Ayutthaya

The mighty impressive reclining buddha at Wat Logayasutharam - if you're cycling there watch out for the street dogs running around the neighbourhood.

Yes, Ayutthaya is geographically close to Bangkok (90 kilometres away), but in terms of pace of life, people, and personality, it's miles apart. Whereas Bangkok is a 'turned up to 11' kind of place, Ayutthaya is an oasis of tranquility and historical wonders.

Every year in fact, millions of day-tripping tourists explore its world-famous ancient ruins and temples. But there is much more to see and do, and we believe, Ayutthaya is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

Wat Phra Mahathat - visit in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid both sunstroke and dehydration.

During a recent long weekend we drove up with friends (visiting from the Netherlands) for a two day/one night stay. In addition to visiting the renowned Wat Yai Chaimongkhon and Wat Phra Mahathat temples, we stopped at Wat Logayasutaram for an up-close look at the massive and beautiful reclining buddha (the buddha's head rests on a lotus flower). 

Walking around this site, and others, is humbling and moving - no matter how many times we visit, we are always astonished at the effort, craft, smarts and skill that went into creating the many temples and statues.

A great sight to wake up to - the riverside view from the Ban Tye Wang Hotel.

We managed to visit Wat Logayasatarum twice because our hotel, the Ban Tye Wang Hotel, was just up the road. With its riverside garden setting and handy location, Ban Tye Wang is highly recommended for weekend or overnight visitors.

Run by a very friendly and charming elderly couple, the Ban Tye Wang accommodation block sits next to their beautifully restored traditional Thai home. Being relatively new, the rooms blend modern design features with traditional thai home decor fittings - the rooms downstairs even include a front deck sala area for maximum relaxation. And if cycling is your thing, the hotel has a number of bikes available for guests to use.

Mutant prawn alert.

On the important topic of food, as with just about all visiting Bangkokians, we ate chargrilled river prawns at the renowned Ban Wachirachai restaurant. If you've never seen, or eaten, these river-dwelling crustaceans before, you may be shocked because they are as long as a child's shoe. While I'm not a much of a prawn fan I did like the smokey flavour of the Ban Wachirachai prawn and its fiery dipping sauce. I also liked the restaurant's peaceful and quiet riverside ambience.

At night we dined at the Ton Nam restaurant which seemed to be another riverside tourist trap eatery serving average fare. How bloody wrong we were - two exceptional dishes stood out - the barbecued cat fish - a smokey, moist, flaky and super fresh piscatorial delight. The other, was the hard-to-find, Ma Hor dish - who knew a flavoursome meatball topped with chilli and coriander served on top of a pineapple square could taste so good.

Another fantastic place to eat is the the big outdoor noodle shop just down the road from Wat Phra Mahathat. I don't know the name of the place but just follow the crowd - the place was rammed with customers slurping and scoffing their delicious and unbelievably cheap priced bowls of noodles. Two bowls for around 50 baht - can't do better than that!

The Red Sea of Fire.

And you can't come to Ayutthaya without stopping at a street side rot sai mai stall and and ordering one. What is it? Basically, a roti filled with sugar floss (similar to candy floss) that will spike your blood sugar levels to new highs. If that's more than you can handle just admire the the incredible cooking skills of the rot sai mai makers.

The amazing Ma Hor dish - superb with a cold beer.  

Other attractions? Unless you like big crowds, overpriced water and food and grumpy mahouts, avoid the Elephant Farm. The elephant farm and ride tour in Chiang Mai is vastly superior.

Finally, if you have time and energy call into the Million Toy Museum. Tim Burton would absolutely love this place and you will too if you have a soft spot for robots, superheroes, dolls, replica miniature cars, and a wide variety of retro treats.

Even robots are friendly in Ayutthaya.  

There are also many museums and other historical sites to visit, as well as a night cycling tour (run in the cool season I believe), so a return visit in December is very likely.

The Wikitravel page for Ayutthaya