Ayuthaya
HOT
STEAMY
DIVERSE
EXCITING
TRAFFIC
SHOPPING
SMOG
Bangkok....
A city filled with people constantly on the move. With 4,000 buses on crowded bumpy streets, public transportation as the tourist guide repeats is the way to go. That would be this case, if I wanted to pass out from heat exhaustion and the over abundance of diesel fumes that perfume the air. Instead of roughing it we took the easy road and held out our bag laden hands to flag down on of the numerous air conditioned taxi which that took you from one end of the city to the other for under $5.00.
I
enjoyed the luxury riding in relative comfort until a day trip to Ayuthaya
Province north of Bangkok. We left behind a cityscape still littered
with abandoned office building left over from the Asian Tiger's post
bubble economy and headed to the the former royal capital of Thailand had
once been home to Kings, Princes, Princesses and other elite members of
society during Thailand's Golden Age, but they day we visited the area it
played host to dozens of air-conditioned buses and shorts-clad tourists.
For the price of 1
5 baht or less than $.50 we
jumped on the local train and escaped the city to see some of the
countryside and a part of old
Thailand. As the train chugged
northward, the cities and suburbs of Bangkok gave way to rice fields and shanty like houses suspended over pools of water. Sometimes electric cables could be spied in the distance. The sight of the countryside was more than welcome sight, but the glimpse into the everyday living standards of many Thai people made me all the more appreciative of my country, my color, and my blessings. After an hour and a half train ride where woman and men trudged up and down the aisles selling indescribable food items and expensive drinks we arrived in at Ayuthaya's main station only to then transfer to a old ferry that had seen better days.
For a few hours, we lost ourselves in the wonder of Thailand's famous Wats. The royal temples and palaces with walls of red brick of the kings dot manicured garden landscape bringing a timeless sense of wonder and peace to the country area. Taking a break under the shade of tress, I could stare at one of the former temples and envision what it would have been like to enter the city when it was filled with people, filled with energy as foreign merchants sold their wares, and Buddhist priests strolled from one one gold covered Buddha statue to another.
The moment of imagination is quickly ruined by the sound of a young Japanese woman waving a yellow flag as her megaphone enhanced voice entreats the umbrella holding charges back onto the air conditioned bus.
