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Ayutthaya Thailand - Ayutthaya City
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This is
one of Thailand's travel
must see destinations, a tour to
the city is one of the most
popular Bangkok day trips. The
short journey is best made by
train this also open up the view
into the life of Thai people
when passing through Bangkok
and
after through the wide paddy
fields.
Rural and
city life is very similar in
Thailand. Since the train
journey finally ends
up somewhere in northern
Thailand there are plenty of
people ready to make the
long trip with plenty of
luggage and food means it
might be difficult the find
a seat when traveling in the
third class.
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Travel in Thailand is usually
excellent
it wont matter if it is road
travel, a trip with the ferry, a
bus ride or using the aircraft
everything works quite well, a
third class tour with the
railway is different. But on the
other hand they can also do very
good train travel as it clearly
happen with the Bangkok Airport
link or the BTS Bangkok, this
are all trains too.
Third class train travel is
just the right starter to get
into the mood, since it
wont
take more than one hour and
half hour its no problem and as we
know a place is found even
in the smallest hut.
Ayutthaya is only the first
part of the travel and most
of the tourists get off here
for their day trip, the
train continuous to northern
Thailand. A alternative
could be a cruise up the
Chao Phraya River but there
is no regular boat service.
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This trip can only
be done by hiring a boat and
the boats are actually river
ships for passenger
including restaurants and
some even have cabins to
stay on the ship for a few days.What are the benefits for
a tour to this ancient city?
A incredible dive into the
past of Asia with temples and monasteries plus
enjoying the laid back river
life of central Thailand,
not much has changed except
cars came instead bullock
carts and modern buildings.
If one prefers it more rural
with actual oxcart travel,
coach trips and horse power
its not far away, about a
daytrip to
Myanmar Bagan or
Burma.
Historical views are overwhelming,
only a very few destinations
on the planet give true glimpse into the last
about 800 years comfortable
discovering within a
daytrip.
In south
east Asia this is more or
less only possible at
Ayutthaya and further north
at Lopburi and
Sukhothai.
Plus
Bagan and
Mrauk U in
Myanmar and the temples of
Angkor
Cambodia. |
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Today's Ayutthaya
City
emerged sometimes around
1350 into the known history;
Ayudhya is it was also
known very likely
existed already for quite
some time before. The
strategically well placed
city on an island at the
confluence of two rivers
received continuous goods
from the north via the
rivers.
Goods came from
China and Japan, where
traded in the city and
shipped on to India, Persia,
Arabia and Europe and vice
versa. From China came mainly
silk, ceramics and porcelain.
Over time Chinese, Japanese,
Portuguese, Dutch,
French and Indian companies
opened trading houses and
did a brisk business since
it was possible to access
the city harbor coming from
the Indian Ocean and up the
river. It is very likely
that the position of Ayudhya
was much closer to the ocean
as the about 140km of today,
somehow
similar
to
Bangkok
today.
Today (2012) the trading
is replaced by tourists
and a Bangkok Ayutthaya
cruise or train ride is on
the agenda for the travelers
who try to get a glimpse
into ancient times of Asia.
The city has a lot to offer
for the culture oriented
traveler, since several of
the magnificent temple,
monasteries, palaces and
other interesting objects
and subjects
are still around.
The place also receives
thousand of Thai people on
sightseeing tours, Bangkok
Ayutthaya is only about 90
minutes by train and around
2 hours by bus, car or
minibus. Over time
the city expanded
beyond the natural boundary
of the island into the
busy
midsized town of today.
Plenty
of
hotels
and
resorts
are
around,
several built right on the
banks of the rivers with
floating restaurants just in
front, this are ideal places
to enjoy the view over the
river and the busy traffic
on the water.
There are river
ships and barges gliding by,
plenty
of old
temples
are
positioned
just
beyond
the
banks of
the
river. To
really
enjoy
this to
full
extend
it needs
a
river cruise,
usually
lasting
about
one hour
to
encircle
the
island,
this can
also be
integrated
into a
Bangkok
Ayutthaya Trip.
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Bangkok
Ayutthaya
cruise
Wat Yai
Chai
Mongkol
Ayutthaya
temples
Wat Phra
Si
Sanphet |
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The ideal destination for a
Bangkok daytrip because its just around one and a half hour with the train and a great culture oriented destination. Ayutthaya at night has also something to offer, its not Patpong or similar its more massage and karaoke for Japanese guys who are working in the Japanese factories around the city.
Several hundred
years as the capital
left strong marks.
Only after the
Burmese army
destroyed the
capital in the 18.
Century Ayutthaya
fell back into the
past and today we
see a old Asian
city with plenty of
monuments and other
cultural highlights.
The Island of
Ayutthaya is criss-crossed
with roads and
canals. In the old
days was a broad
tree-lined royal way
that began in front
of the Grand Palace
and ran north-south
in a dead straight
line. It passed in
front of Wat Phra Si
Sanphet and
continued further
down past Wat Borom
Phuttharam to the
southern perimeter
of the city. It was
called Thanon Pa
Tong and was used by
the King when on
royal progress with
his land troops.
Another major
roadway began at the
southeast corner of
the Grand Palace and
cut east. It passed
between Wat Maha
That and Wat
Ratchaburana and
continued on through
a
commercial-residential
district where
charcoal was sold
(Pa Than) and
blacksmiths
practiced their
trade (Pa Lek).
Retail shops and
general stores
clustered around the
city's cross-roads.
At irregular
intervals around the
perimeter of the
island there are
ferry landings.
Country boats could
enter Ayutthaya
through tunnels in
the city's walls.
The intra-mural
canal system both
irrigate the island
and serve as the
principal means of
transport for travel
inside the city.
When the city was
threatened by
invaders pilons were
driven into the
canal bed at the
mouths of these
tunnels to close
them off. Most of
the
residential areas inside the
city were strung out along
the canals, not the roads.
Access to settlements
outside the island was
almost exclusively by
country boat.
When the King of Ayutthaya
left the Grand Palace on
water he travelled in a
royal barge. It would be
berthed at the far end of
the gardens behind the
palace in the city's largest
and longest canal. This
canal ran north and south
and was called Khlong Tho.
From Khlong Tho the King's
barge would exit out onto
Khu Muang parallel to the
north wall. Often the King's
destination was the boat
landing beside the Elephant
Kraal. |
The Elephant Kraal
was on the edge of
an extensive, cool
forest.
It was the
duty of every king
to visit the area
and preside over the
annual round-up of
wild elephants. Workers had
the task of driving
the elephants, often
over long
distances, to the
kraal's approach.
Tame cow elephants
were used to guide
the wild elephants
along the desired
route. Before the
King arrived
suitable animals
were chosen from
among the wild herds
and then cut out,
again by using
trained cow
elephants. Two kinds
of elephant were
needed: those to be
turned into war
elephants, and those
to be tamed and
trained as working
elephants.
The final decision
was made in the
kraal with the King
in attendance.
In traditional
Siamese warfare
leaders rode on war
elephants and
lower-ranking
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Elephants at
Ayutthaya City |
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military officers rode on
horses. The King and senior
officers studied the martial
arts and rehearsed for
battle as a matter of
course. Their studies
included martial music which
accompanied all maneuvers
and engagements whether at
training or in battle. But
their chief interest was
management of the war
elephants.
Charms and spells also
played an important part in
military training, and
especially in connection
with elephant training, and
there were various rituals
that had to be performed.
Two kings in particular are
singled out for their daring
and their high degree of
skill in working with war
elephants.
They are known too for the
ease with which they could
break in forest elephants
and wild horses. King Narai,
one of two Ayutthaya kings
later to be praised as "the
Great", was one of them (r.
1656-1688), and the noble
who replaced him was the
other.
Ayutthaya's elephant stables
were of great value to the
Kingdom. Elephants were a |
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form of wealth. They
were not only ridden
into war and on long
journeys to distant
towns, they were
also used as beasts
of burden to carry
the army's equipment
and supplies, in
times of war, and
trade commodities in
the intervals of
peace.
There was brisk
trade with elephants
between Siam and
India, every year
hundreds of this
beasts were shipped
to India to satisfy
the demand for war
elephants in India.
One of the most lavish
of the elaborate
annual processions
that featured in the
twelve-month cycle
of state ceremonies
was the Kathin-on-the-Water,
more widely known to
Westerners today as
the "Royal Barge
Ceremony".
Its ritual purpose
was to present
offerings of new
saffron-colored
robes to Buddhist
monks in those of
the city's important
and royally-favored
monasteries that
faced the water's
edge. In actual fact
it was a public
extravaganza. Each
of the many large
royal barges was
gilded. Each had a
carved,
animal-headed prow
piece.
These figureheads
were variously
Serpent Kings,
Garudas, heads of
stallions, sea
monsters, and
dragons of different
kinds. The oarsmen
wore brightly
colored hats and
shirts and paddled
with gilded oars in
time to the beating
of long rhythm
sticks. Following
after the amazing
royal and state
barges came hundreds
of smaller barges
and the larger types
of canoes.
The Kathin was also
organized
independently by
villages and urban
settlements to
provide the smaller
monasteries with
their new saffron
robes. For a month
and a half from the
end of the rainy
season until the
rivers flowed their
fullest the Capital
and the surrounding
countryside went on
holiday.
Boat races were held
between long
"dragon" boats at
riverine monasteries
up and down the
rivers around
Ayutthaya. Villagers
went out into the
flooded fields in
their small
household canoes for
picnics and the
competitive singing
of jocular rural
boat-songs. This was
the real festive
season of the year.
It finished with Loi
Krathong, the
"Festival of
Lights".
The end of the cool
season, in April
with summer fast
approaching,
coincided with the
Indian festival of
Samkranti (in Thai,
Songkran) the
beginning of the new
calendar year.
Buddha images,
family elders, the
Buddhist monks were
ceremoniously bathed
and water-games were
held. These were the
happy months when
the seasons were
pleasant. This is
not the ideal travel
time for Thailand
since it gets real
hot but in general a
Ayutthaya Thailand
trip is a all year
round trip, ok there
are no beaches
around but more than
enough for culture
and history minded
people. Especially
interesting are
Buddhist related
items such as Buddha
statues and
sculptures from
various materials
such as stone,
marble, bronze,
teak wood
etc. |
Ayutthaya Thailand
Cruise
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Burmese attack |
About
Ayutthaya
History
The city
was the
Thai
capital
before
Bangkok,
a
distance
of some
85
kilometers.
Since
the mid
14th
century
Ayutthaya
(Ayudhya)
had been
one of
the most
important
cities
of
Southeast
Asia, it
functioned
as a
trading
center
between
east and
west.
That
went on
for
around
400
years
until
the
Burmese
attacked
the
city,
destroyed
large
part of
it und
took
thousands
of
people
back to
Burma.
A cosmopolitan Asian Capital, in the 17th century the prosperous, and densely populated. Europeans and Asians alike picked out for special praise in their accounts of the capital its high standard of civilization, all gold and other precious objects were kept in the city's monasteries. The contrast of colors of which gilded spires against green groves was the most typical, how living conditions verged on the point of over-crowding both on land and water, and the sheer size of the walled city alone which some estimated as being close to 6 miles in circumference. They also noted that the city continued its |
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spread out beyond its walls as if there were no threat of external attack. Until the 17th century the city grow as big as London or Paris of that time and was one of the the most interesting city in the East.
The foreign trading settlements
were well-defined enclaves among canals immediately south and southeast of the walled city. They occupied both banks of the Menam or Chao Phraya River. The Dutch settlement, the "Hollander" factory and compound, was the northernmost of the settlements on the east bank of the Menam. Its warehouses and offices were contained in a large, brick-and-plaster building, the largest of the commercial buildings in the city.
Opposite the Dutch was one of the three Chinese quarters, downstream from the Dutch, and on the same bank, was the English factory. Further downstream still, on the other side of a tributary canal, was the Japanese settlement.
Facing the English and Japanese enclaves, on the west bank and below the Chinese settlement, was St. Dominique's. The center of the European Catholic community's town, it was a church originally founded by the Jacobite Portuguese and later joined by the French Foreign Mission.
A short distance further down the west bank' and north of the mouth of large, busy canal called Khlong Takhian, was the Jesuits' Church of St. Paul, again founded by the Portuguese and joined later by the French. The English Episcopal Church and its seminary were where St. Joseph's is today, opposite the southwest corner of the Island of Ayutthaya half-way between Wat Chai Watthanaram and Wat Phutthaisawan.
Well outside the city to the northwest was an academic establishment known then as the College of Nations. In reality it was a religious school, and most likely a French Catholic one. There Christianity was taught and instruction in European languages was given to the children of local and international communities.
The standard of instruction was very high and it is on record that the youth of were taught French at this college to a high degree. In fact, six Asian students of several nationalities were sent from this college to make competitive exams in France. One of these students gained first place in his exam and the others scored highly.
In comparison to the Japanese and Chinese,
who were Mahayana Buddhists, the other Asian foreigners are not well-known. 17th century European maps show settlements of Cochin Chinese (Mahayana Buddhist Vietnamese and Muslim Chams from central Vietnam), Malays (which include Sumatrans as well as Javanese) and Macassars (from Mangkasara, the principal island of the Celebes). All of them, except for the Cochin Chinese, were from predominantly Sunni Muslim countries. The Iranians at the city were Shiah Muslims, or Shiites, and remained apart from the Southeast Asian Muslim settlements. For all their religious diversity Europeans and Asians of the extra-mural settlements had but one important reason for staying there, and that was the better to promote their separate commercial interests - to trade and to conduct profitable commercial activities. |
View over the old city
Ayutthaya
canal tour
Ruins of Wat Chai Watthanaram
Cruise on the canal show daily life
The tall Wat Phutthaisawan and cruise ships
.jpg)
Old
map of
Ayutthaya
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Ayutthaya Bars
and massage shops |
Ayutthaya in Thailand
Nightlife
There is
a old town and a
new town. In terms of nightlife the
new town area around the big square
is full of Thai massage parlors,
karaoke bars and other crossover
venues including
restaurants and places with life
music, discos and "cafe" with girls
singing.
All
Ayutthaya nightlife girls have
one in common, they all want to make
the guys |
Massage and bar girls at down
town |
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happy
and get "kotang noi"
in exchange, actually most of them wont
be satisfied with "kotang noi"
(small money) in Thai, they want big
spender who spray bigger notes,
preferably the brown ones. |
Thailand Nightlife and massage girls
around the city center |
waiting for some tourists and
Japanese guys |
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