward to seeing Sean and family and am hoping he has something going that I could be of use to him for a few weeks.