Ayuttayah

Places of Interest - Thailand

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introduction

The cultural heart of the country - very fertile soil around the mother river Menam where most of the Thai population live and work. Ayuthaya is the former capital of Thailand and houses hundreds of temples and other cultural treasures. Do not expect rice fields here, but rather industry and a modern city, not so surprisingly close to Bangkok. The modern city lies against the historic city of Ayutthaya, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Ayutthaya.

The Ayutthaya Historical Park, which includes the historic city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city of Ayutthaya, founded around 1350 as the capital of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya by the Siamese King U Thong, was built by 33 kings over a period of about 400 years. In 1767 the city was destroyed by the Burmese army. The city lies at the confluence of 3 rivers: the Chao Phraya, the Pa Sak (or Nam Pasak) and the Lopburi. By digging a supplementary canal, the city was completely surrounded by waterways.

Many European nations, including the Dutch V.O.C., had trading posts in this once prosperous city.

highlights

The Historical Park:

The Ayutthaya Historical Park in Ayutthaya includes the ancient Ayutthaya capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and has more than 400 temples. Ayutthaya was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991. Age-old temples (so-called wat) and palaces are scattered around Ayutthaya. One of the most important is the Wat Phra Sri Sanphet.

This royal temple, built in 1448 and restored twice, stood within the walls of the old Royal Palace. The temple is guarded by three chedis so called “guards”. Nothing is left of the royal palace itself unfortunately. South of the temple is the more modern Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit. This complex houses one of the largest bronze Buddha statues of Thailand. Nearby, on the edge of Phra Ram Park, is the Wat Phra Ram temple, built in 1369 by King Ramesuen. In the park are also the ruin temples of Wat Phra Mahathat, dating from 1374. The Wat Ratchaburana, located north of the Wat Phra Mahathat, dates back to the 15th century.

This is the temple where in the garden a Buddha view is totally covered by stumps of a tree. Also within walking distance are the National Museum Chao Sam Phraya and the Chandra Kasem Palace rebuilt in the 19th century. One of Ayutthaya's best preserved temples is the Wat Na Phra Meru, located on the north bank of the Lop Buri River. On the east bank of the Pasak is the Wat Phanan Choeng, with a 19m high Buddha statue, dating from the 14th century.

The elephant-kraal

In the golden times of Ayuttaya big amounts of living elephants were captured in the wild and domesticated for human use. Large groups of wild elephants were forced into a complex made of large, thick wooden poles, which were inserted at 45 degrees into the ground, where they could later be used as a beast of burden or war machine.

This kraal is located about 4 km from the center of the city and gives a good impression of how this has gone into its work. The king had a special place on an elevation to keep an eye on things. The last elephants were held here in 1903.

Other attractions:

The Bang Pa-In palace is a summer palace located about 20 kilometers southwest of Ayutthaya.

Ayuttayah-Temple-Historical-Park-Thailand-Buddha-Head

history

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya was a historical Thai kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. King Ramathibodi I tried to unite his kingdom and founded Ayutthaya as the capital in 1351. In 1360 he declared Theravada Buddhism as a state religion of Ayutthaya. Ramathibodi's code of law, supplemented by royal decrees, remained generally in force until well into the 19th century.

In 1376 he took over the kingdom of Sukhothai. At the end of the 14th century Ayutthaya was regarded as the strongest power of Southeast Asia, but it lacked the manpower to control the region. In the last year of his life Ramathibodi had conquered Angkor during the first of many successful Thai attacks on the capital of the Khmer Empire. This policy was aimed at securing Siam's eastern border by preventing Vietnamese expansion into Khmer territory.

The weakened Khmer sometimes let themselves be dominated by Ayutthaya, but never completely. Thai troops often had to leave to suppress revolts in Sukhothai or to campaign against Chiang Mai, where stiff resistance was offered against Ayutthaya's expansion. Eventually Ayutthaya subdued all the territory that once belonged to Sukhothai. Over the next four centuries the country grew to the nation of Siam, which roughly covered the territory of modern Thailand, with the exception of the kingdom of Lanna in northern Thailand.

Ayutthaya favored foreign traders, first Chinese, Indians, Japanese and Persians, later Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch (the VOC), British and French, and allowed them to build offices outside the city walls. At its peak, Ayutthaya had more than one million inhabitants: the city was compared with Paris in terms of size and prosperity by the ambassadors of the French Sun King Louis XIV.

With the fall and devastation of the city in 1767 by the Burmese, this kingdom came to an end. In 1511, Ayutthaya received a diplomatic mission from Portugal, which had conquered Malaya earlier that year. These were probably the first Europeans in the country. Five years later, Ayutthaya and Portugal signed a treaty that allowed the Portuguese to trade in the kingdom. A similar treaty in 1592 gave the Dutch a privileged position in the rice trade. In 1604, the VOC entered into relations with Thailand on behalf of the Netherlands. Foreigners were warmly welcomed at the court of King Narai (1657-1688), a cosmopolitan leader who nonetheless was suspicious of foreign influence.

During his rule, trade ties were forged with Japan. Dutch and English companies established factories, and Thai diplomatic missions were sent to Paris and The Hague. By maintaining ties with various countries, the Thai court was able to play off the Dutch against the English and the French against the Dutch, in order to prevent one foreign power from gaining too much power. The arrival of English warships led to a bloodbath among Europeans. Phetracha (1688-1693) seized the throne, expelled the remaining foreigners and a period of 150 years began in which the Thais deliberately isolated themselves from contacts with the West.

The Golden Age of Ayutthaya was in the second quarter of the 18th century, after a bloody period of dynastic struggle, a relatively peaceful time in which art, literature and study flourished. Ayutthaya continued to compete with Vietnam over Cambodia, but a larger threat came from Burma. In 1765, Siam was invaded by two Burmese armies that moved to Ayutthaya. The only resistance of importance took place at the town of Bang Rajan. After a siege of many months, Ayutthaya fell in 1767 and was completely destroyed, which meant the end of this proud kingdom. Before the end, the military commander Taksin and his troops had escaped the approaching demise. He would have resurrected Siam from his ashes, bigger and stronger than before.

The country was crumbling and a new capital was being built to the south. The Burmese left the city and the city developed further as a provincial city.

tips & advice (2009)

The train station is just east of the center of Ayutthaya and you will only need to go with the ferry across the canal (3 Baht). Ayutthaya has two bus terminals. The long distance bus terminal is located about 5 km east of the city center and mainly deals with the northern half of Thailand. The other is on Th Naresuan. Buses from Bangkok arrive nearby.

Ayutthaya - Sukothai: buses run to Sukothai every hour from the large Asian Highway bus station. Duration is about 6 hours and costs between 225 and 300 Baht, depending on what type of bus you take.

You can (when it gets dark) good and fresh food at the small food stalls that Ayutthaya is rich. Sit at a table or take a seat and order one of the simple but delicious meals for a very reasonable price.

Name: Hostel Ayuthaya guesthouse

Address: 12/34 Naresun Road, Soi 1

Price: 150 Baht (single)

Phone nr. : (035) 232 658

Content:

Located in the center, near the Ayutthaya Historical park with all temples, this cozy street with many other hostels but also restaurants and shops. This hostel is of the cheapest and that is noticeable - everything is made of wood which is cozy and warm but it makes a lot of noise.

The whole interior is simple and you can even write your own receipts down if you take something out of the fridge. I had a private toilet and shower behind a thin wooden wall. Breakfast is exclusive.

Name: Hostel B.J. 1 guesthouse

Address: 19/29 Naresun Road,

Price: 160 Baht (single)

Phone nr. : 035-246 046, 243 980

Content:

This hostel is a little further away and is slightly better in terms of quality. The hotel has 19 rooms in different order and size. Here too, everything is made of wood but not as noisy as the other hostel (see above) while the price is almost the same. Shower and toilet are inside the room. Breakfast is not included.

If you want to take a few beautiful photos, go for a photo-hunt at the temples of the historic park. You can walk on the terrain (if there are no guards) and see the golden domes of the gloomy gray temple towers that you see during the day, lit by lamps, which you often see in the tourist booklets. Even if the guards are there you can ask to walk a few meters at the terrain to make this unique photo.

A good and fun way to view the temples inside and outside Ayutthaya is to rent a bicycle or motorcycle. The first should not cost more than 30 to 50 Baht per day (at your own hostel is the most sensible). Light engines motorbikes cost around 150 Baht per day. You can also take an elephant taxi for 500 Baht but aware of the animal disuse.This was in 2009 not on the agenda yet.