Ayutthaya
A First Timer’s Guide
February 04, 2019
Back with some travel visuals!
I'm getting a little bummed out in the city after a while of just checking out the malls and night markets that I'm convinced I should venture out to the nearby towns. The only problem is that I have no one to go with, though solo travel isn't something I haven't considered. Luckily, one of my colleagues is nice enough to entertain my exploring to take photos and antics, at least for this time, so here we are with my first day trip out of the city. Take note: I went to Pattaya with my brothers during the holidays, but it wasn't a pleasant experience, and I consider it a flop.
2019 is when we begin the count.
Our first stop was a cafe that's kind of like in the middle of nowhere. Still, it is so strategically located that it makes it seem like you're not in Bangkok but somewhere in Bali (Disclaimer: I've never been to Bali, but I plan on doing so sometime soon, but I've seen Instagram photos on the rice fields, and I can tell you that this area comes close!). We planned to have a hearty brunch in that cafe (I have the name somewhere on my VLOG, so watch it below if you want), but their menu mainly consisted of sweets and cakes. We weren't quite ready for that to begin our day with, so instead, we each just ordered a glass of drinks we fancied (I got some strawberry yogurt smoothie) and took in the surroundings.
The cafe makes itself Instagram-worthy by installing wooden platforms in the middle of the fields specifically for photos. I guess in today's digital age, it's mandatory for businesses to have a photo spot to attract customers, huh? It worked for us, and it must work for a lot of other people, too.
About a half hour later, we're back on the road on the hunt for one of Pauleen's finds—another Instagram-worthy cafe—but I think the term restaurant is more appropriate. It's located within a retreat house and is surrounded by greens and a lake—I can't tell if the lake is real or manmade, but it made for a really refreshing vibe.
They served traditional Thai cuisine, which is pretty good and honestly not pricey at all compared to how much it would have cost in Bangkok in that kind of setting. The three dishes + 1 dessert that the three of us shared set us back THB 500 (approx. USD 16).
Of course, we couldn't leave the property without a proåper look around and mandatory photos, so we did that after lunch before moving on to more desserts along the roads.
Ayutthaya is known for, or so I was told, its candy floss roti that even visiting local Thais make it a point to buy some to take home whenever they are in Ayutthaya. I was curious to know what it was all about. It's cotton candy that could be mistaken for noodles wrapped in flour dough (roti). My younger self would have loved it entirely, but since I'm getting older and have started eating less sweets (ha!), I thought it was good but not something I'd have too much of.
After lunch, we were ready to visit the tourist spots. Our first stop was the floating market.
After much research, I realized that what I saw in the Ayutthaya floating market is the correct description of a floating market, which isn't necessarily where you're buying stuff from vendors on a boat. By definition, the market is, in fact, just floating above water. But I was hoping for the kind of floating market you often see advertised on many Thailand travel guides. If you're a first-timer like me, bear this in mind so you don't get disappointed. Not that I was; I was just a little lacking in knowledge.
We did take a boat trip around the market, which didn't take long, seeing as the market wasn't that huge. If I remember correctly, it cost less than THB10, though if you're a foreigner, be warned that you might get charged a bit more. I look Thai, plus I'm with 2 Thai girls, so I got away with the "local" price as long as they did the talking, and I shut my mouth and pretended I understood everything.
The thing about markets I've been to so far is that they sell many of the same stuff. What differs is the prices. Since I live here for the time being, I wasn't really into buying anything that most tourists would like, i.e., printed pants that are so popular among people touring around Southeast Asia. I was, however, curious to try a lot of the delicacies. The good thing about this market is that nearly every food stall offered a free taste, so I did not need to buy anything to sample.
I did buy something, though, which shows the closest alcoholic in me (that was a joke)—two bottles of local rice wine. It couldn't help that the sales girl insisted on letting us try all the flavors and low-key, getting us to drink with free-tasting booze. I just had to get the flavors that I liked.
Right across the floating market is a sort of animal farm where you can see elephants, a tiger, horses, and all that jazz. You can also ride the elephants, but please do not do that; it's unnatural for them, and how they get trained to perform this act is torturous to these poor, sweet giants. Just don't. What we did instead was buy bananas to feed them with. I know any human interaction is unnatural for animals, but at least feeding is less abusive than the rest. After our short elephant encounter, we're ready to visit the temple ruins.
We only went to two of the many temple ruins in Ayutthaya. I reckon they all look very similar, but the top two that I really wanted to see were Wat Chaiwatthanaram, which looks super grand (I bet even more when it was in its prime), and Wat Mahathat, the latter particularly to see the Buddha head entangled in the roots of a massive tree.
There's really not much I can say except that these temples are majestic. The blue skies make for a very picturesque scene. We were also lucky to have gone in the afternoon, catching the golden hour as the sun set in Wat Chaiwatthanaram. You know that time of day, the light is just the best.
Then, we were ready to head to dinner. It was another find of Pauleen's, a nearby seafood market where there are restaurants that serve fantastic seafood dishes for super affordable prices! I couldn't believe it. I asked my friends if anything was remotely similar to that in Bangkok. Alas, there's none. And if there was at all, they say it would likely cost so much more. Oh well.
Anyway, as mentioned, I have a VLOG to support these visuals, so do watch it, or better yet, head to my YouTube channel and subscribe while you're at it. I will make it a point to venture out of Bangkok as much as possible and hopefully document everything so I can share it with you. You know I always do, so stay tuned =)
For now, I end this very lengthy post.