Week 1 - Ayutthaya - Days 6, 7
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2011
1
5
44
Trip End
Jan 09, 2012
Ayutthaya, Thailand
Saturday, October 1, 2011
- Tuk tuk to bus station
- Bus to Sup Buri
- Bus from Sup Buri to Ayutthaya
It was the seemingly usual story of not quite knowing what is going on with Thai transport but getting to your destination anyway slightly confused about the whole thing.
After reading Lonely Planet I am now convinced that everything is a scam waiting to happen, so when the people at the bus station said there was no 'big bus' going to Ayutthaya and to take a mini-bus instead I was thinking it was some private tour company scam, but it wasn't.
Arrived slightly late to Ayutthaya (needed a lay in after the waterfall trekking, swimming and wimpy eating). Did the typical look at the map, head in the wrong direction,head back and find the place. I swear to god they have a monkey with street-name-dyslexia drawing the Lonely Planet maps.
Did a night tour of the temples in Ayutthaya as a few were lit up at night. Only the first one Wat Chai Wattanaram was still mostly in tact and impressive.
Ended the night with a meal in a place called Jazz Bar run by a long haired Thai guy who supported Arsenal and kept giving us quiz questions (11 countries with only 4 letters in them. He didn't accept Eire, so I called the whole thing a farce. Apparently one of them is 'Chad', where the hell is Chad?). We did better at the countries beginning and ending in A.
Day 7 - 10/02/11 - Ayutthaya
Decided to be less daring this time and rent bicycles to view the nearby ruins and temples. Took a tour of the Muslim district and had Rotti Sai Mai, which could be the best things in the world. Basically the Thai version of candy floss (although it looks like human hair, slightly disturbing) and you wrap it in a slightly sweet version of a rotti. It was 35 baht (65p / just over a buck) and you get about 15 of them to assemble yourself. Heaven.
Outside one of the temples a food cart was selling coconut drinks straight out of the coconut. The woman has to hack it open with a machete. After the drink you are handed a scooping thing to finished eat the coconut. Quite refreshing after the hot as balls weather.
Checked out Wat Chai Wattanaram in the day time. Very impressive place. However, a stray dog followed us around and put a bit of a downer on everything as I tried to find a bowl to give him some water. I doubt I could adopt that dog and get him through quarantine he looked like lassie on crack.
Forgot to mention we cycled across an elephant taxi station taking people around the temples. Apparently the elephants are well cared for and at the base they were doing a show with the baby elephants dancing to music. At one point the elephants turn away from the audience and start shaking their arses. I was only mildly turned on.
Comments
aww this is a slightly sad entry. that poor dog :( i hope you managed to help him a little. thats the problem with these countries...stray poor animals. send him to Oz and i'll look after him til you get home :)
i cant get over how cheap food is there - why is it so cheap??
they call candy floss over here fairy floss - i REFUSE to call it that - its gay!
bike ride sounds lovely :) xx